HAMPSTEAD, N.C. — An early lead and a strong pitching performance from Harley Honeycutt were both undone in the sixth inning of Hamlet’s road game at Hampstead on Monday.
Kicking off its Area 2 conference play at Topsail High School, Post 49 fell to Post 167 by a final score of 6-4.
Hampstead broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the sixth following a temporary delay due to the stadium lights going out, scoring the two go-ahead runs.
Honeycutt, who made his second start of the summer on the mound, threw 5.1 innings. He allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits, while walking five batters and striking out two.
Trace Ricketts pitched in relief, getting the final two outs in the sixth, both coming on strikeouts. Honeycutt and Ricketts combined to strand eight Hampstead runners on base.
“Harley gave us 5.1 really strong innings,” head coach Chip Gordon said. “He did a good job of pitching to contact and really filled the zone up. He didn’t overpitch and let his defense make the plays behind him.
“But we went with Harley one batter too long,” he added. “We didn’t make the plays we needed to in the sixth inning. We let a soft-hit single and an error result in two runs, which killed our momentum late.”
Sending six batters to the plate in the top of the first, Hamlet plated two runs off starting pitcher Jared Giddens.
With two outs, Ricketts singled to center, one of his two hits in the game, and Josh Griggs (walk) and Honeycutt (hit-by-pitch) reached to load the bases.
Jake Clemmons delivered in the next at-bat, drilling a line drive single to center field on Giddens’ second offering. Ricketts and Griggs scored to give Hamlet an early 2-0 lead.
Post 167 responded with three runs in the home half, using two hits, two walks and an error to take a 3-2 advantage.
Ra’Nik Little knotted the game at three runs in the top of the second inning, lacing an RBI single to center. Scoring on the play was Reid Edwards, who reached on a fielder’s choice and then stole second base.
After a 1-2-3 inning by Honeycutt on the mound in the bottom of the second, Hamlet took a one-run lead in the top of the third off relief pitcher Kyle Lechmanick.
Ricketts led off the inning with a single to left field and moved to second on an error. With Griggs at the plate, Ricketts trotted to third on a wild pitch and raced home on the next pitch that also went to the backstop, putting Post 49 up 4-3.
Honeycutt worked himself out of a two-on, one-out situation in the bottom of the third, using a lineout and a fielder’s choice to keep the lead intact.
With a runner on and one out in the bottom of the fourth, a Hamlet error allowed Hampstead’s Jesse Madole to score and tie the game again, 4-4.
Two innings later, back-to-back RBI singles by Landon Lankford and Colby Mobley, coupled with a fielding error, gave Post 167 its final two runs to secure the win.
“We made a couple of base running mistakes tonight, and we’re young and still learning,” Gordon explained. “And we won’t make those mistakes anymore. There were some guys in different spots tonight, and they answered the call and played those positions well.
“I thought we had better approaches at the plate than we’ve had all season,” he added. “We still have a long way to go to be successful at the plate, but we played a lot better tonight. We have a group of guys willing to do whatever it takes to win, and now we’ll try to put it together for a full seven innings.”
Hamlet collected six hits on the night — all singles — with Little and Ricketts both collecting a pair of base knocks. Clemmons added a single and a team-high two RBIs, and Edwards also collected a single in the seventh inning off Mason Myhand.
Little was the only other Post 49 player to record an RBI. Ricketts scored twice, while Griggs and Edwards also crossed home safely.
Post 49 (0-3, 0-1 Area 2) will look to win its first game when it returns home on Thursday. Hamlet will host Wilmington Post 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Park.
