HOPE MILLS — Taking a lead into the final two innings Friday, the Hamlet American Legion junior baseball team let it slip away on the road.
Continuing Area 2 Conference action, the Post 49 juniors almost evened their series with the Hope Mills Post 32 Tigers.
Leading by two runs after the top of the sixth inning, a three-run bottom half led to a 5-4 defeat.
Steve James pitched a complete game for Hamlet. He held Post 32 to just three hits but gave up five earned runs with four strikeouts and three walks.
Hamlet collected five hits as a team, two more than Hope Mills. Notching a single apiece were James, Drew Gause, Jabari Doulgas, Julius Bowden and Cameron Liles.
In the top of the first inning off starting pitcher Trey Ray (four innings, three runs, three hits, five walks) Hamlet scored a pair of runs to take an early lead.
Consecutive walks to Conner Phifer and Douglas put runners on and both advanced into scoring position on stolen bases. James helped himself out with the first of his team-high two runs batted in, scoring Phifer on a ground out to third.
After Preston Fann drew a walk to put runners on the corners, Douglas made it a 2-0 advantage when he scored on a passed ball.
James went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first but Post 32 tied the game in the home half of the second. A single and an error accounted for the two runs.
With the bases loaded in the top of the third, Liles came through with an RBI single to right field. His line drive scored Gause, who reached earlier on an error.
Hamlet’s final run of the game came in the top of the fifth. Gause scored his second run for Post 49, this time racing home following an error on a grounder by James.
Post 32 went down in order in the fifth but started the bottom of the sixth with a double, a single and a walk to load the bases. A passed ball and an RBI groundout tied the game 4-4.
Hope Mills scored the eventual game-winning run on a fielder’s choice bunt back to the mound.
Gause reached base on a free pass with one out in the seventh. But a strikeout and a caught stealing thwarted the rally attempt.
The Hamlet junior baseball team (1-6, 1-3 Area 2) return to action Monday at home against Pembroke Post 50. The game will start at 7 p.m.
