HAMLET — Another dominant starting pitching performance lifted the Hamlet American Legion baseball team to its second straight win on Sunday.
Playing its third game in as many nights, Post 49 rode the momentum of Tanner Cheek’s pitching en route to a 6-1 win over Matthews Post 235.
Cheek, who pitches at Francis Marion University, tossed six innings and allowed just one run on five hits. He added six strikeouts to his line and retired the lineup in order in two different innings.
Walker Lambeth, who along with Ryley Norton, made his debut with the team on Sunday, pitched a scoreless top of the seventh inning to preserve the win. He faced just four batters and picked up a strikeout.
Post 49 scored all the runs it would need to win in the bottom of the first inning after Cheek sat Post 235 down in order on 10 pitches.
With one out, Ra’Nes Little and Cheek both drew walks against starting pitcher Zach Vigre (4.2 innings, four runs, five hits) to put two runners on. Cameron Way hit a chopper to third and reached on an error, allowing Little to plate the game’s first run.
Norton, fresh off an appearance in the NCHSAA 4A state championship series with Pinecrest High School, recorded the first of his team-high three hits in the next at-bat.
Hitting an infield single to the pocket between first and second, Norton hustled out the infield hit to bring in Cheek to give Hamlet a 2-0 lead.
Andrew Chandler recorded Matthews’ only run of the game in the top of the second inning, doubling to left field to score Luke Alexander (double).
Defensive plays were key to Hamlet’s win, starting with an out at home on a fielder’s choice to Norton at third in the same inning. Norton scooped the ball up and fired home to catcher Cooper Sessoms, who tagged Chandler out to save a run.
Hamlet would add to its lead in the home half of the fourth, using an RBI single to right field by Norton. Way led off the inning with a double and raced home on Norton’s line drive base knock, which was his second RBI of the game.
A 1-2-3 top of the fifth featured a diving stop by first baseman Jake Clemmons. On a hard ground ball down the line, Clemmons snagged the ball to save an extra-base hit and flipped it to Cheek covering the bag.
That frame paved the way for two more runs for Post 49. A two-out single by Little was followed by an RBI triple to the alley in left-center by Cheek off relief pitcher Ayden Bumgardner.
Three pitches later, Cheek crossed home plate safely following a passed ball to extend the lead to 5-1.
The last big defensive play came from Sessoms in the top of the sixth, who threw out Alexander trying to swipe second. There to apply the tag was second baseman Cameron Way.
Norton led off the Hamlet half of the sixth with another infield single and stole home for the final run of the game. Lambeth (error) got caught up in a run down between first and second long enough to allow Norton to score.
Lambeth earned a strikeout, a pop out and used a roller to Way at second base to end the game.
Norton had three of Hamlet’s seven hits, Little added two and Cheek and Way both had one. Cheek knocked in one RBI and Norton’s two runs driven in were a game-high.
Hamlet (3-2) will return to action and start another busy week on Tuesday. Post 49 will welcome in Hope Mills Post 32 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Park in Hamlet.
