OAKBORO — A road trip to Stanly County resulted in a late-game loss for the Hamlet American Legion baseball team on Friday.
Nearly a week after opening its season, Post 49 saw a fifth-inning lead come undone in the last few frames against Post 76.
Erasing an early deficit, Hamlet fell to Stanly County 10-9. Post 76 scored the game-winning run on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Hamlet dotted the scoreboard with all nine of its runs through the opening four innings. Post 49 had eight hits, including two extra-base hits by Cameron Way.
In the top of the first inning off starting pitcher Cayman Buck (2.1 innings), Hamlet took an early 2-0 lead. Tristan Hunt (hit-by-pitch) and Way (walk) both scored on wild pitches by Buck.
A slow start in the field allowed Post 76 to score seven runs in the home half. Ra’Nik Little started on the hill (four runs) and was replaced with Hunt with no outs.
Hunt (5.0 innings, five runs, three hits) got Hamlet out of the inning and went on to retire nine of the next 10 Stanly County batters he faced.
Trailing 7-2, Post 49 answered with two more runs in the top of the second. Kole Dutton and Little led off the inning with back-to-back walks, and the pair swiped a bag to get into scoring position. Cooper Sessoms delivered an RBI groundout to second to score Dutton, and Little raced home on another Buck wild pitch. Following a 1-2-3 bottom half by Hunt, who also had eight strikeouts in the game, Hamlet tacked on four more runs to take a lead in the third. Sending nine batters to the plate, Way got things started with a stand up RBI triple to center field. Scoring on the play was Tanner Cheek, who led off the inning with a single. A hit-by-pitch to Jake Clemmons and a walk by Little loaded the bases with one out. Delivering to tie the game at seven runs was Ayden Allen, who laced a two-RBI single to right field. Sessoms kept the inning going with a bunt single down the first base line off relief pitcher Cole Pinion, allowing Hunt to notch the go-ahead run in the next at-bat. Lifting a sacrifice fly to right field, Hunt’s fly ball gave Little time to tag up and score. Way accounted for Hamlet’s final run of the game in the top of the fourth, belting a Pinion offering over the left-center wall for a solo blast. His second homer in three games this summer, Way’s shot put Post 49 up 9-7. A two-RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning by Connor Whitley knotted the game at nine runs. Sessoms threw out Whitley trying to steal third base to end the threat. Post 49 had the go-ahead run just 90 feet away in the top of the sixth, but Ra’Nes Little was tagged out trying to steal home. Four consecutive walks in the bottom of the seventh led to the game-winning run for Stanly County. Way finished the game with a team-high two hits and two RBIs, and also scored three runs. Adding singles were Ra’Nes and Ra’Nik Little, Allen, Cheek, Dutton and Sessoms. Allen contributed two RBIs, while Hunt and Sessoms both recorded one run driven in. Hamlet (1-2) will continue its busy weekend with a pair of home non-conference games on Saturday and Sunday. Post 49’s home opener will be against Mocksville Post 174 on Saturday, followed by Matthews Post 235 on Sunday. Both games will be played at Memorial Park in Hamlet and start at 7 p.m.
