HAMLET — A new era of Hamlet American Legion baseball is set to begin early next week.
Returning for its sixth summer of baseball, the Hamlet Post 49 program will be under new management.
Chip Gordon, who helped restore American Legion baseball in Hamlet in 2021 after a decade and a half hiatus, has stepped down after five seasons as head coach.
Taking over will be Eric Brown, the head baseball coach at Richmond Senior High School, and the rest of the Richmond coaching staff.
Assisting the senior Legion team will be coaches Ryan Mercer and Kevin Wallace. Post 49 will bring back its junior team, which will be coached by Landon Cowick and Anthony Hailey.
The Raiders are fresh off their most successful season in the past decade, having won the Mid-South Conference championship and making it to the third round of the state playoffs, both for the first time since 2016.
The first task for Brown and his staff will be to hold tryouts for the upcoming summer slate.
Tryouts for Post 49 will be held Monday, May 18, and Tuesday, May 19, at Richmond Senior’s baseball facility.
Interested junior team players, which include rising eighth graders to rising 12th graders, will try out from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days.
Senior team players, who are current varsity level players, graduating seniors who are signed to play college baseball, as well as college freshmen who meet American Legion’s age requirement, will tryout from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Brown said players from Richmond and surrounding school districts and counties are encouraged to try out.
“We will run the program differently than what’s been done the last five years,” Brown explained.
“We are going to use Post 49 as an opportunity to develop future, current and graduating Raiders players.”
Beginning June 3, the Post 49 junior and senior teams will open their 14-game regular season schedules. Hamlet will play only Area 3 conference games this summer.
The playoffs for American Legion baseball will begin July 6.
For more information, or questions regarding tryouts, contact Brown at ericbrown@richmond.k12.nc.us.
