HAMLET — A fast start in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader helped the Hamlet American Legion Junior baseball team sweep the afternoon.
Following a mercy-rule win in game one, Post 49 repeated its performance against Fayetteville Post 71 in game two.
The Junior 49ers won the second game of the day 12-1 in four innings after both coaches agreed to end the game early.
In what head coach Robert Smith called “a good day” for the team, Hamlet pounced ahead 6-1 after the first inning. Adding a run in the second frame, Post 49 rounded out its scoring with five runs in the third.
Jakob Trexler kept his bat hot with two hits and two runs batted in, finishing the doubleheader 4-for-4 with four RBI. Also driving in a pair of runs was Jake Veach, who ended the day 2-for-5 and four RBI.
Taking advantage of eight errors by Fayetteville, along with six walks, Drew Gause, Noah Stubbs and Colson Smith each drove in one run.
Getting the start on the mound and earning the win was Cooper Gainey, who threw three innings. He allowed just one hit, one earned run and struck out three batters.
Stubbs, who pitched the final inning in game one, did the same in game two. He put up zeroes in the fourth and had a strikeout.
Fayetteville scored its lone run in the top of the first inning as the result of a wild pitch, but Hamlet was quick to respond.
Veach put Hamlet ahead in the third at-bat of the inning when he tattooed a two-RBI double to the gap in right-center field. Scoring on the play were Wallace Herring (error) and Julius Bowden (fielder’s choice).
Three pitches later, Veach hustled home on a wild pitch to increase the lead to 3-1.
Gause kept the inning going when he reached safely on a dropped third strike and later scored on an error. Smith brought in his RBI when he grounded out to third base, which scored Jaxton Watson (walk) from third.
A single by Gainey and a walk to Nate Culbreth later set up runners on the corners for Trexler, who sent a backside single through the infield into right field for an RBI base hit.
Gainey used two groundouts and a pop out to Watson at first base to retire Fayetteville in order in the second.
Bowden led off the bottom of the frame with a hit-by-pitch and scored two batters later when Gause lined an RBI triple to the corner in left field to make it 7-1.
A four-batter top of the third from Gainey led to Hamlet’s final big inning of the day. Tristan Chavis (error) and Gainey (walk) reached safely to start the inning, which led to Chavis scoring on a wild pitch.
Duplicating his first at-bat, Trexler sent a hard ground ball single through the right side of the infield to allow Gainey to score.
Leading by eight runs, errors allowed Nate Culbreth (walk) and Trexler to score in the inning. Stubbs recorded the final run of the game when he grounded out to the shortstop, which plated Sam O’Neal (walk).
Stubbs faced four batters in the top of the fourth and got help from O’Neal to eliminate a one-out walk. With the runner advancing to third, O’Neal hosed the runner on a pick off play back to third base for the final out.
Hamlet (3-5) opens Area 3 Conference play Monday at Eastern Randolph Post 81. The game will be played at Eastern Randolph High School and start at 5 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a separate photo gallery of game two’s win soon.
