HAMLET — Battling back during the middle innings of Monday’s home game, a lead for the Hamlet American Legion baseball team came undone late.
After surging ahead to take a four-run lead after the fifth inning, Post 49 was outscored by eight runs in the final two innings against Davidson County Post 8.
Hamlet, which played its second game of the season at Memorial Park, suffered an 11-7 loss to the Hawgs.
Leading 6-2 to start the sixth inning, Post 49 allowed five runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh. Attempting to walk it off, the 49ers only got one run back in the final half inning.
A platoon of pitchers was used Monday for Hamlet, which sent Evan Hodges (Lenoir Community College) to the mound for the start. Hodges struck out seven batters across four innings of work and limited the Hawgs to two runs (one earned) on four hits.
Maddox Locklear (Richmond) started the fifth inning and pitched two-thirds of an inning before Jabari Douglas (Johnson & Wales University) ended a bases-loaded threat with a strikeout.
Facing just one batter, Douglas pitched one-third of an inning and kept it a 2-1 deficit for the 49ers.
Tristan Chavis (Richmond) was the fourth of five pitchers used by Hamlet in the game. He lasted a third of an inning and surrendered five runs (four earned) on three hits.
Reliever Brady Fowler (Surry Community College), who was tabbed with the loss, allowed four earned runs across the final 1.2 innings on two hits.
Hamlet’s pitchers struggled to find the zone at times, as Locklear and Fowler each walked four batters. Chavis put two batters on base via a walk and Fowler also hit two batters with a pitch.
Both teams scored a run in the second inning. Post 8 took a one-run lead on a one-out RBI double in the top half.
Post 49 answered with a run of its own in the bottom half to knot the score 1-1. Hodges led off the inning with a free pass and Douglas, who was a courtesy runner, later scored.
Noah Stubbs (Richmond) grounded out to first and Douglas scored when Post 8 tried to turn a 3-6 double play and a throwing error sailed into the outfield.
The Hawgs took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, a score that held until Hamlet scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a solo home run.
Stubbs (single), Miken Concepcion (Christ the Cornerstone Academy, single) and Sam O’Neal (Richmond, walk) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth.
Locklear recorded an RBI with two outs when he scored Stubbs from third on an RBI fielder’s choice to the left side of the infield. Concepcion reached third base safely before the throw to extend the inning.
In the next at-bat, Caden Nolan (Belmont Abbey College) skied what he thought was the third out to center field. But the ball dropped between two outfielders, which cleared the bases for a three-RBI double to give Hamlet a 5-2 lead.
Keeping the rally going, Hodges dug in and lined an RBI double to the corner in right field two pitches later. Hodges’ scorcher burned the right fielder as he traded places with Nolan, putting Post 49 ahead 6-2, its largest lead of the game.
Despite the four-run lead, Chavis allowed the first three batters to reach to start the sixth inning. Post 8 scored a run on an error and cut Hamlet’s advantage to 6-4 with a sacrifice fly.
In the next at-bat, a three-run blast for the Hawgs off the top of the Wilbur Dome flipped the score to 7-6 in their favor.
Fowler entered the game and recorded the final two outs of the sixth. O’Neal threw out the first of his two caught stealing plays at second base in the game and Stubbs made an athletic catch down the first base line.
An inning later, Post 8 scored its first two of four runs in the seventh on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded and a wild pitch.
Just before that, Hodges made a routine catch in left field and saved a run when he unloaded a dart from the alley and hit O’Neal on the fly, who tagged out a runner trying to tag up from third base for the 7-2 double play.
Davidson County’s final two runs came with two outs on a two-RBI single.
Down to their final three outs, the 49ers started the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff walk by O’Neal. He moved to second on an errant pickoff attempt, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Nolan recorded his team-high fourth RBI of the game with a base knock to left field.
Hodges appeared to pull Hamlet within two runs in the next at-bat when he lasered a line drive to left field, but with the wind blowing in, the potential home run only had warning track power.
Hamlet (1-1, 1-1 Area 3) returns to action Thursday with a home game against Chatham County Post 305 (5-3, 1-0 Area 3). First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
