RAMSEUR — A successful night at the plate, coupled with a complete game pitching performance, led to the Hamlet American Legion baseball team’s largest win of the season Wednesday.
Beginning its final Area 3 Conference series of the regular season, Post 49 rolled to a mercy-rule win in five innings.
Playing at Liberty Post 81, the 49ers used an eight-run fifth inning to earn a 13-1 victory in five innings.
Getting back on track late in the season, Hamlet erased an early one-run deficit to tie the game 1-1 with a run in the top of the second. A four-run top of the third inning put the 49ers ahead for good.
Making his first start of the summer, Colton Nelson (Richmond) got plenty of run support in his complete game effort. He allowed just one earned run on four hits across five innings, and struck out one batter.
Seven players recorded at least one run batted in for Hamlet, which was led by three RBI each from Nate Culbreth (Richmond) and Bradley Hogan (Christ the Cornerstone Academy).
Caden Nolan (Belmont Abbey College) and Drew Gause (Richmond) both finished with two RBI, as Miken Concepcion (Christ the Cornerstone Academy), Maddox Locklear (Richmond) and Sam O’Neal (Richmond) each drove in one run.
Hamlet also belted a season-high 18 hits as a team, led by Hogan’s three hits, which included one double. Nolan, who had two hits, connected for a double as well.
Knocking two hits apiece were Concepcion, Gause, Locklear, Culbreth and Evan Hodges (Lenoir Community College). O’Neal, Julius Bowden (Richmond) and Jayden Hollingsworth (Hoke County) each had a base hit.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second inning, Hamlet tied the game when Culbreth singled to left field to bring in Gause (leadoff walk).
A sacrifice fly by Gause was the second out of the top of the third inning, but it plated Hodges (single) to give Hamlet a 2-1 lead.
Before the end of the half inning, Hamlet would lead 5-1. Three consecutive singles with two outs scored three additional runs.
Hogan beat out an infield single to score Gause, and an opposite field line drive single by Culbreth scored Hogan and Locklear (single).
Nelson stranded a pair of two-out singles in the third inning and faced just four batters in the bottom of the fourth, which set up Hamlet’s game-ending fifth inning.
Hogan started the eight-run fifth with an RBI double to score Gause (single), and later scored to give Hamlet a 7-1 lead. The remaining six runs were all scored with two outs.
O’Neal joined the hit and RBI parade when he reached on an infield single to third base, which scored Culbreth. A single by Hodges in the next at-bat put runners on the corners and Concepcion plated O’Neal with a base hit.
Three pitches later, Nolan smacked a two-RBI double to the grass in left field, which brought home Hodges and Concepcion to make it 11-1.
Ending the big inning were RBI singles from Gause and Locklear, who dotted the corner outfield spots with line drives to score the team’s final two runs.
Closing the door in the bottom of the fifth, Nelson got two quick outs and stranded a pair of base runners with a game-ending fly out to center field.
Hamlet (4-7, 4-7 Area 3) will host Liberty Post 81 in its regular-season finale Thursday. Action is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Park.
Post 49 will be auctioning off its custom jerseys following the game to benefit former player Riley Brown, who was recently diagnosed with lymphoma.
