HAMLET – It was a hitter’s game in Hamlet on Wednesday in round two of the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference baseball tournament.
The Hamlet Middle School Red Rams played host to their in-county rivals, the Rockingham Middle School Rockets, in a high-scoring affair with a trip to the championship game on the line. The schools combined to send six different pitchers to the mound, but the six hurlers only managed to record 2 total strikeouts – one for each team.
When the intense, and at times chippy, game came to an end, it was the Red Rams who were celebrating a hard-fought 16-14 victory on their home field.
“It felt good to feel the tension and have the drama of a rivalry game between Rockingham and Hamlet,” said Hamlet head coach Josh Peele. “That is what baseball is all about.”
It is the second time this season that Hamlet (10-1) has defeated the Rockets (9-3). In fact, the Red Rams have managed to defeat the Rockets in every boys’ sport this school year, something that does not happen very often.
The scoring occurred early and often. After Hamlet’s Colin Wheeler brought home Alston Johnson with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning, Caleb Talton came home from third on a passed ball giving the Red Rams a 2-0 lead after one complete inning.
Rockingham answered when Shoan Hodges batted in Walker Lambeth in the top of the second, but Hamlet responded with an RBI double by Cameron Way in the bottom of the inning and Hamlet took a 3-1 lead into the third inning.
Again, Rockingham managed one run, this time when Will Dawkins skipped one straight over second base for an RBI single, cutting the Hamlet lead to one in the top of the third.
Then the Red Rams looked as though they were going to run away with it. Harley Honeycutt and Ethan Locklear reached on a walk and single, respectively, to start the bottom of the third inning. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Ahmad Shelton battled back and drew a walk to load the bases.
Chandler Orr chipped one into shallow left field for a two-RBI single. Shelton came home later on an error, and then Wheeler plated Blake Brown with an RBI-single to give Hamlet a 7-2 at the end of the third inning.
The Rockets did not go away. Hodges followed a leadoff walk by Lambeth by launching one down the third base line just out of reach of Talton, the Hamlet left fielder. Lambeth rounded second and kept going, but Talton scooped up the loose ball and made an impressive off-balanced throw to pickoff Lambeth at third base for the first out of the inning.
That did not deter Rockets. Cameron Seagraves, Matthew Walker and Ethan Clayton all had RBI-singles to once again bring the Rockets to within one at 7-6. Orr added one more for Hamlet in the bottom of the fourth when lined one into centerfield to bring home Lockear, but the Red Rams’ five-run lead had been reduced to two as they entered the fifth inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, Locklear kept the Rockets off of the scoreboard for the first time since the first inning. Way started off the bottom of the inning by blasting a 2-2 pitch all the way back to the left field fence for a leadoff double. Wheeler and Honeycutt each followed with walks to load the bases.
Hamlet added to their lead when Locklear’s sacrifice fly to center brought home Way. Back-to-back errors by the Rockets allowed Wheeler to come home and helped Hamlet to once again load the bases. The Red Rams added two more with a Johnson single that plated Honeycutt, and then Talton drew a walk with the bases loaded. Just like that, Hamlet had their largest lead of the game at 12-6.
Rockingham and Hamlet broke even in the sixth each scoring four runs. With two outs and runners on second and third, Rockingham’s Dawkins reached on an error. That error also allowed both runners to score. Later, with the bases loaded, Hodges drew a walk to bring home Dawkins. James Eason then sent one down the third base line for an RBI single for the fourth run of the inning.
Shelton scored two for Hamlet when he smacked the first offering from Rockingham’s pitcher, Eason, into shallow right field for a two-RBI single. Orr also took a swing at the first pitch, and had similar results. His shot to right field added another run and Johnson rounded out the Red Rams’ scoring with an RBI-single of his own.
The Rockets were down to their final three outs and facing a 16-10 deficit. The Rockets gave a valiant effort using three singles, a walk, and an error to score four runs, but their comeback hopes and their season came to an end when the last batter flied out to center for the final out of the game.
Having survived a furious rally from their rival, Hamlet will now have to face an undefeated Carver Middle School team in Laurel Hill for the conference title. The Eagles are 11-0 this season and have outscored their opponents by a mindboggling total of 199-10. They have won every game by mercy rule including a 16-4 win over the Red Rams in Hamlet earlier in the season.
“We have to put together a complete game in order to beat their high-powered offensive attack,” Peele said of Carver’s team. “They are a well-coached team that will capitalize on every mistake. Mentally we have to stay in the game all seven innings, stay focused, and stay hungry.”
The SEMSAC championship game will take place at Scotland High School at 6 p.m. on Monday.
