HAMLET — A lot of green and gold will blend together into blue and white this summer for the Hamlet American Legion baseball program.
A new era of Post 49 baseball is set to begin this week as Hamlet and first-year head coach Eric Brown are set to open the summer slate.
Brown, a career educator and Hamlet native, has served as the head baseball coach at Richmond Senior High School the past three years.
With a dozen years of high school coaching experience, the former New York Mets draft pick is ready to lead Post 49 forward after taking over the program this summer. Former head coach Chip Gordon stepped down after five seasons.
Along with assistant coaches Ryan Mercer and Kevin Wallace, both of whom also work and coach at Richmond, Brown said the focus this summer is developing local talent.
“We’ve got a great group of guys playing for the team this summer,” Brown said. “The majority of the team is made up of guys from Richmond, which gives us an advantage already because they’re familiar with one another and us as coaches, and they have great team chemistry.
“With that strong foundation, our focus this summer is player and team development,” he continued. “The goal of our coaching staff is to help make each player better in all facets of his game. Summer baseball is meant to be fun, and we want to ensure the guys enjoy playing the game while also getting better.”
Post 49 will boast a 16-player roster this summer, with 13 players either currently or formerly representing the Richmond Raider Diamond.
Returning from his freshman season at Johnson & Wales University will be 2025 Richmond graduate Jabari Douglas, a speedy outfielder who can provide a spark at the top of the batting order.
Recent Richmond graduates who are playing this summer include Evan Hodges (Lenoir Community College), Maddox Locklear and Caden Nolan (Belmont Abbey College). All three were named All-Conference players and led the Raiders to their first conference title in a decade.
Hodges will double dip as the team’s primary catcher and also see some innings on the mound. Nolan, who was second in the entire state with 111 strikeouts this past season, will serve as Hamlet’s go-to arm on the mound and play shortstop.
Locklear is a shutdown third baseman with the ability to throw innings for Post 49. All three now former Raiders found success at the plate this past season, using a mixture of power and contact hitting to produce a lot of runs.
Six other players on this summer’s team were regular varsity contributors for the Raiders – Julius Bowden, Tristan Chavis, Drew Gause, Devin Haynes, Noah Stubbs and Jakob Trexler.
Gause, a second baseman, and Haynes, who can play short and pitch, were also named All-Conference this spring for the first time. A contact hitter, Gause was top 10 in the conference in total hits and batting average. Haynes excelled in his role as a relief pitcher and was top 10 in runs batted in.
Bowden and Stubbs, both rising sophomores, were every day starters for Richmond during their freshman campaign. A trusty glove in left field, Bowden proved he can hit for contact and use his speed to score, while Stubbs was a reliable glove at first base and found his offensive groove late in the season.
Chavis made a handful of appearances for the Raiders on the mound in relief outings this spring, and Trexler served primarily as a courtesy runner and back up infielder. Both rising seniors are looking to take on larger roles this summer.
The other three Richmond players – rising sophomores Nate Culbreth, Colton Nelson and Sam O’Neal – were junior varsity players who got called up for the playoffs. Culbreth started in both of Richmond’s playoff games in right field.
Nelson was the JV team’s primary pitcher this spring, along with battery mate O’Neal behind the plate.
Rounding out the roster are Miken Concepcion and Bradley Hogan (both from Christ the Cornerstone Academy) and Elijah Hollingsworth (Hoke County High School).
“There is a great mixture of talent on this team, whether that’s offensively or in the field,” Brown said. “We’re excited to welcome the new guys from Scotland and Hoke counties and believe they will contribute to our success.
“We are confident that we will compete in every game no matter who is on the mound,” he added. “Trusting our defense and letting it work has been our philosophy and we expect that to carry the team this summer. With good pitching and defense, our bats will follow.”
Hamlet is looking to bounce back from a mediocre season in 2025 which resulted in an 11-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the Area 3 North Pod 2 standings.
Post 49 wasn’t able to return to the state tournament for the second consecutive season after doing so in 2024. The 49ers were swept in the opening round of the conference tournament playoffs by Randolph Post 81.
“Of course we want to win ball games, that’s always an objective,” Brown said. “And the state tournament is obviously a goal, too. But we can’t look too far ahead. We need to compete throughout the season to be able to put ourselves in a position to do well in the playoffs.
“We’re ready for the season to start and hope the community will continue to support the program,” Brown closed. “These guys are out here because they love the game of baseball and want to put a quality product on the field for Richmond County.”
Click here for a complete schedule for the Hamlet American Legion senior baseball team.
Post 49 will host its season and home opener Wednesday at Memorial Park. An early-season change to the schedule will see the 49ers host Moore County Post 12.
Pre-game ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by first pitch at 7 p.m.
