BUIES CREEK—Cherryville Post 100 held off Hope Mills Post 32 for a hard-fought 6-4 day-one win at the American Legion Baseball North Carolina State Tournament at Campbell University in Buies Creek.
Joseph Webb threw a complete game for Cherryville, giving up four runs on six hits. The righthander struck out 11 Post 32 hitters, while hitting two batters and walking just one.
After neither team was able to get a baserunner as far as second base over the first three innings, it was Hope Mills that struck first in the top of the fourth.
Spencer Perez was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored the game’s first run on Caleb Shinn’s run-scoring single. Shinn would score later in the inning on a RBI groundout off the bat of Donovan Whitfield to make it 2-0.
But Post 100 answered in the home half of the inning when the first six batters that went to the plate reached safely.
Back-to-back infield errors allowed Cole Irby and Ashton Pope to reach base. Then a Landon Jenkins infield single scored Irby to trim the lead to 2-1. Jacob Hamrick’s infield hit loaded the bases, and Will Blackburn followed with an infield base hit that scored Pope to tie the game at two apiece.
The third Cherryville run of the inning came when Reid Stroupe was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, sending Jenkins home to give Post 100 a 3-2 edge.
After Post 32 tied the game in the top of the sixth inning on Caleb Holland’s RBI single, Cherryville seemed to take control in the bottom of the frame.
Will Blackburn doubled down the leftfield line, and Stroupe followed with a single. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, with Blackburn giving Post 100 the lead again at 4-3. Cole Irby’s sacrifice-fly RBI scored Stroupe, and Collin Robinson, who had reached on a walk, scored on a double steal to make it a 6-3 game.
But Hope Mills wouldn’t go quietly in the seventh.
Ethan Weinard, Cooper Strickland and Louis Smelcer all singled in the inning with Weinard scoring on a wild pitch to make it 6-4 with just one out and the tying runners at second and third.
But Webb got back-to-back strikeouts to close the door and give Post 100 the opening day victory.
Hahn, Jenkins, Hamrick and Blackburn all had two hits to lead Cherryville, who improved to 26-12 overall this season.
Hope Mills 000 201 1 - 4 6 2
Cherryville 000 303 x - 6 10 1
Fuquay-Varina 10, Cherryville 3
After the two teams matched runs in the first inning, Fuquay-Varina exploded for a six-run third inning to take control of the game.
Post 100’s runs came when Landon Hahn singled and later scored on an interference call in the first, and in the fourth inning when Will Fowler walked and scored on a wild pitch and Jacob Hamrick doubled and came across on a run-scoring single from Hahn.
Fuquay-Varina out hit Cherryville nine to three for the game.
Kanon Willis took the loss for Post 100 on the mound. Nolan Connaughton got the win for Fuquay-Varina.
Cherryville (1-1) was to face Randolph County (2-0) in their third and final “pool-play” game on Thursday afternoon. Fuquay-Varina (1-1) was scheduled to take on Hope Mills in the final game of the day.
Fuquay-Varina 106 011 1 - 10 9 2
Cherryville 100 200 0 - 3 3 2
Wilmington 4, Queen City 1
Pitt County 5, Rowan Co. 2 (11 inn.)
Cherryville 6, Hope Mills 4
Randolph Co. 6, Fuquay-Varina 0
Queen City 10, Pitt County 7
Randolph County 6, Hope Mills 1
Rowan County 5, Wilmington 4
Fuquay-Varina 10, Cherryville 3
(Published July 29, 2022)
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