CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Walk-off cements Hamlet’s Area 2 title ahead of states

HAMLET — “Give them a show.” That was the message from Hamlet’s coaching staff as it made note of the hundreds of fans packed inside Memorial Park during Monday’s Area 2 Conference championship game.

Heading to the bottom of the eighth inning with the game tied at six runs, the Post 49 baseball team needed just two batters and nine pitches to give its fans its most electric show this summer.

Hosting Wilmington Post 10, Hamlet used the bat of JD Scarbrough (Pitt Community College) and the arm and baseball IQ of Evan Hodges (Richmond) to walk it off 7-6 and earn Hamlet’s first Area 2 title since returning to play in 2021.

An elusive third out in the top of the seventh inning unraveled a three-run lead for Hamlet, but Post 49 didn’t go away quietly down to its final three outs.

Tying the game in the home half of the seventh, Hamlet made its third pitching change of the game in the eighth. After a 1-2-3 inning from Hodges (win) on seven pitches, he and Scarbrough teamed up to record the team’s 16th win in its last 17 games.

Tyler Jumper (loss) became Wilmington’s fifth pitcher of the game and walked Hodges on five pitches to lead off the bottom of the eighth.

With Scarbrough at the plate and a 1-1 count, Hodges swiped second base to get into scoring position. Three pitches later, Scarbrough chopped an RBI single into right field as Hodges scored on the throw to the plate.

Hodges, initially held up at third by head coach Chip Gordon, made a good read when the ball was overthrown at the plate. He slid head first across the dish for the winning run, igniting a dogpile at second base to celebrate Scarbrough’s effort.

Not to be overlooked were the pitching performances of Jason Walker (Richmond), James Eason (Richmond) and Dylan Tilson (Scotland).

Walker made the start for Hamlet and pitched 6.2 quality innings and kept what Gordon called “a really good baseball team” in check at the plate. Walker allowed four earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts.

Eason, who had a big night at the plate with a team-high three hits, made an appearance in the seventh. He gave up two earned runs on three hits which made it a 6-4 deficit, but the offense helped erase the miscues.

Tilson ended the agony of a five-run top of the seventh by Wilmington (18-5), facing one batter and getting a 6-3 putout from Hodges at short to first baseman Riley Brown (Richmond).

Walker put up a zero in the run column through the first five innings, and saved a run in the top of the first by tagging out Trey Pierce at the plate while trying to score on a wild pitch.

Hamlet took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning off starting pitcher Ryder Whitaker (four innings, one run, three hits).

Eason, who singled earlier in the inning, scored when the throw on a double play attempt sailed high at first base.

Facing just four batters in both the fourth and fifth innings, Walker preserved the one-run lead. Hamlet sent six batters to the plate in the fifth to score two runs against reliever Aiden McBride (one inning, two runs, three hits).

Sending his third single of the game into the outfield grass, Eason led off the inning with a hit. Moving to second on a groundout, Eason scored when Scarbrough sent a ground ball to the right side and a throwing error allowed both runners to advance two bases.

Following a single to left field by Austin Mooring (Union Pines), one of Hamlet’s eight hits, John Carre (Pinecrest) made it 3-0 with an RBI single that bounced over second base.

Luke Vargo cut Wilmington’s deficit to 3-1 with a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth. Walker, however, escaped the inning and left two runners on first and second.

Another error by Post 10, one of its five in the loss, yielded another run for Post 49 in the home half. Hodges reached safely on the mistake which plated Isaac Hinshaw from third, who had two singles in the win.

Wilmington’s five runs in the top of the seventh were all scored with two outs. Post 10 used two RBI singles, a two-RBI double from Vargo and another RBI base hit to take a 6-4 lead. Tilson got Patrick Boldt to ground into the inning-ending out.

Down to its final three outs, Hamlet chipped away at reliever Jacob Kinlaw (one inning, two runs, three walks) without getting a hit to tie it 6-6.

Scarbrough (hit-by-pitch) and Carter Bean (Pinecrest, walk) reached safely to lead off the inning and later moved into scoring position on stolen bases.

With two outs and the bases loaded after Hinshaw was plunked, Jacob Williams (Union Pines) and Maddox Locklear (Scotland) drew back-to-back walks on nine pitches to record an RBI apiece and give Hamlet new life.

Kinlaw recorded a strikeout with the bases still loaded to send the game to extras.

In the eighth, Hodges got a groundout, fly out and a strikeout looking to send Post 49 back to the batter’s box, setting the walkoff in motion.

Hamlet will get the rest of the week off before attending the opening ceremonies of the North Carolina state tournament Friday in Cherryville, N.C.

As Area 2’s top seed, Post 49 (23-5) will play its first game in the double-elimination tournament Saturday against Union County Post 535 (20-11), which was the Area 4 runner-up, at 10 a.m.

The game will be played at Cherryville High School, located at 313 Ridge Avenue.

The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Monday’s Area 2 championship win soon.