Pitt County ends Post 13 season with game 4 rout

Playing a game 5 Saturday was not on the list of things to do for the Pitt County American Legion baseball team. Wilson suffered the consequences with a season-ending 10-1 defeat in game 4 in the semifinals of the Area I East Division playoffs in Fleming Stadium on Friday night.

Because of the 97-degree temperature, the game’s starting time was delayed 30 minutes and resulted in a lower temperature. However, only the Post 39 bats heated up.

Pitt County slugged two home runs, a double and a single that landed at the base of the fence in turning back No. 3-seeded Post 13 for the fifth time in six meetings this season.

“We had to win three games,” Pitt County third baseman Mason Hobbs explained. “We came up here ready to win — so we don’t play a game 5. Today we played great. We did not play our best (in 3-0 loss to Post 13 in game 2), but in the other three games, we definitely showed up ready to play.”

“They were our Achilles heel,” acknowledged Wilson head coach Matt Ballance. “They were the better offensive team.”

Pitt County outscored Post 13, 38-15, in the four games in advancing into the Area I East Division championship series against Wayne County, which swept No. 4 Roanoke in three games. The best-of-five series begins Monday with top-seeded Wayne County the host.

Post 39, the No. 2 seed, advances with a 14-6 record, while Wilson exits with a 15-11 mark after tying for third place in the East Division regular season.

“It sucks to be in the position we are,” Ballance lamented. “I know how good a team we are. In all honesty, I am super proud of the team.”

But bright spots were sparse for Wilson in game 4. Post 13’s starting pitcher failed to last four innings for the third time and offensive frustration stemmed from the continued struggles with two-out hitting and productive hitting with runners on base.

Pitt County starting pitcher Josh Tripp repeatedly missed the barrel of Wilson bats with breaking pitches and occasional fastballs. He lasted 5 2/3 innings in claiming the win.

The offense rolled up 11 hits and zipped to a 3-0 lead after two innings. A Post 39 hitter did not strike out until right-hander Nick Worrell, the fifth Post 13 pitcher, registered two strikeouts in the top of the seventh or last inning.

“We were swinging,” clamored Post 39 head coach Christian Stokes. “When that works out, it’s a pretty good day to be playing baseball.”

Commended Ballance: “They swing it as well as anybody we have played. They have a really good two-strike approach. They’re a tough out. They beat us with five arms (pitchers in four games) and we showed nine.”

Hobbs triggered the Pitt County assault with a 2-4 effort that kept his batting average around .500. He drove in four runs and scored a pair. Hobbs homered in both games 3 and 4.

“It was a curve ball, middle, middle,” he said of his blast for the distance. “He (Wilson starting pitcher Carter Batts) is actually my first cousin.”

Hobbs powered a two-run shot in the top of the second. Center fielder Rahkeem Williams, the No. 9 hitter in the Post 39 lineup, connected for a towering blast, his first 2024 homer that was also a two-run shot in the fourth, resulting in Batts’ exit.

“Yeah, he hit one off me,” Batts said of Hobbs. “I felt good and I thought I threw pretty well. I made two mistakes; I hung two curve balls and they were hit out.”

Ballance observed: “What gets me is that both home runs were on 0-2 counts.”

Tripp and Hobbs opened the game with back-to-back singles, with Tripp scoring. Hobbs unloaded after Tripp’s double in the second. Williams’ homer also plated second baseman Rooke Knittle, who had walked.

Along with the 11 hits, Post 39 benefited from eight walks and a hit batsman. Rooks led a stout defense with a couple of flashy plays, and as Hobbs, who will continue his career at Catawba Valley, noted: “Our pitcher was doing his job — missing barrels.”

Tripp helped his cause with a double and single in three at-bats and three runs scored. Williams went 3 for 4 with three RBIs.

Post 13 cut the deficit to 3-1 in the third when designated hitter Maurice Love walked to lead off and scored on the catcher’s two-base throwing error to first base as Worrell managed a single on a roller in front of the plate.

Arguably, the turning point occurred later in the inning. Wilson loaded the bases on Worrell’s bleeder and back-to-back walks with two outs. Shortstop J.D. Graziani, the No. 5 hitter, attacked Tripp’s first pitch and was retired on a foul pop to first base.

“That definitely changed the mood, the tempo,” expressed Worrell, who will continue his career at Brunswick Community College. “(Post 39) definitely had the momentum after that.”

Worrell paced Wilson, going 2 for 2 at the plate and pitching a sharp final inning.

“I hadn’t pitched in a while,” he noted, “and, if we had won, I was going to be the game 5 pitcher. I was just a fresh arm that came in.

“We knew we could win it. We had the pitching left. But it’s the game of baseball and, sometimes, changes don’t go your way.

“Our defense could have helped the pitching more. But (Post 39) also did a really good job of swinging the bat. We didn’t play our best; but hats off to them. … They played really good.”

The 2-for-2 showing left Worrell with a final .325 batting average. His 16 extra-base hits included a homer. He drove in 19 runs and stole 10 bases.

“It was not as good as I thought I could do,” Worrell reviewed the summer. “but not bad.

“We started off really hot (10-3) record, defeated High Point, ranked No. 1 in the state; and were briefly the top-ranked team in the state. But there is always a pause in the season when you run into a roadblock. It’s what you do after that that determines your success.”

Worrell, Tyler Coates, Reid Willoughby and Seth Evans followed Batts, the loser, to the mound. Seventeen of Wilson’s 18 players were available for Friday’s game, and Ballance pointed out 14 are eligible to return next season.

Pitching fell off in the playoffs, with Ballance expressing: “I don’t know whether it was the consistency around the zone not being where it needed to be, or our pitchers got behind in the count too much.

“It was just not meant to be.”

Score by innings:

Post 39 120 430 0 — 10

Post 13 001 000 0 — 1

W-Josh Tripp 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO. L-Carter Batts 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO.

LEADING HITTERS — Pitt County: Josh Tripp 2-3, 2B, 3 R; Mason Hobbs 2-4, HR, 4 RBIs, 2 R; Rahkeem Williams 3-4, HR, 3 RBIs, 2 R; Rooke Knittle 2-3, 2 R; Max Mason 1-4, 2 RBIs. Wilson: Nick Worrell 2-2; J.D. Graziani 1-2.

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