Post 13 unveils arms; offense needs tweaking

In its first 2024 opportunity to face live pitching and hitting, the Wilson American Legion baseball team neither won nor lost in Fleming Stadium on a humid Friday night.

Maybe that was too bad. The score that didn’t matter after the planned exhibition of nine innings read: Post 13 5-3 over the Game Time Prospects 17-Under National team.

The Prospects, owned by Wayne Turnage of Pitt County and in existence as a team for less than a decade, took the field for the first time and were missing at least four players from South Central High and Wake Forest.

Friday night was scheduled to be Post 13’s opener against Pitt County Post 39. However, Post 39 is delaying its season because its South Central players are playing for the NCHSAA 4-A championship. The Prospects were a late replacement for Post 39 and head coaches Matt Ballance of Wilson and C.J. Reik of the Prospects agreed upon a nine-inning exhibition — in which some rules were loosely interpreted. Hitters batted in more than one spot in the order and position players were stationed where they were eligible as well as where they weren’t eligible.

The immediate impression was that Post 13 of the Area I East Division possesses capable, promising arms (pitchers).

“I was very pleased with the arms,” Ballance said. “Overall, the pitching was good; it looked pretty sharp.”

Wilson utilized eight pitchers with only right-hander Landon Coleman working two innings. Coleman struck out all six batters he retired. He overpowered Prospects’ hitters with fastballs his first inning and concentrated more on his breaking pitch the second inning.

Carter Batts, the starter; Tyler Coates, Tristan Stancil, Gage Lockhart, Mason Sasser, Reid Willoughby and Nick Worrell each toiled an inning. Stancil, Willoughby and Worrell each gave up a runn

The ninth or closer inning was reserved for Worrell with the expectation he will occupy the closer’s role during the regular season. Worrell allowed an unearned run, yielded one hit and issued a walk.

He hasn’t thrown very much,” Ballance noted of Worrell. “I know what I am going to get from him. He can be the guy that fits into the closer’s role.”

The eight Wilson pitchers allowed but four hits and registered 14 strikeouts. Walks totaled six.

But how about the sticks?

“We did an OK job swinging the bats,” Ballance expressed. “We were a little too eager. We were looking gap-to-gap instead of base hit-to-base hit. But we did a pretty good job of getting guys across when we got them on base. But the one thing I was a little disappointed with was the offense.

“I thought we did a really good job defensively.”

Jake Flowers doubled in the first Wilson run in the bottom of the first inning. The big inning was the three-run fifth. Worrell singled and Peyton Clay rapped a two-run double. Gage Lockhart also singled.

“Game Time was a pretty good little group,” Ballance added.

The Prospects’ Reik, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1999, assessed: “The guys did OK. This is the first time they’ve played nine innings, and they got gassed in about the sixth inning and realized they had to play three more innings. The pitchers did well. If you put the ball over the plate, good things are going to happen. If the bats wake up, we win that game.”

Zach Overman’s two hits paced the Prospects’ offense. Center fielder Derrick Davis hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning and Carson Duncan drilled an RBI double in the eighth. Game Time was limited to one hit through seven innings.

The defender shining brightest was Prospects’ center fielder Davis, who came up with a pair of excellent catches.

Reik attributes the team name to Turnage. He noted the Prospects basically play tournaments and are not members of a league. The roster consists primarily of players from eastern North Carolina.

“Our objective,” said Reik, “is to get those who want to be players to the next level. They want to be seen.”

Game Time’s first tournament is next weekend in Charlotte. The season continues into early November.

Either a win or a loss will be at stake when Post 13 travels to Wayne County on Monday to play in the Memorial Day Invitation at the C35 Complex. Wilson opposes Moore County at 7 p.m. Moore County replaces Louisburg, which folded.

“Tonight was all about getting players some time,” Ballance pointed out. “Any time you technically win and play 20 players, that’s doing pretty good. We needed to knock the rust off a little bit.”

Ballance heartily thanked the Game Time team for coming to Post 13 assistance, allowing the Wilson team to see its first 2024 live action.

“Hats off to them for letting this happen,” he said. “They are a class act and great people.”

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