Hamlet Post 49 will host Beaufort Post 99 in the opening round of the American Legion state playoffs in the first of a five-game series 7 p.m. Monday.
The 49ers advanced in the postseason after sweeping Buggy Town Post 180 in a best-of-three series with their second victory coming in an 11-0 Tuesday night shutout.
“I like where we are. As long as we play our style of baseball, and play fundamentally sound baseball, it’s going to be hard to beat us. I like where we are, I like where we’re going and I like my guys,” said Coach Chip Gordon, after opening the Buggy Town best-of-three series with a 15-5 victory Monday.
While suffering from a shaky start Monday, where the 49ers allowed Buggy Town to post four runs by the third inning, Tuesday’s rematch seemed a scenario of complete domination with pitchers Riley Brown and Brady Fowler combining for a complete-game no-hitter. Brown and Fowler were just a pair of walks away from a perfect game Tuesday. Brown got the start, tallying seven strikeouts but a first inning walk prevented his performance from becoming immaculate. Fifty-four pitches into his performance, and the 49ers flirting with a mercy-rule while leading 9-0, Coach Gordon opted to Fowler.
Fowler, having already assisted in a three-pitcher no-hitter last week against Hope Mills, is no stranger to keeping a hot streak alive. However, the defense did most of the heavy lifting by securing the shutout without a groundout, a flyout and short stop Evan Hodges firing a throw to catcher Jacob Williams shishkabobing a runner attempting to steal home. Although ultimately ending the game with a throw to the plate, Hodges made a larger contribution to Tuesday’s victory in the batter’s box.
After drawing a walk to open the game, outfielder J.D. Scarbrough made the most of Buggy Town’s struggles on the mound after reaching third and home on wild pitches. Hodges posted the 49ers first RBI on a groundout, which was also the first of his team-leading three RBIs Tuesday night. After opening the second inning with a triple by second baseman Maddox Locklear, who went 2-2 with an RBI, Williams, who went 1-2, finished the job with an RBI single. With two runners in scoring position, Hodges found paydirt again with a with a two-RBI single – his only registered hit. Another wild pitch resulted in another Scarbrough run, which gave Hamlet a 6-0 lead by the end of the second inning.
Hamlet continued taking advantage of wild pitches and other Buggy Town errors. Third baseman Austin Mooring reached home on a wild pitch, then a groundout RBI by outfielder Landon Taylor took the 49ers’ lead to 8-0. A fourth-inning RBI single by Locklear pulled Hamlet within a run of the mercy-rule, but the 49ers achieved that on a single at-bat in the fifth to seal the victory. With outfielder James Eason at the plate, Taylor reached home on a wild pitch, and then an Eason RBI groundout scored Scarbrough.
With the win, the 49ers improved their record to 19-4 and extended their winning streak to 12 games. With postseason home-field advantage, the 49ers host Beaufort 7 p.m. Tuesday, then head on the road for 7 p.m. games Wednesday and Thursday respectively before returning to Hamlet Friday at 7 p.m. if necessary.