Pitching struggles continue to plague Post 49

HAMLET — One number stood out to Hamlet American Legion Post 49 baseball coach Chip Gordon in the aftermath of Tuesday’s 14-3 loss to Port City Post 545.

Twenty — to be specific, 20 runners on base via walk or hit-by-pitch.

“We’re struggling throwing strikes,” Gordon said. “(Tuesday), we put 20 runners on base via the walk or the hit-by-pitch. You can’t defend the walk, you can’t defend the hit-by-pitch. That’s 20 free passes, and that’s not a recipe for success.”

Post 545 was able to score 14 runs, despite only tallying four hits. Port City scored five runs from four RBIs in the third inning, but Hamlet dug itself a hole in the fourth and fifth innings that it couldn’t dig itself out of.

After three straight walks led off the top of the fourth inning and loaded the bases with no outs, Port City’s Ty Little hit a two-RBI single. However, Hamlet was able to get out of the inning after that with a tag out and ground out on the bases.

In the fifth inning, walks and errors loaded the bases again, and a two-RBI single added to Post 545’s total. Then, another walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with one out. Hamlet then proceeded to give up runs via bases-loaded walks in four of the next five at-bats.

“It comes down to throwing strikes,” Gordon said. “In every game we’ve played this year, if we limit the walks, we’re in all of those ballgames. We’re not playing bad baseball, we just can’t throw strikes. We start throwing strikes, it would look like a completely different team on the field.”

Gordon said he’s still looking for his starters and bullpen to step up and “grit and bear through it.”

Hamlet threw five different pitchers against Post 545, with Trace Ricketts seeing the most time on the mound with a little over two innings of work. Josh Griggs got the start, but was pulled for Ricketts after 1.7 innings. Jacob Lomax, Dexter Jones and Kenneth Brown all saw time on the mound.

“We’re going to keep working on mechanics, keep putting people out there and find out who wants to pitch,” Gordon said. “We just have to start filling the strike zone out, pitching to contact and letting our defense make the plays.”

Hamlet’s three runs came courtesy of Ra’Nik Little and Jake Clemmons. Little’s RBI single in the bottom of the third inning scored Harley Honeycutt, who got on base with a walk.

Clemmons’ two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning scored Ethan McKay and Cole Dutton, who both reached on errors by Post 545.

“We got some kids that are listening and trying to learn,” Gordon said. “We have some kids that are gritting and bearing through the bad innings. A lot of kids are working hard to get better. We just have to get more kids to buy in to what it is we’re talking, teaching, and once we get them to buy in, things will starting turning around.”