Kinston Post 43 returned to Viking Field on Friday determined not to be embarrassed by Jacksonville Post 265 for the second straight night.
What a difference a day makes.
Ryan Cobb went 3-for-3 with a home run, Marc Hamilton went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs and Ben Brann made pitches when he had to as Post 43 made up for Thursday’s mercy-rule debacle with a 7-3 win over Jacksonville Friday night at Viking Field.
“When they came out here tonight they knew they were going to play a good ballclub, and I heard a couple of them say, ‘We’re not going to take the beating we took last night and we’ve got to do something about it,’” Post 43 manager Ronnie Battle said.
“The way we got shellacked last night. … Once the sun comes up it’s another day.”
Less than 24 hours after falling 16-6 at Jacksonville, Post 43 (2-1) looked like a completely different team, and so did Post 265 (4-3).
Like Thursday’s game Kinston struck first on Friday. But unlike Thursday it didn’t let up.
Post 43 answered a three-run fourth inning by Jacksonville with a pair in its half of the frame, one courtesy of an RBI double by Hamilton and the other on a run-scoring groundout from Wesley Melvin.
Then Kinston showed its speed in the fifth with a pair of stand-up triples, one that led off the home-half by Grant Tyndall — his third triple in as many games — and another by Cobb, who came a double shy of the cycle.
Sammy West’s sac fly scored Tyndall for the 4-3 lead, and that was enough to hold the win. But Post 43 wasn’t finished.
Cobb led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot to left, then Kinston followed with four consecutive singles off reliever Cole Jones that allowed Dylan Puchalski and Garrett Holland to score.
Post 43 loaded the bases with no outs, but Jones induced back-to-back fielder’s choices that got the force out at the plate then got West to fly out to center field to end the inning.
But not before a one-run game turned into an insurmountable lead for Jacksonville, which was held to nine hits after breaking out for a season-best 19 the night before.
“I know how good of a team (Post 43 has), and they didn’t play to their potential last night, and even coach Battle will tell you that,” Post 265 manager Mike Daley said. “Tonight that was the real Kinston team. They came out, played well. They’ve got a great hitting ballclub.”
With the offense getting things going again after being held to five hits on Thursday, left-hander Ben Brann worked his way out of trouble early and got some solid defensive play behind him for eight innings.
Brann walked Christian Kercado and Joe Curran to start the game then gave up a single up the middle to Andrew Hartness. But Kercado was thrown out at the plate by Tyndall from center field to eliminate the run, and Brann got Corey Case and Spencer Howard to fly out in consecutive at-bats to end the threat.
A leadoff single by Sean Blake in the third was erased when Hamilton caught Curran trying to steal to end the inning. And in the eighth a 5-4-3 double play took the place of Post 43’s only error on the night to keep that run from scoring.
Brann (1-0) gave up three earned runs on seven hits, struck out two and walked four.
Garrett Blackburn pitched a scoreless ninth and gave up two hits.
“(Brann) and Marc (Hamilton) did a good job of mixing pitches up,” Battle said. “Brann did some quality work out there. Great work.”
Andrew Hartness went 2-for-4 with a double and Dawnoven Smith went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for Post 265, which left eight men on base was just 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
A lot of that had to do with the speedy outfield of Post 43, made up to Tyndall, Cobb and West.
The trio combined for seven putouts, most hit to the gaps in the spacious ballpark.
“The speed limit sign says 55, then the next one says speed kills. You cannot have an answer for speed,” Battle said. “I think that each game we play in, we’re beginning to utilize our speed a whole lot more. … It’s a big asset to us.”
Notes: Zachary Scalzo, Howard and Smith each singled home a run in the fourth to account for Post 256’s runs. … Heath Scurlock gave up four earned runs on seven hits, struck out four and walked two in the loss. … The game lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes, and was delayed about 15 minutes at the start due to an umpire’s late arrival. … Kinston hosts Jones County Post 154 at 7 tonight.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter@: KFPSports.
Post 265 000 300 000—3 9 3
Post 43 100 210 03x—7 12 1
Scurlock, Jones (6) and Scalzo; Brann, Blackburn (9) and Hamilton. W—Brann. L—Scurlock. HRs—Post 256: None. Post 43: Cobb.