Tuesday’s American Legion baseball game at Shuey Field ended like it started, with Burke County Post 21 scoring the first run in the first inning and the final run in its last at bat in the bottom of the eighth.
In between, Burke and visiting Alexander County Post 170 each went into offensive mode, and at the end of the contest Burke had nabbed a crucial 13-12 victory to kick off the final week of the regular season.
Just two days after a rare legion shutout in a road loss to Shelby, Post 21 (6-8, 5-8 Area IV West) found some offensive rhythm at home in a roller-coaster ball game, scoring the game-winning run after Alexander had tied the scored at a dozen apiece on a three-run home run in the top of the eighth.
Later that inning, Post 21 hitting hero Justin O’Dear slapped his fourth hit of the night into center field for his fifth RBI, sending Tre Young motoring in from second with the go-ahead score.
Burke's third reliever, Donnie Hughes, shut down the Post 170 batters in the ninth with the help of a great diving catch on the third out by centerfielder Cameron Moore.
“This is what we needed tonight after a couple of tough outings,” Post 21 coach Ron Swink said. “We had a lot of players step up, especially Justin O’Dear. His five RBIs and final two hits really kept us in the game. Donnie continues to help us, as he found ways to get on base tonight and then pitched a couple of strong innings for the win.”
The offensive clash was wide open from the first, with Alexander battling back every time Post 21 had taken the lead. Post 170 led 3-2 in the second and 8-6 in the fifth, while Burke’s biggest leads came at 6-3 in the third and 12-9 in the seventh.
“It was a team effort,” Swink added, “and I am very proud of the way we kept coming back. I hope we can finish the regular season with the same intensity at the plate as we had tonight.”
Post 21 ended with 13 runs on 12 hits, six walks, and two hit batsmen for a total of 20 base runners in the game. Post 170 picked up its 12 runs on 15 hits, six walks and four Burke errors for 25 base runners in the contest.
O’Dear tacked on three runs scored to his big day, while Hughes reached base four times with a single, two walks and three runs. Young scored three runs on a double and two walks, Brent Rowe finished with two doubles, a run and two RBIs, Alex McGee hit a two-run home run and drew a walk and Cam Waters added a solo home run, single, and two runs.
Mason Webb started on the mound for Burke and shut down the hard-hitting Taylorsville crew in the first and third innings before running into some problems in the fourth. Logan Cook came in and did a strong job in relief for four innings, striking out five Alexander batters, and Hughes picked up the win with his final 1 2/3 innings of work.
Post 21 traveled to Rutherford County Post 423 late Wednesday (see Friday’s News Herald for results) and plays at Hickory tonight before returning home for the regular-season finale Saturday versus Henderson County Post 77.
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