moves on
To face Fayetteville Post 4 tonight at 7
By JAKE POTTER
Whiteville Post 137 advanced past the first round of American Legion playoff action Monday night with a 13-9 win over Scotland County Post 50.
Post 137 took the series 3-1. They now are slated to face Fayetteville Post 4 in the Area 2-West Championship best-of-five series beginning tonight at 7 at Seventy-First High School in Fayetteville.
Runs were scored in nearly every inning in a Game 3 marred by 17 errors—10 from Post 137 and seven from Post 50.
Scotland started the scoring off early in the first inning, when Matt Adams, who tripled, scored off a Parker Bangs single.
Post 137 scored two runs in the bottom of the first to answer, thanks to an RBI from starting pitcher Robbie Penny and three Scotland errors which helped bring Penny in to score.
Scotland scored two of their own to regain the lead in the second inning off a Scott Myers sacrifice and an RBI single from Adams. Post 50 tallied two more in the third, capped by a Derrick Lowery home run.
But Post 137 tied the game at 5 with a strong rally. Ryan McCleney singled and scored off a Dustin Proctor sacrifice. Jordan McPherson’s double led to another run off a Scotland error and a Justin Creech single, coupled with another error, brought in one more run.
Both teams scored again in the fourth inning, with Scotland taking a 7-6 lead. Marquis Smith drove in the Post 137 run. Creech came in to relieve Penny midway through the inning.
Whiteville tied it up again at 8 in the fifth inning off a Creech RBI single and run scored on an error.
Scotland momentarily regained the lead 9-8 in the top of the sixth inning off a Nick Liles triple and Caleb Sutton’s RBI single, but it would be the last time they held a run advantage over Post 137.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Jordan McPherson hit a tremendous line drive double, bringing two runners in.
Post 137 tacked their final three runs on in the eighth inning as a Proctor single drove in one run and a Penny hit brought in two.
Creech earned the win, with three strikeouts and three walks.
Leading Post 137 hitters were McPherson (2-2, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Penny (2-4, 3 RBI), Creech (2-5, 2 RBI) and McCleney (3-4, 2 steals).
The winner of the Whiteville-Fayetteville series will earn an automatic berth in the state playoffs.
| Scotland | 122 | 211 | 000 | - | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Post 137 | 203 | 122 | 03x | - | 13 | 13 | 10 |
WP: Creech. LP: Patterson.