Matthew Berry and Mike Smith had the kind of night baseball players dream of.
Monday night, both were very much awake as they helped propel Rocky Mount Post 58 to a 9-6 victory over Cary Post 67 to go up 1-0 in the best of three series for the American Legion Area I title.
The two teams will meet in Game 2 Tuesday at Cary High School. Game time is 7 p.m.
With game tied at 6-all, Berry slammed a two-run home run over fence in left center to push Post 58 ahead. Minutes later, Mike Smith gave the squad some insurance when he singled in Spencer Bell from second to put Rocky Mount (23-5) up 9-6.
Berry had a three-run double in the first inning to fuel a five-run uprising by Post 58. It batted around to go up 5-1 after 1.
But Post 67 (18-6) hung around and hung around. Dillon Rudio's solo shot in the sixth tied it at 6-apiece before Berry's mammoth blast.
Berry ended the evening with six RBI (3-for-5 with two doubles and a homer), while Smith was 5-for-5 at the plate, collected a double and knocked in two runs.
Neither starter was around at the end, but Jeremy Trevathan (3-1) got the win with his two innings of work while Post 58 rallied for the win.
Rocky Mount Post 58 - 9
Cary Post 67 - 6
Post 67 100 220 100 - 6 11 1
Post 58 500 100 03x - 9 13 2
WP - Jeremy Trevathan (3-1; 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K)
LP - James Todd (5 IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 4K)
POST 67
Hitting results:
Grant Shambley - 3-4, RBI, R
Drew Woodall - 1-4, RBI (sac fly, 4th)
Stephen McKinney - 0-3, 2BB
Blair Betts - 0-3, 2K (lifted in the 4th)
sub - James Todd - 0-0, BB (thrown out at 2nd, 6th)
Antonio Colatino - 2-5, RBI (scored Shambley in the 1st), R
Dillon Rudio - 2-4, HR (solo shot to left center off Trellis Ashley, 5th), RBI, 2R
Joe Pistaccio - 2-3, R (lifted 5th)
sub - David Josam - 1-2
Gerrit VanGenderen - 0-3, RBI (sac fly, 5th)
Daniel Mason - 0-0
David Hamm - 0-4 (3Ks, 6-3 DP)
Pitching results
VanGenderen (2.2IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 7BB, 0K)
Todd (5IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) - Loss
Caleb Clark (.1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 0K)
POST 58
Hitting results
T.J. Taylor - 0-3, 3BB, R
Tyler Clark - 1-4, 2B, R
Collins Cuthrell - 1-3, 2BB, 3R
Thomas Berry - 1-3, 2B, BB
Matthew Berry - 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2R
Kyle Norville - 0-4 - lifted 6th
sub - Parker Helms - 0-1
Spencer Bell - 2-4, RBI, 2R, 2SB
Mike Smith - 5-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB
Cameron Ramsey - 0-2, 2BB - lifted 7th
sub - Fuller Weatherly - BB
Pitching results
Brandon Denton (4IP, 8H, 5R, 3ER, 3BB, 6K) - threw 107 pitches
Trellis Ashley (2IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 1K)
Jeremy Trevathan (2IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K) - Win
Bill Clark (1IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 1K)
Game Notes:
•Post 58 batted around in the first - 10 batters came to the plate - half of them scored.
•Post 58 had success in the bottom of the lineup (7,8,9) - it went 7-for-11 with a double, four RBI, four BB and two runs scored.
•Each team's final pitcher on the evening were home schooled and both were named "Clark" - Caleb Clark, Post 67; Bill Clark, Post 58.
•Post 58 is now 8-0 in the postseason (23-5 overall). It has won 22 of its last 23 games.
•Post 58 left 13 runners on base - at least one every inning, Post 67 left 10.
•Post 67's staff combined to walk 11 Post 58 batters.
•Post 67's Shambley reached base four straight times (1B, 1B, E6, 1B) before flying out to center in the 8th.
•Post 67 had four hits in the 5th that led to two runs. Post 58 had four hits in the first on the way to five runs.
•Bunts didn't go Post 67's way as it struck out twice on bunt attempts.
•Post 67 had only two hits over its last four innings - Rudio's HR (led of the 6th) and a Pistaccio single (7th).
