FLORENCE — With home-field advantage and a pitching-weary Conway team, Post 1 was hoping to take an early lead in its second-round American Legion playoff series.
Conway did its part with a five-error performance, leading to seven unearned runs and a near gift-wrapped win.
But four Post 1 errors, including three in the final three innings, gave the game right back.
Conway scored five runs, three unearned, in the final three frames to pull out a come-from-behind, 9-8 win over Florence on Monday at American Legion Field.
Florence travels to Conway tonight for game two of the best-of-five series, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m.
“I’m extremely disappointed right now,” Post 1 coach Derick Urquhart said after the game. “We didn’t make the routine plays late and we didn’t execute. We didn’t get a sacrifice bunt down, had bases loaded, one out and didn’t get a run in and had a baserunning mistake at third.
“We gave that one to them. But it is one game and the guys have to suck it up and come out ready to play Tuesday in what is basically a must-win game.”
Much like in the preseason game against Conway, Post 1 built a sizable lead. Entering the seventh inning, Florence led 7-3 with starter Chris Wallace still on the mound.
But Florence managed just four hits after the fifth inning, and Post 111 was able to chip away at the lead. Conway plated two runs in the seventh behind Ryne Hardwick’s two-run single as Post 111 cut the lead to 7-5.
Florence got another gift run in the bottom half as Spencer Jordan drove in his second run of the night in the form of Cody Ritch, who reached on an error. Jordan finished 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Trailing 8-5, three straight hits to open up the eighth inning brought Conway back to within two runs. Two batters later, Florence’s third error of the night brought home another run, and Hardwick burned Post 1 again with his third RBI of the night to knot the score at 8-8.
“Just like in the first game, we started making mental errors and throwing the ball around and then put the bats away,” Urquhart said. “It’s very frustrating to lose that way again.”
It got even worse for Post 1 in the ninth. With John Taylor on the mound, Conway hit into two quick outs. After a Jeff Caskey single, Post 1’s final error proved to be its undoing as a grounder to third base ended up rattling around near the Florence dugout, allowing the winning run to score.
Taylor was the hard-luck loser, allowing one unearned run in one inning of work. Corbin Brown picked up the win for Conway, tossing the final 2 2/3 innings in relief.
Wallace allowed five runs, three earned, on nine hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Robert Skinner was 3-for-5 with an RBI for Florence. Keith Branco and Ritch each had two hits, and Landis Lane drove in a run for Post 1 on an RBI groundout.
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