Saint Albans – The success story for Beckley Post 32 Top Prospects Thursday night in game one of the Area 3 American Legion Tournament matched the regular season formula – score quick and score often.
The Beckley boys sent six runs across in each of the first three innings and hammered out 12 hits to rout Winfield Post 187, 18-4, in a game that was never close.
Beckley Post 32 will now play the winner between No. 2 seed South Charleston and No. 3 seed Charleston Post 65 Friday night at 8 p.m.
Nicholas County all-stater Cole Brown set Winfield down in order, two by strikeout, to start the first frame. Riding the momentum, Post 32 went to work immediately in the home half of the inning.
Bryson Redmond jump-started the Beckley machine with a two-out single scoring Jake Meadows and Reece Patterson who both had reached on a walk.
Brown made it two aboard when he was hit by a pitch before Gavin Bennett ripped a double to right field for a four-run lead. Bennett’s Greenbrier East teammate, Peyton DeHaven, capped the six run first inning with a double scoring two more.
After 10 Post 32 batters went to the dish in the first inning, Beckley topped that by sending 12 more to the plate an inning later to break the game wide-open.
Brayden Kiblinger, along with Patterson were both plunked to open the at-bat before Adam Richmond singled home the first run of the inning.
Back-to-back singles from Brown and Bennett pushed two more runs across and an error on Grayson Kesterson’s ground ball gave Beckley a 10-0 advantage.
Meadows capped the six run explosion with two-run double.
Colten Tate came on to pitch the third for Beckley, recording three straight outs ahead the Beckley recording its third consecutive six-run inning.
Tate doubled to start the bottom of the third and scored on Bennett’s fourth RBI of the game. Two hits batters, a walk and a sacrifice fly later, Beckley held 18-0 lead and the game was never in doubt.
Brown and Tate combined for three shutout innings before some loose relief work for Post 32 allowed four runs to cross in the fourth. The rough stretch included six walks, a single and a sacrifice fly.
It was the last gas for Winfield, however, who went in order in the fifth.
Bennett led the way going 3-for-3 with a double. DeHaven tallied three RBI, while Richmond and Redmond had two each.
