EASTHAMPTON — A high-scoring second inning made the difference for Wilbraham Post 286 as it rolled to a 9-3 win over Easthampton Post 224 in American Legion play, Wednesday at Nonotuck Park.
After a quiet first inning, Post 286 (3-3) scored six runs in the second en route to the win. Easthampton fell to 3-5.
Arnold Lee led off the second for Post 286 with a line drive single to center field. One-out walks to Jake Roberts and Cameron Guyer loaded the bases.
Dylan Hathaway hit a single up the third base line to send Lee home and give Post 286 the first run of the game.
Jacob Breton hit a single to right field, sending Roberts home for a 2-0 advantage and loading the bases again. Andrew Rhodes then tripled on a deep line drive to left field, sending Guyer, Hathaway and Breton across the plate and stretching the lead to 5-0. Rhodes scored on a passed ball to give Post 286 a 6-0 advantage before the inning was out.
“We got behind a little bit on batters,” Easthampton coach Joe Dushane said. “The bottom line is, we’ve got to get ahead in counts and make the plays. I believe the hitting will come around.”
Wilbraham scored three more runs in the top of the fifth to extend its lead to 9-1.
“We had a little help on their side with the walks” in the second inning, said Wilbraham coach Glen Guyer. “But a couple of key hits for us.”
Faced with a six-run deficit and with two outs in the bottom of the third, Camden Kelly broke through with a single to left field for Easthampton’s first hit. A double from Maxwell Weir scored Kelly.
Despite rallying with a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth, Post 224 couldn’t overcome the second inning.
Thomas Quinn struck out five over three innings to earn the win for Wilbraham. Breton finished with three RBIs.
Brandon Bennett took the loss for Post 224. Steve Moussette, Hunter Leveille and Hunter Brooks each added one hit.
Easthampton will host Westfield Friday, while Wilbraham faces Northampton Saturday in Wilbraham.