03/28/2024
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LUMBERTON – Hoke County defeated West Bladen 10-3 Saturday in the opening round of the Robeson County Slugfest Baseball Tournament.

The Knights grabbed the early lead as sophmore Dawson Bryan and senior Scott Bowen drew first-inning walks, and junior Dalton Pait knocked in Bryan with a single to centerfield.

The Bucks tied the game in the bottom of the first on Jamison Cummings run-scoring double. Hoke took the lead in the second as Will Bryant doubled and Dakota Walker drove him in with a single.

A hit batter, a balk, a walk and rbi singles from Will Bryant and Kody Russell stretched the Bucks lead to 4-1 in the third. An rbi single by Logan Goins and a 2-run double by Ben Chavis widened the gap to 7-1 in the fourth.

The Knights rallied in the fifth as sophmore Nolan Bryant and Bryan drew walks. Bowen laced a single to left that scored Bryant, and Bryan darted home on a passed ball to slice the Hoke lead to 7-3.

A trio of one-out walks loaded the bases in the Buck half of the fifth, before Ryan Taylor pounded a bases-cleaning double to centerfield that ran the count to 10-3.

Pait, sophmore Logan West, Nolan Bryant and Bowen connected for one hit each for West Bladen. Pait and Bowen drove in one run each. Bryan scored 2 runs, and Nolan Bryant scored one.

Sophmore Colby White pitched the first 4.1 innings for the Knights and allowed 9 hits, 4 walks and 2 hit batters while striking out five. Junior Derrick Long worked the final 1.2 innings in relief and allowed one hit while striking out two.

Taylor batted 2-3 with the 3-run double to lead the Buck hitters. Will Bryant was 2-4 with a double. Travis Locklear was the winning pitcher.

West Bladen will play Lumberton at 1 p.m. Monday in a consolation bracket game.

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