POTOMAC PARK — In the season opening doubleheader against Garrett Post 71/214/208 on Tuesday, Fort Cumberland combined for 24 hits.
On Thursday, Post 13 combined for four hits, falling 3-2 to the Berkeley Post 60 Knights on Thursday at Memorial Field.
“We struggled at the plate tonight,” Fort Cumberland head coach Brian McAlpine said. “You have games like that, it’s baseball. Our pitching did rather well, we only gave up five hits. Walked a couple, nothing heavy.”
Post 13 (2-1) lacked the patience shown at the plate on Tuesday.
Fort Cumberland recorded six outs on the first pitch including two outs in the third and fifth innings.
Post 13 also stranded a runner in three separate innings.
“I told them after the game, I thought the biggest problem was we weren’t patient tonight at the plate,” McAlpine said. “We swung at a lot of first pitches. Situational baseball we didn’t do really well.”
In the first inning, it looked like Fort Cumberland would pick up where it left off.
Leuma Pua’auli hit a fly ball deep to left for a double, then Bryce Madden hit a line drive to right for a RBI single.
Madden stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, setting up Myles Bascelli for a sacrifice fly to put Post 13 up 2-0.
The Knights (2-2) responded in the second inning on a RBI double deep to left center by Trenton Knieriem.
Tyson Shumaker drew a four-pitch walk in the bottom of the second, but a three-pitch strikeout ended the frame.
In the top of the third, Post 60 loaded the bases with no outs off singles by Cason Plaugher and Landon Pence and a Peyton Girardin walk.
Bascelli entered to pitch, taking over for Parker Ferraro.
Ferraro’s final line was two innings, four hits, three earned runs and two walks with three strikeouts.
Bascelli issued a walk, tying the game at two.
Mason Carter gave Berkeley the lead on a sacrifice fly to center.
After Bascelli allowed two inherited runners to score, he threw five shutout innings.
Bascelli only allowed one hit and three walks with eight strikeouts.
“It hasn’t taken me long to realize Myles is a game timer,” McAlpine said. “He’s prime time, when he gets in there, he can throw the ball. He plays stellar defense, he’s fast, he’s all around a good ball player.
“I knew watching him all season what I had. I knew I had someone that could come in on short notice, he’s ready to roll.”
Fort Cumberland then went down in order in the third.
With two outs in the fourth, Kohen Madden hit a grounder past the shortstop for an infield hit.
A pickoff attempt to get Madden at first hit him, he got up and took third.
On a 0-2 count, a swinging strikeout ended the inning.
“They were real patient, they were letting the ball come to them,” McAlpine said of comparing the approach of the Garrett games to Thursday. “Tonight, they weren’t even giving us a chance. We were just swinging at the first pitch.”
Shumaker opened the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle, but a sacrifice bunt by Josef Sneathen, a groundout and flyout stranded him.
Post 13 was retired in order in the final two innings.
The Knights used four pitchers, combining to allow four hits, two earned runs and one walk with eight strikeouts.
Girardin got the win, allowing two hits and no walks while Brandon Montgomery earned a save with a 1-2-3 seventh inning and a pair of punchouts.
Fort Cumberland hosts Garrett on Tuesday for a doubleheader beginning at 5:30.
Garrett (0-2) hosted Buckhannon Post 7 on Thursday.