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By: SEAN ROCCA

For The Washington Daily News

Beaufort County Post 15 beat Hertford 10-4 to move to 6-2 almost halfway through the Junior American Legion season. This was the second time these teams met this season. Post 15 beat them on the road in extra innings but cruised in the second matchup.

Hertford took the early lead in the top of the first inning but Post 15 responded in the bottom half and never looked back. Jackson Harding, Avery Johnson, and Evan Woolard each drove in two runs in the game.

Woolard and Caleb Grandy each pitched two innings with Grandy striking out the side in the top of the 4th. Tanner Moore, Luke Bullock, and Jacob Spivey also pitched.

“We want to use four or five pitchers a game,” head coach Bobby Boyd said. “We have so much depth in our pitching so I don’t want our guys throwing too many pitches in a game. We made sure they had low pitch counts so everyone will be available for our next game.”

On the final play of the game, there was a collision at home plate which injured catcher Emerson Howell. Boyd said Howell suffered a concussion and will miss at least a week while being in concussion protocol. The team has multiple catchers who will help them in their next couple of games while Howell is away.

The schedule gets harder for Post 15. They have a doubleheader with the OBX team Saturday and host Bear Grass, the current conference leaders, Monday. Post 15 sits in third in the current standings but is only one game behind the leader.

They are undefeated on the road but both losses came at home. “We lost to Riverside and Edenton and both games were winnable,” Boyd said. “We got in our own way in those games. We made some mistakes that cost us, but I’ve been talking to the team about pride in our home field. I’ve been telling them to take pride in playing at your field and not letting anyone come in here and win.”

Boyd said what has impressed him the most with his team is their resiliency. He said they played in a few close games this season and his team stepped big late in games. He talked about their character, how in close games the teams true character shows.

Boyd has been teaching his team about accountability. For every home game, he assigns his players to various cleaning roles that involve cleaning the field, locker room, and dugout. “This is the standard we have set and we will maintain it,” Boyd said “What these players are learning is more than just baseball. The skills they are learning here will stick with them all through their life.”