RAMSEUR — Two different sites, two different days, but what a difference 24 hours can make.

American Legion baseball rivals Eastern Randolph and Asheboro tangled for a second straight night last Sunday at Grady Lawson Field, with Post 81 avenging a 12-0 loss on Saturday with a 7-0 win.

Eastern Randolph jumped on Asheboro starter Steven Davis for a three-run first inning, then relied on the strong arm of Adam Kirkpatrick to reverse the trend of the night before.

Kirkpatrick shut out the slugging Post 45 squad, pitching out of several early jams before yielding to Josh Harris in the ninth inning. Kirkpatrick gave up 10 hits but they were mostly scattered.

Keeping Post 45 off balance, Kirkpatrick notched just one strikeout but didn’t walk a batter until the top of the ninth. Harris came on in relief and retired the next three batters to preserve the victory.

A one-out single up the middle by Knox Gunter ignited the ER rally in the first inning. Josh Tobias was hit by a pitch and Tucker Coward drilled a double in the left-center gap to drive in two runs. Harris then singled after a wild pitch, plating Coward with the third run.

Asheboro put runners on base but could never get the timely hit to drive them in. Davis settled down to retire 13 of 14 batters at one point.

In the sixth inning, Post 81 tacked on another run as Josh Kelly beat out an infield hit, stole second after two outs and Kirkpatrick knocked him in with a hit.

The lead grew to 6-0 in the seventh when an error, a Gunter hit and a walk to Tobias loaded the bases. After a force out, Harris lined a single into left field that drove across two insurance runs.

The final tally came in the eighth as Dustin Cockman drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a Jeremy McLeod single and scored on a groundout by Gunter.

Gunter topped the nine-hit attack with three hits and two runs scored while Harris had a pair of hits and three RBI. Tobias was on base three times and scored twice.

Asheboro notched at least one hit in each of the first six innings, but mustered only two base runners over the final three innings. Hunter Ridge and Nolan Seawell led Post 45 with two hits each.

It was all Asheboro a night earlier at McCrary Park as Colton Baughman was the man in charge in a game called after seven innings on the 10-run-lead rule. Baughman struck out 14 batters and issued no walks.

A three-run rally in the fourth, as Mason Beane and Seawell posted RBI hits, were all that Post 45 needed. But the bulge grew to 9-0 after six innings.

Asheboro salted away the verdict in the seventh when Beane was hit by a pitch, Baughman reached on an error and Ridge ended the game with a walk-off home run over the left field fence.

Seawell led Post 45 with four hits, including a triple and double, while Ridge had two hits and three RBI. Davis added two doubles and Pearson Parks hit a double and drove in two runs. Gunter and McLeod topped ER with two hits apiece.

Eastern Randolph moved to 11-4 in the Area III Northern Division and 12-4 overall. Asheboro fell to 6-3, 7-11.

In other results, it was a three-run homer by Jordan Smith in the bottom of the sixth that carried Post 81 to a 5-3 win over visiting Kernersville.

Eastern Randolph trailed 3-1 until Smith sent a pitch over the centerfield fence. Gunter ignited the rally with a one-out walk and Harris beat out an infield hit to set the stage for Smith.

Leading 4-3, Eastern Randolph tacked on another run when Cockman was hit by a pitch, Kirkpatrick drew a walk and Jay Steele singled.

Post 81 produced a run in the third frame when Steele walked and later scored on a fielder’s choice after Phillip Hardin had collected a single.

Ben Pugh started on the hill for Post 81, working five innings, before Harris came on in relief to close out the game and earn the win. Smith topped the offense with two hits and three RBI.

Against visiting West Forsyth, it was a wild, high-scoring affair with ER erupting in the eighth for four runs.

Eastern Randolph was protecting a 9-7 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth but rode the second home run of the night by Josh Kelly for the rally.

A leadoff triple by McLeod started the fireworks and he raced home on a double by Gunter. Tobias was hit by a pitch before Kelly blasted his homer.

In the first, McLeod and Gunter notched back-to-back singles before Kelly unloaded on his first home run of the night.

West Forsyth’s loss was its first of the season in league competition. The WF team refused to go quietly, pushing across three ninth-inning runs to pull within three.

Eastern Randolph pounded a host of West Forsyth pitchers for 13 hits, paced by Kirkpatrick and Kelly with three apiece. Gunter, McLeod and Cockman all had two safeties.