AHOSKIE – Ahoskie American Legion Post 102’s junior baseball team kept itself firmly in the conference race with a come-from-behind, 11-10, win Saturday over Edenton Post-40 at Hertford County High Field.

The win boosted the team’s league mark to 3-1.

Jim Porter smacked a two-out double into left center field for the walk-off go-ahead runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in what was a thrilling, nail-biting finish.

“We were behind,” said Ahoskie coach Wayne Hill, “and I just told the boys to relax and have fun because this is a big game and you need to show me what you’re made of.”

Porter, a Lawrence Academy junior, drove in a total of four runs in going 2-for-4. Perry Wynns was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Shawn Holloway and Kyle Freeman drove in a run apiece.

Edenton scored a run in the top of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead before Ahoskie answered with five runs in the bottom of the second.

Nathan Pearce opened with a base hit and, after a walk and another runner reached on an error to load the bases, Kyle Freeman drew a base-on-balls to plate the first run and tie it, 1-1, and Post-102 took the lead on a passed ball.

One out later, Porter got a double to left to plate two more and he later scored on another passed ball to make it, 5-1, Ahoskie.

Edenton got a pair of runs in the top of the third to cut the margin to two runs at 5-3 before breaking the game open in the fourth when they batted around and put six runs on the board to retake the lead, 9-5.

Ahoskie tied it at 9-all in the bottom of the fifth frame when D.J. Cook singled, Darren Armstrong reached on an error, and Holloway drove in Cook. Austin Britton singled to drive in another run followed by an RBI from Freeman and two more crossing the plate thanks to Wynns’ shot to left that evened the score.

Edenton retook the lead in the top of the fifth, 10-9, and it stayed that way until Porter’s heroics in the bottom of the seventh and last inning.

“Porter gave me one in the gap to win the ball game,” said Hill, “and the rest of the boys put out all they had.”

“That was all I could ask from them,” he added.

“We didn’t take advantage,” said frustrated Edenton coach Travis Lilly. “We left the bases loaded twice and then let them back in the game. We can’t let our guard down like that.”

Ahoskie upped it’s record to 5-4 before playing a second non-conference game to complete the double-header.