AHOSKIE – Post 102 rallied from 6-2 deficit here Friday and sealed a spot in the American Legion playoffs.

The 13-8 senior American Legion win over Windsor in the first game of a doubleheader helped Post 102 earn a spot in the post-season which begins Thursday.

Ahoskie opened the scoring Friday with two runs in the bottom of the first frame.

Marvin Harrell singled to left and went to second on a balk. Harrell then scored when Billy Nixon doubled to left field. Tyler Pryor then sent Nixon home with an RBI-double down the left field line making it 2-0.

Windsor’s Post 37 rallied in the top of the second inning.

Thomas Knott singled to center and then moved all the way to third on a Caleb Sherman single to right. When Sherman swiped second, Knott stole home to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Jordan Rogers then walked before Sherman scored on a Ryan Lilley RBI-single. Rogers came home on a Chris Rogerson RBI-single to make it 3-2 in favor of Windsor.

Post 37 added a trio of runs in the top of the fourth frame.

Sherman singled to center, stole second and scored on a Rogers RBI-double to left. Rogers moved to third on a Lilley single and scored when Rogerson singled.

Lilley took third on the Rogerson single and scored when Shawn Halloway delivered an RBI-groundout to make it 6-2.

Ahoskie wasn’t done, however, as Post 102 rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Pryor started it with a double to left. He moved to third on a Trey Lawrence infield single. Both runners then scored when Daniel Merritt doubled to left-center field.

Merritt himself scored when Tyler Burden laced an RBI-single to left.  Burden stole second and then scored when Harrell had a triple to right field. Harrell then scored on a Nixon RBI-single to left to give Ahoskie a 7-6 lead.

Windsor rallied too, however, as they scored two in the fifth to retake the lead.

Brandon March singled before Knott doubled. Marsh then came home on a Sherman RBI-single and Knott raced across the plate on a Lilley RBI-single to give Post 37 an 8-7 lead.

Post 102 took control of the game in the bottom of the inning, however, as they pushed across six marks.

Cecil Lowe doubled to left and scored on a Lawrence RBI-single to tie the game at 8-all.

Lawrence then advanced to second on a Brock Merritt single to right. Timmy Whitlow walked to load the bases. Burden was then hit by a pitch to force in one run. Harrell drew a bases-loaded free pass for another score.

Whitlow and Burden then scored on a two-run single by Nixon. Harrell scored on an error on the play giving Post 102 a commanding 13-8 lead from which they never looked back.

Nixon started on the mound for Ahoskie. Whitlow was the winning pitcher in relief. Windsor pitched Zack Eubanks, Rogers, Knott and Will Gurganus.

Ahoskie pounded out 14 hits in the contest. Nixon led the way with three hits and four RBIs. Burden, Harrell, Lawrence and Pryor had two each.

Lilley and Sherman led Windsor with three hits each while Rogerson and Knott each collected two.

“We got good pitching,” Post 102 skipper Dave Ellis said. “Nixon kept us in the game and Whitlow came in and shut them down.

“This was a big win for us as it clinched a playoff spot,” he added. ‘It was our second straight comeback win against them.”