Despite a valiant bottom-of-the-ninth inning comeback by Apex Post 124, Cary Post 67 capitalized on crucial errors in the 10th to beat Apex 6-4 in SaturdayÂ’s non-conference senior American Legion baseball match-up.

CaryÂ’s tough defense, led by shortstop Michael Rooney, stifled Apex for most of the game, leading to a 4-1 Cary lead through eight innings.

However, Apex was able to turn things around in the ninth. Mike Frongello hit a double to deep left field, followed by a two-run triple from outfielder Patrick Johnson. With the score at 4-3, infielder Alan Spears brought in Johnson to tie the game at 4-4, but the inning ended when he was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple.

In the top of the 10th, with two outs, Apex dropped a third strike on Darrus Evans, then threw over the head of the first baseman, allowing CaryÂ’s Cory Tilton to score and Evans to advance to second. On the ensuing play, Apex made another error to first base on what should have been a groundout. This allowed Evans to sprint home, giving Cary the 6-4 advantage.

In the bottom of the tenth, Apex couldnÂ’t muster enough offense to comeback and CaryÂ’s defense held on for the win.

“One thing about this team is that they don’t quit playing until the last out of the game is made,” said Cary coach Neil Woodall. “It proves to these guys that if they don’t quit, they are always in the game.”

Rooney drove in the first run of the game with a double in the first inning. In the third, Cary scored twice more on sacrifice flies from Lyle Donaldson and Will Simpson.

For Apex, their ninth-inning comeback may have been a sign of good things to come.

“We showed a lot of fight, a lot of character. We haven’t had a lot of success the last couple nights, offensively,” said Post 124 coach Mike Valder. “For us to put it together and score three runs late really was a step in the right direction.”

Cary notched six runs on 10 hits, while Apex scored four runs on five hits. Tilton earned the win for his work over the last 1.6 innings of the game.

CaryÂ’s improved to 11-5 with the win, which was also their third straight. Post 67 defeated conference foe North Raleigh 8-4 in extra innings on Thursday and followed that up by beating Garner 12-6 on Friday.

“This team has a lot of heart and believes in themselves,” said Woodall. “This team supports each other and has come together as a unit. They just don’t know how to quit, and I love that.”

Cary and Apex meet again on June 30 at Cary High.