East, which got 14 hits off three Albemarle hurlers, scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to wrap up a semifinal win in the Cliff Peeler Baseball Classic. The Mustangs, now 19-3 overall, went on to lose toProvidence 16-6 in the championship game later Monday.

“We got a lot of hits, but we’re still not doing as good a job of situational hitting as we need to do,” said Safrit. “We had the bases loaded,I think, five times. Two out of five with less than two outs is not good enough if you want to go very far.”

East had the bases loaded with one out in the second inning, but Brian Hatley hit into a double play.

Hatley, who had a big day at the plate (3-for-5 with two doubles and four runs batted in), drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the fourth. After Brett Peiffer walked to load the bases, Albemarle starter Derek Williams got the Mustangs’ BobbyClester and Jeremy Alderman to avoid further damage.

The Mustangs also loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, when reliever John Stoker got Adam Cornelius to hit into a force play.

Hatley doubled to deep center with three men on in the seventh, marking the second time an East batter came through with the bases filled.

“Hatley had a good night swinging the bat. We’re doing a pretty good job of getting on base, it’s just that we left too many men on base (nine),” said Safrit.

Hatley, Drew Davis (3-for-3), Cal Hayes Jr. (2-for-4 with a double), pitcher Julian Sides (2-for-4) and Bobby Clester (solo home run) were hitting leaders for the Mustangs.

Meanwhile, after a slow start, left-hander Sides pitched shutout ball over the final 41

“I think he kind of settled in a little bit. He saw we were going to be able to score and relaxed. We kind of just threw strikes and made them hit it. That’s our goal every game ... we do a pretty good job of catching it most of the time,” said Safrit.

Albemarle, down 7-4 in the last of the fifth, got an infield single from Bryce Kimrey to lead off the inning. Randy Mauldin, who had tripled in two runs in the first inning, then doubled to the gap in right-center. Kimrey tried to score and was thrown out by the Mustangs.

“It was probably more my mistake sending Kimrey in that inning when I should have held him up,” said Albemarle coach Gary Weiker, a former Catawba College player. “I thought, if we could have put a couple on the board there and get back to about 7-6, we’d have been in good shape.”

That throw to home plate was one of six assists by Miller, who also had two putouts.

“Miller made some great plays again. He’s done that all year. That was a great relay,” said Safrit.

“Albemarle’s got a good team,” said the East coach. “I’m sure, when they’ve got (Monty) Fast out there ... and defensively, they’re pretty sound all the way through.”

Fast, who played second base yesterday, hurled an eight-inning no-hitter in Saturday’s 1-0 first-round victory over North Rowan. The left-hander is 8-0 for the season.