SMITHFIELD — You couldn’t argue with the well-worn cliche, ‘They left everything on the field tonight.’ For that’s exactly what the Cary American Legion Post 67 baseball team did Friday night.

With its back against the wall, trailing Clayton Post 71 two games to none in the best-of-five Area One, Western Division semifinal series, Cary pulled out all the stops.

If you could wield a bat, you went to the plate. If you could pitch, you found yourself on the mound. If you could play defense, you were on the field.

For Cary the message was simple — win or go home.

Unfortunately, the efforts fell short once again in extra innings, as Clayton rallied for a 10-9, 12-inning triumph to complete the three-game sweep.

Thus the season ends for a young Post 67 squad, which posted an 18-13 mark, but left a strong, positive feeling for the future.

And the story Friday night wasn’t that Clayton had won another marathon game, but the desire to survive displayed by Post 67’s players. That desire, particularly in the final four innings, left head coach Neil Woodall jubilant despite the defeat.

In each of the final four innings, Clayton managed to load the bases with less than two outs. Despite surrendering a run in the three of those four innings, Cary rebuffed the Sabres, keeping their own hopes alive.

“They gave it their all tonight,” Woodall said. “Win, lose or draw, you could not have asked those young men to give any more than they gave tonight.”

Game 3 could have ended as quickly as Thursday night’s 10-0, seven-inning setback, which gave Post 71 the 2-0 series lead.

Clayton took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and after Cary rallied with three runs in the top of the second for a 3-1 lead, the Sabres chased Post 67 starter David Ronan with a five-run rally.

Instead of putting the bats and balls away, Cary defiantly stormed back.

Fourth-inning grounders by Cory Shackelford and Darrus Evans resulted in Post 71 errors, giving Cary runners on first and second with two out. Eric Brady followed through with an RBI single, and Wyatt Medlin’s double to left drew Cary within 6-5.

Brady came through in the sixth, blasting a two-run homer to right-center field to send Post 67 back in front, 7-6.

Brady and Medlin both had 3-for-7 nights at the plate to lead Post 67.

“We battled them tonight,” Woodall said. “Last night we didn’t battle them. But the attitude in the dugout tonight was a lot different than when we lost to them Wednesday [8-6 in 13 innings, after coughing up a 4-0 lead in the ninth]. “It made me feel a lot better. I knew they weren’t ready to quit.”

Clayton rallied to tie the score in its half of the sixth inning, but Cary was not done.

Brian Rhino drew a lead-off walk in the top of the ninth, moved to second on a sacrifice by Hunter Carr, and scored when Post 71 shortstop Ryan Daughtry misplayed Shackelford’s grounder. 

Rhino came up big in the bottom half of the ninth as well.

After Clayton used two singles, a walk and an error to tie the score and load the bases with no one out, Rhino snared a pair of shoestring catches on sinking liners to shallow right, keeping the bases full.

Reliever Travis Lush then enticed Will Henschel into a pop-out to retire the side.

Medlin homered to left for a 9-8 Post 67 lead to start the 10th inning, but Clayton took advantage of two walks and two hit batters to even the score with one out. But reliever Michael Sondag squelched that rally, ending the inning with a sensational throw on a swinging bunt, nipping Kyle Cummings at first for the final out.

Clayton again used a pair of walks and a hit batter to load the bases in the 11th, but Sondag again enticed the Sabres into a grounder to end the inning.   

But the magic ran out in the 12th, as Clayton pieced together another rally, loading the bases on a single, an error and a hit batter, culminating it with a sacrifice fly to center.

“You can’t do that [escape jam after jam] but so many times,” Woodall said. “We made mistakes that showed our age, but we played hard, like we did all year.”

Woodall then looked at the players assembled for a team photo, all who should be returning with the exception of Ronan, Shackelford, Kevin Hackett and Dan Havens.

“These guys are going to just get better and better,” Woodall said.