e martë, 31 korrik 2007

Tuesday's American Legion Scores

Rowan 5, Randolph 8
Randolph leads 3-1

Caldwell 15, Cherryville 0
Tied at one, best-of-five.

e hënë, 30 korrik 2007

Field Is Set For State Tournament

Morehead City defeats Scotland County 7-0 to take the Area II title.

Cherryville wins at Caldwell County 6-3 in the first game of their best-of-five Area IV series.

Also Monday, Randolph County (38-13) defeats Rowan County (37-4) 5-4 to take a 2-1 lead in the Area III series. Three of Rowan's losses have been against Randolph.

Schedule Set For Area I Final

Wednesday: Mount Olive College
Thursday: No game
Friday: Durham Athletic Park (Take the Duke St. exit off the Durham Freeway and turn right on Corporation Street across from the high school.)
Saturday: (if necessary) MOC

e diel, 29 korrik 2007

Durham Outlasts Garner, Plays Wayne Wednesday

Welcome to anyone from the Durham team. I'll try to provide you with a decent story.

If you like offense, the Durham Athletic Park was the place to be Sunday night.

Durham Post 7 failed to hold an twelve-run lead, then scored three in the last of the eighth to defeat Garner Post 232 21-19 and take the Area I West title. Durham (26-4) will travel to Area I East champ Wayne County (21-4) in a best-of-three series beginning Wednesday.

Garner trailed 16-4 after four innings, but battled back with the aid of the long ball. In the Garner sixth, the first two batters struck out. Landon Adams singled and Corey Carver walked to set up a two-run double by Jeremy Hall.

Again in the seventh, the first two batters went down, but Bryan Sears kept the inning going with a single. Josh Young walked, and Darren Tew homered to right on a 3-2 pitch. Corey Carver's RBI double got Garner within five.

After going through three pitchers, Garner finally found someone to slow down the Durham bats. Tew took to the mound inthe fifth and limited Durham to a hit over the next two innings.

That gave Post 232 time to catch up and, for the third straight inning it all happened with two out and nobody on. Ryan Primus reached on an error to start the eighth, and Hunter Smith singled through the right side of the infield. Zack Bingham's grounder was mishandled to load the bases. Sears followed with an RBI single, but the next batter popped up.

Tew then tied the game in dramatic fashion by drilling a breaking pitch over the right field fence to tie the game.

But Post 7 came back in the home half of the inning. Tew hit leadoff batter Ezzell with a 1-2 breaking pitch. He then tried to force a play at second on David Prince's bunt, and the ball skidded into centerfield to put runners on second and third.

Garner got an out at home on a grounder, but Seth Moorman singled to left to break the tie. Sean Madden was thrown out at home on Cameron Falcon's hit. Stover then gave his team some breathing room with a two-run double to left.

Garner scored once in the ninth and got the tying run to the plate, but the game ended on a fly ball to center.

Garner led early, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings, including a two-run homer by Corey Carver, only to have Durham go on an offensive rampage.

Garner starter Zack Howell walked the first two batters in the fifth, followed by a sacrifce bunt. Barrett Stover drove them in with a double to left centerfield. Levi Diala added a run-scoring single, and Jacob Ezzell put Post 7 ahead with an opposite-field single down the right field line.

Durham seemingly put the game out of reach with 10 runs in the fourth on seven hits, four errors and three walks. Patrick Kerwin, Moorman, Lucans Martin and Tarron Robinson all had run-scoring hits. Durham added two in the fifth for its biggest lead.

25 Game Totals; State Tournament Almost Set

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVrDi4yvKCNpWg

The field for the 2007 tournament is almost set.

Area I: Wayne County, Durham, Garner (Durham leads best-of-five series 2-0)
Area II: 2006 state champ Morehead City leads Scotland County 2-0 in best-of-five.
AreaIII: Rowan County, Randolph County
Area IV: Caldwell County, Cherryville

Area II gets one team.

e shtunë, 28 korrik 2007

Wayne Claims Another League Postseason Title

New Bern - After saying earlier this week that Wayne County Post 11 "carries themselves like the New York Yankees," New Bern Post 24 player Sam Sanders got a taste of a younger version of the Bronx Bombers Saturday afternoon at Boykin Field.

John Wooten, Nolan Lancaster and Garrett Davis homered as part of a 15-hit attack as Wayne claimed its seventh Area I East title in 14 years with a 15-8 win to put itself in the American Legion state tournament August 7 in Garner.

Wayne (21-4) will take on the winner of the Area I West series between Garner and Durham in a best-of-three starting Wednesday at a site to be determined. Both teams in the area final will be in the state event, so the series is about placement in the eight-team field.

The state tournament format began in 2000. Wayne appeared in the event in the first year as well as 2002 and 2004.

Wayne struggled offensively in the first two rounds of the playoffs, relying on the stellar work of its pitching staff. But the bats came alive against New Bern, as Wayne batted .359 with 11 extra base hits.

Wooten set the tone early as Wayne grabbed the first-inning lead and never looked back. Walker Gourly singled with one out, and Davis walked. Wooten drove the second pitch to left and hit the light pole to give Wayne a lead it wouldn't give up.

After New Bern answered with a run in the bottom of the inning, Wayne added three more. conner Narron had a leadoff double to left centerfield, and Jackson Massey walked. Walker Gourley tripled to centerand came home on a fly ball by Davis.

Wayne starter Taylor Bullard breezed through the next two innings before giving up two runs in the fourth to make it 6-3. Lancaster's solo home run in the fourth and a run-scoring single by Tyler Ham in the fifth put Wayne ahead 8-3. Bullard retired the first two batters in the home half before Post 24 scored two unearned runs on two errors and a passed ball.

Massey started thej Wayne sixth with a single. One out later, Davis sent a shot down the right field line, and it curved around the foul pole to put his team ahead 10-5.

But New Bern kept coming as Chris Dorman and Austin Zehr singled to begin the last of the sixth. That spelled the end for Bullard and brought on Sterling Grice. He rose to the challenge by getting a fly ball and an inning-ending double play.

But he couldn't keep it going. Matt Hardeman drew a leadoff walk in the seventh before Grice retired the next batter on a fly ball. Grice got a grounder off the bat of Alan Edwards, but the ball went between the legs of Narron at second to spoil a potential double play. Sanders walked to load the bases, and a run came home on a wild pitch. Chris Dorman lined a two-run single down the third base line to make it 10-8.

Grice gave way to Brandon Price, and the veteran right-hander was just what Post 11 needed. He got the next two batters on a fly ball and a strikeout to preserve the lead.

While New Bern was scoring, it couldn't put the brakes on the Wayne bats as Post 11 responded with a back-breaking five-run eighth. Davis doubled, Wooten was hit by a pitch and Jay Rose lined a two-run double down the first base line. He scored after the ball was thrown away on Thomas Pilkington's infield hit. Massey finished the scoring with a two-out, two-run single.

Price gave up a leadoff double and a walk to start the New Bern eighth, but first baseman Wooten started a double play to kill the rally.

Wayne..AB..R..H..BI...........New Bern..AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..5..2..2..2............BDorman..3..1..2..0
Gourley 2b..6..2..2..2..........LeBlanc..4..0..0..0
Davis cf..4..3..2..3................Hardeman 3b..3..2..1..0
Wooten 1b..5..2..2..3...........Williams rf..5..1..0..1
Rose dh..5..2..2..2................Edwards 1b-p..4..2..1..0
Pilkington 3b..4..1..1..1........Sanders dh..2..2..1..1
Ham c..5..0..1..0...................Varner 1b..0..0..0..0
Narron 2b..3..1..1..0.............CDorman..5..0..2..2
Gurley 2b..1..1..1..0..............Zehr c..5..0..1..1
Lancaster lf..3..1..1..1............Holloman lf..3..0..0..0
Casey lf..0..0..0..0.................Cook lf..1..0..0..0
.................________............................________
.................41..15..15..14..........................35..8..9..5

Wayne.........330...112...050 - 15...15...3
New Bern....100...220...300 - 8...9...2

E-Massey, Pilkington, Nobles, Narron, CDorman. DP-Wayne 2,
NB 1. LOB-Wayne 8, NB 9.
2B-BDorman 2Narron Davis, Rose.
3B-Gourley
HR-Wooten, Lancaster, Davis.
SB-Williams, Edwards.
SF-Davis

Wayne...IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Bullard W(3-0) 5..7..5..3..3..3
Grice....1 1/3..1..3..1..3..0
Price.....2 2/3..1..0..0..2..1
NB
O'Brien (L)...2..4..6..6..2..1
Nobles...5 1/3..8..7..7..2..5
Edwards..1 2/3..3..2..2..1..2

WP-Bullard, Grice.
PB-Zehr, Ham.
HBP-Sanders (by Bullard), Narron (by Nobles), Lancaster (by Nobles),
Wooten (by Nobles).

24 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVoqnltFEQMGYQ

Post 11 One Win From State Tournament

Do you think Brandon DeLong has seen enough of Scarborough Field?

A day after losing the Area I East title series opener with its best pitcher, New Bern Post 24 desperately needed a solid effort from its starter in game two against Wayne County Post 11. Enter DeLong, who had been pounded in Wayne's 10-6 regular season win at Mount Olive College. In that meeting, DeLong didn't make it out of the third inning, yielding 11 hits and eight runs.

Second verse, same as the first.

A resurgent Wayne offense struck for seven runs in the fourth and rolled to a 12-2 win in seven innings to place New Bern, the Area I East South Division champ, on the brink of elimination. The teams will play in New Bern this afternoon at two as Post 24 will attempt to win three straight at home. Taylor Bullard will get the starting nod for Wayne (20-4).

DeLong retired the first two batters in the big inning and appeared to be on the verge of holding Post 11 to a 2-0 lead. But everything fell apart. Conner Narron, who has become an offensive contributor after a horrific start, lined a single to left, and Zack Wright reached on an infield hit.

Jackson Massey, who had three hits and four runs, singled through the left side of the infield for a run. He and Wright advanced on the throw home. Walker Gourley drove in both with a hit to left on the first pitch.

After Garrett Davis walked, John Wooten and Jay Rose singled home runs to mark the end of DeLong's stint on the mound. Nolan Lancaster followed a walk with a two-run single through the left side of the infield for a 9-0 lead.

That would be more than enough for Wayne starter Grant Sasser. The lefty had taken the loss when New Bern took advantage of shoddy play behind him to win the regular season title 8-3. The defense again had its problems with four errors, but Sasser was more than up to the occasion this time. New Bern's two runs came in the fifth on three hits, two of them bunts, and an error. Sasser threw 70 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

He went six innings, allowing four hits while striking out eight with one walk.

In the seventh, Narron walked and Wright's liner to right was misplayed for an error. Massey walked on a full count. One out later, Davis checked his swing, but the ball fell into left for a two-run single, and Wayne was one step closer to a trip to Garner.

New Bern...AB..R..H..BI............Wayne...AB..R..H..BI
BDorman cf..4..0..1..0.................Massey rf...3..4..3..1
LeBlanc 2b...3..0..0..0.................Gourley ss...4..1..2..3
Hardeman 3b...3..0..1..0.............Davis cf...4..1..2..4
Williams rf-p...3..0..0..0..............Wooten 3b...3..1..1..1
Edwards dh...2..0..0..0................Rose 1b...4..1..1..1
Spinner rf ...1..0..0..0...................Pilkington dh...3..0..0..0
Cook 1b...1..0..0..0.......................Lancaster lf...4..0..2..2
Varner 1b...0..0..0..0...................Narron 2b...2..2..1..0
CDorman ss...3..1..1..1..................Wright c...4..2..1..0
Zehr c...3..0..0..0............................................_________
Holloway lf...3..1..1..0.....................................32..12..13..12
.....................________
......................26..2..4..0

New Bern...000...020...0 - 2..4..3
Wayne.........101...710...2 - 12..13..4

E-Rose 2, Wooten Sasser, Zehr, Varner, Spinner. DP-Wayne 1.
LOB-NB 6, Wayne 8. 3B-Gourley. SB-Massey 2, Edwards, Lancaster,
Gourley, Davis. CS-Lancaster. S-Cook.

NB.............IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
DeLong (L) 3 2/3..10..9..9..3..2
O'Brien........1/3..1..0..0..1..1
Williams.......2 1/3..2..3..2..3..2
Wayne
Sasser (W)..6..4..2..0..1..8
Grice............1..0..0..0.0..2
HBP-Varner (by Sasser.)

e premte, 27 korrik 2007

23 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVo8JrGGh7J4FA

Wayne Takes Game One Thriller

Wayne County Post 11 took a giant step toward earning a berth in the American Legion state tournament next month in Garner with 4-1 win over New Bern Post 24 Thursday night at Mount Olive College in the opening game of their Area I East best-of-five title series.

The win snapped New Bern's 13-game winning streak and extended Wayne's to six. Wayne (19-4) will send Grant Sasser to the mound tonight at home. Sasser took the loss in the last regular season game when New Bern (16-7) defeated Wayne 8-3 for the Area I East South Division crown. Game three is scheduled for New Bern Saturday afternoon at two.

The first half of the contest lacked a lot in the way of excitement, but the ending made up for it. The score was tied at one when Wayne broke out of its offensive doldrums with three runs in the eighth against New Bern ace Keith Spinner.

Jackson Massey, who leads Wayne in on-base percentage, drew a walk on a 3-2 fastball. He advanced to second on a wild pitch. Walker Gourley laid a bunt down the third base line, and the third baseman, who was trying to cover the bag against Massey, couldn't get to it in time.

Wayne now had a threat, and it was up to Garrett Davis to make good on it. He came through by nailing an 0-1 fastball to right centerfield for a double and the lead. John Wooten drove in the second run with a single to right.

Jay Rose hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice at second as New Bern chose to go for the double play. Tyler Ham walked, and that spelled the end for Spinner and his streak of five straight complete games. New Bern did get a twin killer on the next play.

So it was on to the ninth, and Hinson was looking for his second complete game of the season. The big right-hander entered the game with seven walks in 39 1/3 innings, but he had struggled with his control for much of the game and, in the final inning, it almost proved to be Wayne's undoing.

Hinson had thrown 133 pitches through eight innings. He walked leadoff batter Alan Edwards on a full count. David Cook worked the count full before taking a called fastball for the first out. A grounder to Hinson meant he was one out from the win.

But he couldn't get through the inning, walking Austin Zehr on four pitches and hitting Anthony Holloway to load the bases. It was Brandon Price's turn to close it out.

Price went 3-2 on Bobby Dorman. The New Bern leadoff hitter sent a shot to left, and Will Edgerton sprinted for it. He dove, made a backhanded stab and the game was over.

Hinson started the game by striking out the side in the first and retiring the side in order in the second. New Bern's Chris Dorman singled to start the third, but was erased at second on a bunt to Hinson. Holloway walked. Dorman's grounder was misplayed to load the bases, and Zehr scored when Wayne was unable to turn the double play.

Hinson again struck out the side in the fourth, fanned two of the three batters he faced in the fifth and got out of another jam in the sixth.

Two walks and a booted double play ball loaded the bases with one out to bring up cleanup hitter Matt Wiliams. He sent a 2-2 breaking pitch skying down the left field line, where it hit the fence just outside the foul pole. Hinson fanned him on a fastball, then got a grounder back to the mound to keep the deficit at one.

Wayne finally got to Skinner in the home half after he had struck out the first two batters. John Wooten singled to center, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a hit up the middle by Jay Rose.

There were 19 full counts as both pitchers ran up their pitch totals. Spinner threw 136. The Wayne pitching staff has allowed one earned run in the playoffs.

New Bern..AB..R..H..BI..........Wayne..AB..R..H..BI
BDorman cf..4..0..0..0.............Massey rf..2..1..0..0
Sanders 2b..2..0..0..1...............Gourley ss-2b..4..1..1..0
LeBlenc 2b..1..0..0..0...............Davis cf..4..1..1..1
Hardemen 3..0..0..0.................Wooten 3b..4..1..2..1
Williams rf..4..0..0..0...............Casey pr..0..0..0..0
Edwards 3..0..0..0....................Rose 1b..4..0..2..2
Cook dh ..3..0..0..0....................Ham c..3..0..2..0
CDorman ss..4..0..1..0...............Pilkington dh..4..0..0..0
Zehr c..3..1..1..0.........................Narron 2b-ss..2..0..1..0
Holloway lf..2..0..0..0................Edgerton lf..3..0..0..0
....................._______...................................._______
.....................29..1..2..1......................................30..4..9..4

New Bern...001...000...000 - 1...2...0
Wayne........000...001...03X - 4...9...3

E-Gourley 2, Narron. DP-New Bern 1, Wayne 1. LOB-New Bern 9,
Wayne 6.
2B-Narron, Davis. CS-Sanders, Rose 2, LeBlenc.

New Bern...IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Spinner (L) 7 1/3..9..4..4...4..6
O'Brien...........2/3..0..0..0..0..0
Wayne
Hinson (W) 8 2/3..2..1..0..7..13
Price (S)........1/3..0..0..0..0..0
WP-Spinner 2. HBP-Holloway (by Hinson).

e enjte, 26 korrik 2007

New Bern Paper's Pre-series Story

http://www.newbernsj.com/sports/post_35633___article.html/new_bern.html

“Wayne County carries themselves like the New York Yankees,” Sanders said of Post 11.... “We know they think they are a good team. We think they are a good team. But we think we’re a good team as well.”

e mërkurë, 25 korrik 2007

OBP; Who's Hot, Who's Not

On-base percentages are better than batting average (actually, it's a percentage) when it comes to measuring how a player is doing. Here are the Post 11 numbers:

Jackson Massey 55/107.514
Thomas Pilkington 32/66/.485
Garrett Davis 30/62/.484
Walker Gourley 47/98/.480
Tyler Ham 23/50/.460
John Wooten 39/91/.429
Nolan Lancaster 30/72/.417
Will Edgerton 29/78/.372
Jay Rose 25/68/.368
Zack Wright 14/47/.298

Who's Hot

The Wayne pitching staff has allowed seven runs, three earned, in the playoffs for a 0.64 earned run average.

Who's Not

The offense. It's hitting .218 in the past six games. since getting 14 hits against Pitt 160 in game 16, Wayne has not gotten more than eight in a game.

Some individual numbers of late:

Walker Gourley: 2/21
Nolan Lancaster: 3/14
Garrett Davis: 4/17
Will Edgerton: 3/16
Jay Rose: 1/12

Collectively, This group is 13/80.

e martë, 24 korrik 2007

Schedule Change

The first two games of the Wayne County-New Bern series will be played at Mount Olive College. Game three will be in New Bern Saturday afternoon at two.

e hënë, 23 korrik 2007

22 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVpI078lXGS6HA

Welcome to anyone from the NC Legion state tournament site. As you may know, any old stories can be accessed from the archives on the right. Please excuse my typing due to a broken wrist.

Wayne Moves Into Area I East Title Series.

Note: Look for the stats this evening.

EDENTON - Wayne County Post 11 is back in a familiar spot: the Area I East championship series.

Garrett Davis turned in another dominating performance on the mound, and the offense provided just enough runs to get past Edenton Post 40 3-1 Sunday night at Hicks Field and sweep the five-game series.

Wayne will face New Bern Post 24 in a best-of-five final for the right to go to Garner for the American Legion state tournament next month. The teams split the regular season series. Wayne won 10-6, and New Bern took the Area I East South Division regular season crown with an 8-3 victory.

Before being swept in the first round the past two seasons, Wayne appeared in the title series from 1994-97 and 1999-2004, winning six times.

Davis, a tall right-hander headed for UNC, threw seven innings, struck out eight and didn't walk anyone in running his record to 3-0. Only four balls made it out of the infield in the air. The defense played flawlessly in support.

Brandon Price went the last two innings, giving up a two-out home run to Kirk Wiggins before ending the game on a strikeout.

Edenton starter Hunter Meekins was also impressive, going eight innings and fanning seven.

Wayne got on the board with a pair in the fourth. Jay Rose had a leadoff single and stole second. One out later, Zack Wright hit a fly ball that got past the diving right-fielder for an RBI double. Thomas Pilkington followed with an opposite-field single inside the first base line for the second run.

The other run came in the sixth. John Wooten, who had three hits, singled to center and advanced on a bunt by Jay Rose. He moved to third on a grounder and scored on a wild pitch.

Wayne stranded a runner in scoring position in the last three innings.

Davis retired the first seven batters before hitNick Brown hit a groundball single to center. Derek Thomas got on base with a bad hop single to right, but Davis fanned the next batter to get out of trouble.

Davis, who threw 72 of his 103 pitches for strikes, went to three balls on one batter. Kirk Wiggins hit a high 3-1 fastball to center for a double to start the seventh. Davis set down the next three batters on a popup, a groundball and a strikeout.

Wayne......AB..R..H..BI.........Edenton...AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..4..0..0..0..............Thomas rf..4..0..1..0
Gourley ss..4..0..1..0..............Layton dh-c..4..0..0..0
Wooten 1b.. 4..1..3..0.............Beasley lf..4..0..2..0
Rose dh..3..1..1..0...................Westbrook cf..4..0..0..0
Edgerton lf..4..0..0..0.............Wiggins ss..4..1..3..1
Wright c..3..1..1..1....................Whitehead ..3..0..0..0
Ham c..0..0..0..0.....................Jordan 2b..3..0..0..0
Pilkington 3b..3..0..1..1...........Brown c-p..3..0..1..0
Narron 2b..4..0..1..0................Brickhouse 1b..2..0..0..0
..................._______...............Swain 1b..1..0..0..0
.....................33...3...8...2.................................________
...........................................................................32...1....7...1

Wayne 000...201...000 - 3...8...0
Edenton 000...000...001 - 1...7...1

E-Wiggins.LOB-Wayne, Edenton.
2B-Wright, Wiggins. HR-Wiggins. SB-Rose. S-Rose, Lancaster.

Wayne....IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO..NP
Davis (W)..7..6..0..0..0..8
Price.........2..1..1..1..0..2
Edenton
Meekins (L)..7..8..3..3..2..7
Brown...........2..0..0..0..0..2
WP-Meekins 2. PB-Brown.

e diel, 22 korrik 2007

21 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVqRHllmUvwyCg

Stats include the second Edenton game.

Edenton Game Stopped; Wayne Wins by Forfeit

Edenton - Talk about a bizarre way to win a baseball game.

Edenton Post 40 was on the verge of evening its Area I East semifinal playoff series with Wayne County Post 11 Saturday night at Hicks Field when an ejection in the seventh inning resulted in a forfeit against the home team and the visitors taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five match up.

Note: All records count, but there are no winning or losing pitchers.

The two teams will meet again in Edenton tonight at seven.

The unlikely chain of events that led to the end of the game began in the top of the inning. Wayne, trailing 3-1, put together three straight hits and a run, resulting in a pitching change. At the same time, Gabriel Brickhouse replaced Dusty Todd at second. That left Edenton without any substitutes.

In the home half, Edenton loaded the bases with one out. A fly ball to centerfielder Noah Lancaster led to a play at home. Lancaster's strong throw beat Brickhouse to the plate, and he put a shoulder into catcher Tyler Ham but failed to dislodge the ball. Legion rules forbid runners from inititating that type of contact, leading to the ejection.

And with that also went Edenton's hopes for a win. Teams must have nine players for the game to continue.

In the series openter, Edenton struggled offensively, getting five runners. Wayne wasn't much better in this game with eight.

Wayne, 17-4, got on the scoreboard first on a solo home run in the third by Jackson Massey. Edenton starter Landon Jordan retired 11 of the next 12 batters before the trouble in the seventh.

Wayne starter Taylor Bullard struggled with control problems throughout his six innings. On several occasions, he was saved by his defense. Wayne turned a doubled play in the first. In the second, leftfielder Will Edgerton played a Jordan's fly ball joff the wall perfectly to nail Judd Whitehead going to third. An inning later, he relayed another shot in left centerfield to shortstop Gourley, and the accurate throw home got Beasley.

But in the fourth, his good fortune ran out. He struck out the first two batters before walking Jordan. John Layton doubled to center to tie the game.

Edenton's Zack Beasley was on first with two out in the fifth when he moved to third on a wild pickoff throw . His feint toward home unnerved Bullard, causing a balk. An inning later, Tyler Swain followed a pair of two-out walks with a run-scoring double.

Wayne got hits from Lancaster, Ham and Thomas Pilkington to start the seventh and put the tying run at the plate. That resulted in Beasley coming to the mound.

Conner Narron's fly ball to shallow left centerfield was dropped but thrown to second for a force out. The next two batters struck out.

Wayne....AB..R..H..BI...........Edenton....AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..2..1..1..1...............Thomas rf..4..0..0..0
Gourley ss..4..0..0..0............Todd 2b..3..0..2..0
Davis dh..3..0..0..0................Brickhouse 2b..1..0..1..0
Wooten 1b..3..0..0..0.............Beasley lf-p..1..1..0..0
Edgerton lf..3..0..0..0............Westbrook cf..4..0..1..0
Lancaster cf..3..1..1..0...........Higgins ss-lf..3..0..0..0
Pilkington 3b..3..0..2..1.........Whitehead 3b..4..0..1..0
Narron 2b..3..0..0..0..............Jordan p-ss..1..2..1..0
......................________........Swain 1b..3..0..1..1
........................26..2..5..2..............................________
.........................................................................25..3..8..2

Wayne 001...000...1 - 2...5...1
Edenton 000...111...0 - 3...8...0

E-Bullard. DP-Wayne 2. LOB-Wayne 6, edenton 7. 2B-Layton
HR-Massey. SB-Massey.

................IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Wayne
Bullard...6..7..3..2..5..6
Grice.....1..1..0..0..0..1
Edenton
Jordan...6..5..2..2..2..4
Beasley..1..0..0..0..0..2
BK-Bullard. HBP-Beasley (by Bullard), Massey (by Jordan), Beasley
(by Grice), Higgins (by Grice.)

e shtunë, 21 korrik 2007

20 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVpd-Y-Kx__-Ug

Sorry for the delay. It's been a busy 24 hours. Ill try to add the box from Friday on Sunday morning.

e premte, 20 korrik 2007

Sasser Dominates Edenton

Wayne CountyPost 11 pitcher Grant Sasser's last two starts have been a study in contrasts. Against New Bern, in a game to decide the Area I East South Division regular season title, the left-hander was victimized by poor support and bad breaks. But it was a different story against Edenton Post 40 Friday night in the second round of the playoffs.

Sasser allowed three hits over seven innings and got generally solid defensive support as Wayne drew first blood in the best-of-five matchup with a 6-1 win at Mount Olive College. The next games will be played in Edenton over the weekend. Taylor Bullard will start Saturday night for Post 11.

"I thought he had better stuff against New Bern, but we played better behind him,"said Wayne coach Brad Reaves.

Brandon Price set the side down in order in the last two innings. Edenton managed only five runners while Wayne had 17.

Wayne did all its damage in the fourth with the aid of three errors. garrett reached on a fielding error and advanced to second on John wooten's blooper to center. After both advanced on steals, Jay Rose fell behind 0-2 before fouling off three pitches on his way to a walk.

Davis scored on Will Edgerton's hit to center, and Wooten followed when the ball was misplayed.Rose scored as Nolan Lancaster's grounder was being thrown away. Conner Narron singled to center on the first pitch for another run.

Jackson Massey doubled to center to make it 5-0, and Walker Gourley brought in the final run with another groundout.

Wayne didn't get a ball out of the infield the rest of the way after Massey's double. The last scoring threat came in the seventh when Post 11 loaded the bases with two out only to have the inning end on a strikeout.

Sasser didn't allow more than one runner in an inning until the seventh. Joseph westbrook doubled with one out, went to third on a fielding error and scored on a sacrifice fly.

e enjte, 19 korrik 2007

19 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVq7CmsSJ-gpbw

If the stats don't show, go to the archive. sometimes the blog acts funny.

e mërkurë, 18 korrik 2007

Wayne Surges Past Rocky Mount

Here's a meaningless statistic for you: Rocky Mount Post 58 outhit Wayne County Post 11 9-8 in their Area I East first-round playoff game Wednesday night.

What's more important is that Wayne took advantage of a meltdown by Rocky Mount pitcher Tyler Johnson to roll into the second round with a 13-1 victory in eight innings at Rocky Mount Academy. Wayne is 85-7 in games decided by the ten-run rule.

Wayne (15-4) will face the winner of Thursday's Pitt County 39-Edenton game in a best-of-five series beginning Friday. Pitt County 160 defeated Wilson to force a third game.

"I think we will be hard to handle in a five-game series because we have nine arms that are very capable of getting the job done," said Wayne coach Brad Reaves. "We will go with Grant Sasser Friday, Garrett Davis Saturday, and Brandon Price or Taylor Bullard on Sunday, depending on the feel we get from whomever we play. T.J. Hinson should be ready again by Monday if we need him or we can use whomever we do not use on Sunday."

Post 11 had appeared in the league title series in nine of the past eleven years before being swept in the first round the past two seasons.

Wayne was clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth and appeared to be on its way to another quiet inning. But Davis was hit by a pitch on a 1-2 fastball with one out to signal a dramatic shift in the game. John Wooten followed with a single in the right centerfield gap. Will Edgerton walked to bring up Nolan Lancaster.

He took two pitches for balls, swung at one well out out the strike zone and watched a cueve for ball three before belting fastball to left centerfield for a home run to give Post 11 some breathing room. It was only the third hit allowed by Joyner.

Joyner, who threw 127 pitches, didn't make it out of the seventh inning. He hit two more batters, then had two runs score on a bases loaded throwing error with two out. Thomas Pilkington made sure that miscue was an even more expensive one when he doubled home two more runs againsrt reliever Dillon Cockrell.

Wayne continued to get things done with three more runs in the eighth. Jackson Massey started things with a single and was safe at second on a dropped throw on Walker Gourley's grounder. Davis, who had been hit by a pitch twice, lined an 0-1 fastball over the fence in right to cap the rout.

Hinson provided Wayne with another solid job on the mound. He went six innings, allowing seven hits, but he never allowd the opposition to put together a big inning. Rocky Mount's only run came in the first with the aid of an error on a bunt.

"That's exactly what he did,' said Reaves. "He threw strikes and made big pitches when he needed to. Mature pitchers do that, and TJ has matured alot since last year."

Joyner started the game as if he wasn't going to be around long. He walked Jackson Massey and Walker Gourley before settling down to fan Davis. Massey reached third on an errant pickoff throw and scored on Wooten's grounder. Gourley came in on a two-out passed ball on a strikeout.

Edgerton's liner to center was the only ball hit out of the infield in the first five innings.

"He carved us up early," Reaves said of Joyner. "I think he lost his composure. He tried to do to much instead of allowing his fielders to help him out. There is a time for strikeouts but mature pitchers depend on their defense to help them out of jams."


Wayne ......AB..R..H..BI............Rocky Mount...AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..3..2..2..0..................Moore cf..4..1..1..0
Gourley ss..4..3..0..0.................Webb ss..3..0..2..0
Davis dh..3..2..1..3.....................Macklin rf..3..0..2..1
Wooten..1b5..2..2..1...................Cockrell 3b-p..4..0..1..0
Edgerton lf..3..2..0..0................ Hodges p..0..0..0..0
Lancaster cf..2.2..1..4.................Berry dh-3b 3..0..0..0
Casey cf..1..0..0..0......................Pearce 3..0..0..0
Pilkington 3b..3..0..1..2..............Womble 1b..4..0..1..0
Ham c..........4..0..1..0..................Johnson lf..3..0..1..0
Narron 2b..4..0..0..0....................................________
..................................._______.....................30..1..9..1
....................................32..13..8..10

Wayne....200...004...43 -13...8...1
RM..........100...000...00 - 1...9...3

E-Joyner, Hinson, Cockrell, Allen. DP-Wayne 1. LOB Wayne 5, RM 11.
2B-Pilkington. HR-Lancaster, Davis. SB-Massey, Gourley. CS-Edgerton,
Ham. S-Webb, Johnson. SF-Macklin.

Wayne......IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO..NP
Hinson (W) 6..7..1..0..1..5...76
Rose.............1..2..0..0..0..1...25
Bullard.........1..0..0..0..1..3...22
RM
Joyner (L)...6 2/3..4..10..7..5..6...129
Cockrell...........2/3..4..3..2..0..1...27
Hodges.............2/3....0..0..0..0..1...5
WP-Rose. PB-Pearce. HBP-Lancaster (by Taylor), Davis (by Taylor),
Davis (by Taylor), Lancaster (by Taylor), Edgerton (by Taylor).

e martë, 17 korrik 2007

e hënë, 16 korrik 2007

Wayne Wins First Playoff Game Since 2004

The American Legion playoffs -aka the second season - are here and, unlike the past two years, Wayne County Post 11 got this one started in a positive fashion.

Garrett Davis turned in his usual spectacular performance on the mound and did more damage with his bat as Wayne drew first blood in its best-of-three playoff series with Rocky Mount Post 58 Monday night with a 5-1 win at Mount Olive College.

Tonight's game will be played at Rocky Mount Academy. T.J. Hinson will start on the mound for Post 11.

Wayne coach Brad Reaves had planned to start Davis in the second game but decided to switch because of the possibility of bad weather all week. The team that wins the first game wins the series if the other team wins game two but the series is not finished.

Davis was making his first start after five relief appearances totaling nine innings. He went six innings, striking out 11 while walking two and allowing four hits.

He also provided Wayne with much needed firepower at the plate in the form of a home run and a triple.

Neither team took full advantage of its opportunities. Wayne had 18 runners and Rocky Mount 12.

Post 11 had two big innings. In the three-run third, Nolan Lancaster walked but was caught stealing. Chad Gurley fell behind 1-2 before walking. Jackson Massey then hit a 3-2 fastball to left and wound up at third after the fielder failed on a diving attempt to catch the liner.

He scored on Walker Gourley's grounder. Rocky Mount starter Zach Woodley fell behind Davis 2-0 and served up a fastball that cleared the right field fence in a hurry.

The runners continued for Wayne over the next two innings but without any runs to show for it as the team stranded seven.

Davis left after having thrown 89 pitches. It was then up to Massey to hold the lead. He didn't get off to a good start. Leadoff batter Adam Hodges reached on a single and later scored on a two-out error. But Massey picked off that runner to end the inning.

Wayne came back to give Massey some breathing room in the home half. Davis tripled with one out, and John Wooten walked. Jay Rose's grounder was bobbled as the second baseman attempted to throw to second. Will Edgerton bunted his way on base, and Zack Wright was hit by a pitch to force in a run. But again, the promise of a bigger inning fizzled as the next two batters struck out.

Rocky Mount had its own frustrating inning in the eighth. Andrew Webb drew a leadoff walk, and Brian Allen singled to left to put Rocky Mount in a position to rally. But Massey was again up to the task, as he struck out the next batter on three pitches and got the other two outs on popups.

Rocky Mount...AB..R..H..BI.........Wayne............AB..R..H..BI
Moore cf..........4..0..0..0................Massey rf-p..4..1..1..1
Webb ss...........2..0..1..0................Gourley ss......5..0..0..1
Macklin rf........4..0..0..0...............Davis p-rf.......5..2..3..2
Womble 1b......4..0..0..0................Wooten 3b.....2..1..0..0
Berry 3b...........4..0..0..0...............Rose 1b...........2..0..0..1
Hodges dh-2b..3..1..1..0................Edgerton lf.....4..0..2..0
Pearce c............4..0..1..0................Lancaster cf...3..0..1..0
Cockrell lf..........4..0..2..0...............Gurley 2b.......3..1..0..0
..........................._______....................................._______
............................31...1...7...0..................................31...5...8...5

RM.........000..000..100 - 1..7..2
Wayne...003...000..10X - 5..8..1

E-Webb, Rose,Hodges. DP-RM 1, Wayne 1. 3B-Massey, Davis.
HR-Davis. SB-Gurley. CS-Lancaster, Massey, Moore. S-Allen.

RM.................IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO..NP
Woodley (L).....6...6...3...3...5...5...109
Allen..................2...2..2..1..1..3...33
Wayne
Davis (W)..........6...4...0...0...2...11...89
Massey...............3...3...1...1...1...2...46
WP-Massey, PB-Pearce, Wright. HBP-Webb (by Davis), Wright (by Allen), Massey,
(by Allen),

First Round Results

Cary Post 7 - Apex 6 Cary scores two in the 8th after trailing 5-0

Durham 13 - Benson 3 in seven innings.

Edenton 11 - Pitt County 3

Wayne County 5 - Rocky Mount 1

New Bern 6 Beaufort County 4 One out in the bottom of the 6th when the game was called.

Wilson defeated Pitt County Post 160 9-2 on Monday. Matthew Watson (6-2) pitched eight innings (101 pitches), giving up six hits, striking out seven and walking two. He retired the final 11 batters he faced. Bradley Taylor hit a 3-run HR as Wilson opened an 8-2 lead after three innings. Post 160's Spencer Fagan matched Wilson's Watson the rest of the way. (Courtesy of ncpreps.com)

e diel, 15 korrik 2007

Pitch Counts and Strike Percentage

I started tracking pitches thrown in 2003, though I have charts well into the 90's. Here are some numbers:

..............Strike Pct......Pitches/Inning
2003... 60.6...................15.7 (18-5)
2004... 62.8...................15.5 (28-9)
2005... 63.6...................15.4 (17-10)
2006... 62.2...................16.9 (12-12)
2007... 60.2...................15.8 (13-4)

I might see if I can find some numbers on some of our standout performers of the past 15 years.

17 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVosgfhAcQ3hUw

New Bern Cruises to Division Title

A week ago, Wayne County Post 11 was on the verge of taking first place in the Area I East South Division and claiming homefield advantage throughout the league playoffs. But that's no longer the case, and the team finds itself with the very real possibility of having a promising season cut short with a first-round exit.

Keith Spinner held Post 11 to six hits and struck out 12 in going the distance as New Bern POst 24 emphatically clinched first place in the division standings 8-3 Saturday night at New Bern High School. New Bern (8-2) will face the North Division's fourth place team, Beaufort County, while Wayne (6-4, 13-4) will take on Nash County in best-of-three series beginning Monday. Other pairings are Edenton vs. Pitt 39 and Wilson vs. Pitt 160.

T.J. HInson (4-2, 2.16) will get the start Monday and Garrett Davis (19 strikeouts in nine innings) will be on the mound in the road game.

Spinner didn't exactly blow the Post 11 batters away, but he did what he had to do in effectively mixing his pitches and keeping his opponents off balance. He never gave up the big hit, as Post 11 left seven runners in scoring position. He threw 147 pitches.

Wayne starter Grant Sasser was impressive in the early going. He struck out the side in the second and appeared to be cruising to another easy inning in the third. But how quickly things changed.

He fanned the first two batters, but the second one, Anthony Holloway, reached on a passed ball. He stole second and went to third on a soft single to center by Sam Sanders. Of New Bern's 11 hits, only three left the infield in the air.

A stolen base and and another passed ball produced the first run. Mark Hardeman followed a walk with a chopper that bounced over the head of the first baseman to right for an RBI single. Brett Williams singled through the right side of the infield on a 1-2 breaking pitch for another run. James Varner's grounder was misplayed as the fourth run came home.

Will Edgerton got one run back in the fourth. He singled to left, advanced on a grounder, stole third and scored on the bad throw. Zack Wright doubled with one out but was left there.

New Bern reclaimed that run in the home half after Holloway was plunked by a 1-2 fastball and later scored on the second of Hardeman's four hits.

New Bern's next two runs came in the sixth. Austin Zehr walked and Holloway reached on an infield hit. Zehr took third on a pickoff throw from the catcher, and Holloway stole second. They scored on a sacrifice fly and another Hardeman hit for a 7-1 lead.

Wayne was now in desperate straits, but positioned itself for a big rally in the seventh, only to fail to come through with the big hit. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out, and a repeat of the big comeback at Pitt 160 was a possibbility. But all Post 11 got from it was an RBI groundout by John Wooten.

The eighth was more of the same. Edgerton doubled to center. One out later, Wright struck out but reached on a passed ball. Nolan Lancaster came through with a pinch-hit RBI single, but Spinner retired the next two batters to end Wayne's last threat.

Sasser went five innings, allowed five hits and struck out seven.

e premte, 13 korrik 2007

16 Game Stats

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVoRu56cpF9JVA

Wayne Loses in Last Inning

Wayne County didn't have anything on the line last night at South Central High School against Pitt County Post 160, but that doesn't mean the outcome will be less difficult to take.

After staging an improbable comeback on the strength of three home runs, Post 11 saw it all go for naught as Pitt rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth for a gut-wrenching 10-9 win in an Area I East South Division struggle.

Wayne (6-3, 13-3) will travel to New Bern tonight with the division title at stake while Pitt will face Snow Hill in a game to determine which team gets the final berth in the playoffs. If Post 160 wins, it will tie Pitt Post 39 for third but will win the tiebreaker due to sweeping the regular season series.

Post 11 trailed 7-2 after four innings but fought back to take the lead 9-7 going into the last of the ninth. T.J. Hinson had relieved starter Brandon Price and seemed in control after retiring the last eight batters he faced. Garrett Davis was waiting in the wings but didn't seem to be needed.

And then it all went downhill fast.

Hinson hit leadoff batter Billy Walling on the first pitch, and a lack of communication between the outfielders allowed Gavin Mizelle's fly ball to right center to fall in for a double. Just like that, Pitt was in business.

A wild pitch scored Walling and brought the tying run 90 feet from home plate. This was while Davis was in the bullpen trying to ready to save what looked to be a safe lead.

Hinson got Brian Avery to hit a grounder, and Wayne conceded the run for an out. But the throw to first was wild, and the visitors were faced with the winning run at second. A single to left by Tim Conrad finished Hinson, put runners on the corners and left Davis with the task of getting out of a near impossible situation.

The lanky righthander nearly pulled it off. He fanned Josh Worthington on a 3-2 breaking pitch, then intentionally walked Kramer Sneed to load the bases. Another curve sent Spencer Fagan back to the dugout on a 1-2 pitch.

Davis then went ahead of Logan Hessert 0-1 before a breaking ball in the dirt went to the screen, sending Avery home and Wayne out of town with an unlikely defeat.

Price entered the game sporting a 2-0 record and a 1.23 earned run average, but it was clear early that he was not at the top of his game. He left in the third after allowing 10 hits and with Pitt leading 7-2. Worthington put the finishing touch on Price's night by hitting a first-pitch fastball over the left field fence for a three-run homer. Price gave up 10 hits and didn't strike out anyone. Three of the runs were unearned.

Wayne slowly but surely began solving Pitt starter Fagan's assortment of pitches. Walker Gourley, who had four hits, singled to start the fifth and advanced on a grounder. After a walk, two runs scored during a force play and a poor relay throw to first.

Wayne got within one an inning later on a two-out single by Jackson Massey and Gourley's homer to left centerfield.

The lead switched hands in the eighth. First, Zack Wright belted a fastball over the left field fence to tie it. Massey singled, stole second and later scored on a two-out error.

Will Edgerton gave Wayne some breathing room in the ninth with a home run to left, and that seemed to be more than enough the way Hinson was throwing. But then came the improbable ending.

Pitt had 15 hits to 14 for Wayne. Hessert had a two-run single in the second.


Wayne AB..R..H..BI Pitt 160 AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..5..2..2..0...........Sneed cf..5..2..1..0
Gourley ss..6..4..4..2..........Fagan p-lf..4..1..1..1
Davis..dh-p..4..1..2..0.........Hessert 5..0..3..2
Rose 1b..5..0..2..2...............Sharpe 3b-p..5..0..2..1
Pilkington 3b..4..0..0..0.....Rasberry p..0..0..0..0
Edgerton lf..4..1..1..2..........Walling lf-3b..3.1..2..0
Lancaster cf..5..0..1..0........Mizelle ss..5..1..1..0
Wright c..4..1..2..1...............Avery 1b..5..2..1..1
Gurley 2b..2..0..0..0...........Conrad rf..5..2..3..0
Narron 2b..3..0..0..0..........Worthington c..5..1..1..3
..................._________..........................________
.....................42..9..14..7............................42..10..15..8

Wayne 101...022...021 - 9..14..3
Pitt 160 133...000...003 - 10..15..4

E-Sharpe, Gurley, Gourley 2, Hessert, Walling 2. DP-Pitt 2.
LOB-Wayne 11, Pitt 11.
2B-Gourley, Rose, Wright, Hessert, Mizelle. HR-Worthington, Gourley,. Wright,
Edgerton. SB-Massey, Rose, Davis. S-Fagan.

Wayne....IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Price......2 1/3..10..7..4..1..0
Hinson...(L)5 1/3..5..3..2..0..6
Davis........2/3..0..0..0..1..2
Pitt
Fagan........6..11..6..5..1..1
Sharpe......2 2/3..3..3..2..3..1
Rasberry (W)..1/3..0..0..0..0..1
WP-Sharpe, Hinson, Davis. HBP-Walling (by Hinson), Walling (by Hinson),
Wright (by Sharpe).

e hënë, 9 korrik 2007

Pitt/Edenton Split

Post 39 split a doubleheader with Edenton Post 40.

Game 1--five innings
Runs Hits Errors

Post 39 12 12 0
Post 40 2 3 1

Game 2 nine innings

Post 39 11 14 6
Post 40 12 12 6

e shtunë, 7 korrik 2007

Pitt 39 Wins

Post 39 defeated Snow Hill Post 94 by a score of 2 to 1 in 12 innings.


Runs Hits Errors

Post 39 2 6 0

Post 94 1 7 3


Post 39's record:

Conference 5 wins and 5 losses
Non-conference 3 wins and 3 losses
Overall 8 wins and 8 losses

More Scores

Ahoskie 102 7 Pitt 160 4 conf 3-6 overall 4-14


Runs Hits Errors

Pitt Post 39 5 9 5
RM Post 58 17 13 1

Post's 39 record:
Conference 4 wins and 5 losses
Non-conference 3 wins and 3 losses
Overall 7 wins and 8 losses

e premte, 6 korrik 2007

15 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVrEuKRWEmvbBw

The headline on the spreadsheet says 14, but that is not correct. I just can't fix it.

Wayne Rolls Past Edgecombe

Two teams going in opposite directions met Thursday night at Tarboro's C.B. Martin Middle School ... with predictable results.

Wayne County Post 11 built a comfortable lead and coasted to a 14-3 win over Edgecombe County Post 316 in an Area I East non-division game. Wayne (13-2) will have a long layoff before heading to New Bern for a makeup game on Wednesday. Edgecombe is finished with its initial season of American Legion baseball.

Edgecombe briefly held the lead before Wayne seized control with five second-inning runs despite getting only two hits. But those two hits were big ones.

Wayne loaded the bases on an error, Conner Narron's walk and a hit batter. Jackson Massey then launched a breaking pitch over the 345-foot marker in right centerfield. Walker Gourley sent the next pitch over the left field fence for a 6-2 lead.

Narron made it 7-2 in the third when he followed Nolan Lancaster's lead off double with an RBI single to left.

In the fourth, Gourley reached on an infield hit and Davis singled to right. After a double steal, the next two batters went down, and it appeared Edgecombe might escape. But Tyler Ham walked on a full count to keep the inning alive. Lancaster hit a roller to the third base side of the mound, and the throw to first was wild, resulting in three runs.

Wayne managed only one hit over the next three innings before adding four in the ninth after three walks loaded the bases with none out. Will Edgerton drove in one run with a triple and John Wooten added an RBI double.

Taylor Bullard went five innings for the win despite allowing seven hits and three walks. Jackson Massey, who walked four and allowed five runs in his last outing, threw the final two innings and fanned five.


Wayne.......AB..R..H..BI..................Edgecombe.....AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf-p..5..2..2..4....................Norville rf-p--cf..4..1..1..0
Gourley ss..5..2..2..2.......................Goodwyn c..4..1..2..1
Davis dh..3..1..1..1............................Ruffin dh-rf..5..0..2..0
Edgerton dh..3..1..2..1.....................Boykin ss..4..0..1..1
Wooten 1b..5..0..1..1........................Tharrington cf-p..2..0..1..1
Pilkington 3b ..5..0..1..0..0..............Smith p..0..0..0..0
Ham c..2..1..0..0...............................Arrington 2b..5..0..0..0
Wright c..3..0..0..0...........................Davis 1b..5..0..1..0
Lancaster cf..4..3..2..1......................Fairman 3b..5..1..2..0
Narron 2b..2..2..1..1..........................Wells lf..3..0..0..0
Casey lf..3..2..1..0............................................._________
..............._________........................................37..3..10..3
...............40...14...13...10

Wayne 151...300004-14...13...2
Edgecombe 210...000...000 - 3...10...4

E-Boykin 2, Davis,Fairman, Norville, Gourley DP-Wayne 1, Edgecombe 1.
LOB-Wayne 10, Edgecombe 14.
2B-Lancaster, Fairman 2, Davis, Wooten. 3B-Edgerton. HR-Massey, Gourley.
SB-Massey, Gourley 2, Davis. SF-Gourley.

.................IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Wayne
Bullard (W)...5..7..3..2..3..5
Rose.......2..2..0..0..2..2
Massey..2..1..0..01..5
Edgecombe
Davis (L)...3..8..9..7..1..0
Norville...2..2..1..1..1..1
Tharrington...3 2/3..1..4..4..6..5
Smith..1/3..2..0..0..0..0
WP-Tharrington. PB-Goodwyn. HBP-Casey (by Davis), Goodwyn (by Bullard),
Narron (by Tharrington).

e mërkurë, 4 korrik 2007

14 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVoGNloeZ8TcLA

Wayne Clinches Playoff Spot

Wayne County Post 11 officially clinched a spot in the Area I East playoffs and in the process eliminated Kinston Post 43 with a 4-1 win at Mount Olive College Tuesday night. The win was the team's fifth straight and kept it at least tied for the top of the South Division standings with New Bern.

Wayne (6-2, 12-2) will play road games against Post 160 and New Bern next week before opening the playoffs on July 16.

As has often been the case this season, T. J. Hinson gave Wayne a solid performance on the mound. The right-hander went seven innings, allowed six hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out seven. He improved his record to 4-1 while dropping his ERA below two.

The offense clicked just enough to give Hinson the support he needed. Shortstop Walker Gourley had a big game with four hits and contributed another superb game defensively.

Wayne got on board first after Thomas Pilkington doubled and came around on a fly ball and Chad Gurley's grounder. Kinston tied it in the fourth before Wayne got a good break in the home half of the inning. The centerfielder misjudged Gurley's popup to shallow center, and it fell in for a double to score Pilkington from second.

HInson then got some insurance runs in the fifth. Massey reached on a leadoff single in the infield, and Gourley lined a single to left. after a grounder advanced the runners, John Wooten drove the first pitch up the middle to score both runners and give him a team-leading 19 RBI for the season.

Kinston's last threat came in the eighth against reliever Brandon Price. Pinch hitter CC Croom was safe on an error, and Andrew Manning singled with two out. Price ended the threat with a strikeout.

Garrett Davis pitched the ninth and struck out two, giving him 17 in less than nine innings.

Kinston..AB..R..H..BI....................Wayne..AB..R..H..BI
Sutton dh..3..0..1..1.........................Massey rf..4..1..1..0
Killette rf..1..0..0..0.........................Gourley ss..4..1..4..0
Dudding cf..3..0..0..0.......................Davis cf-p..4..0..0..0
Croom 1..0..0..0...............................Wooten 1b..3..0..1..2
Rouse 3b-ss..4..0..0..0....................Rose dh..3..0..0..0
Whitfield lf..3..0..0..0.......................Lancaster cf..1..0..1..0
Manning lf..1..0..1..0........................Wright c 4..0..0..0
Wetherington rf..3..1..2..0...............Gurley 2b..4..0..1..2
Ginn rf-3b 1..0..0..0.........................Edgerton lf..3..0..0..0
Smith 3..0..2..0................................................._________
Jones 3..0..1..1...................................................34..4..10..4
Bass 1b.. 1..0..0..0
Williams ss-p..4..0..1..0
Spence 2b..4..0..0..0
....................________
.....................35..1..8..1

Kinston..000...100...000-1..8..1
Wayne....010...120...00X-4..10..1

E-Spence, Wooten. DP-Kinston 1. LOB-Kinston 8, Wayne 7.
2B-Plkington, Gurley, Weatherington. SB-Pilkington, Wooten. S-Smith.

...........IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Kinston
Pope..7..9..4..4..1..2
Williams..1..1..0..0..0..1
Wayne
Hinson (W)7..6..1..1..0..7
Price..1..1..0..0..0..1
Davis..1..1..0..0..0..2
WP-Hinson, Williams.

e martë, 3 korrik 2007

13 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVp4SuXAh5YAMA

Wayne Moves Into First Place Tie

Grant Sasser couldn't get it going on the mound Monday night at Mount Olive College againt Pitt County, but his teammates more than made up for it at the plate.

Wayne County Post 11 rallied past Pitt County Post 160 11-8 to move into a first-place tie with New Bern in the Area I East South Division standings. Wayne (5-2, 11-2) remains at home tonight against Kinston.

Sasser, who will attend NC State, has been putting in a lot of time working with the Wolfpack coaches. This was only his second appearance of the season. He started well enough, retiring the side in order in the first, but ran into trouble in the second

Sasser allowed hits on 2-0 and 3-1 counts, then hit a batter to load the bases. Heath Glidewell doubled home two runs before a suicide squeeze attempt failed. Another hit made it 3-0.

Wayne got two of those runs back in the first with the help of a first and third double steal by Jackson Massey and Walker Gourley. Garrett Davis drove in Massey in the third to tie it.

Sasser set PItt down in order in the third but was unable to get out of the fourth and left after giving up a one-out, two-run single to Spencer Fagan. Sterling Grice replaced him and allowed one earned run through the seventh despite struggling at times.

While Pitt was having difficulty converting runners into runs, Wayne took the lead with a five-run fifth. Massey drew a leadoff walk, and Gourley was hit by a pitch. John Wooten lined a breaking pitch into the left filed corner to put Wayne ahead for good. One out later, Wayne strung together run-scoeing hits by Thomas Pilkington, Tyler Ham and Will edgerton to make it 8-5.

The sixth saw an unusual scene: back-to-back intentional passes. Massey singled to start the inning and stole second. He held on a grounder, and Pitt put Davis, batting .611 going into the game, on first. After Davis stole second, Wooten also got a free pass to first. Wayne managed two runs out of it on a sacrifice fly by Jay Rose and Pilkington's single.

That gave Wayne a five-run cushion, but Pitt kept things interesting on Heath Glidewell's two-run homer in the seventh and a leadoff round-tripper in the eighth by Logan Hessert.

Davis fanned two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to bring his total to 15 in 72/3 innings.

Pitt....AB..R..H..BI......................Wayne....AB..R..H..BI
Fagan..p...3..0..2..3.....................Massey..rf..3..4..3.0..0
Rasberry..p....0..0..0..0..............Gourley..ss..4..2..1..0
Avery..ph..1..0..0..0....................Davis..cf-p..4..1..1..1
Conrad..2b..1..0..0..0..................Wooten..1b-p..4..1..1..3
Hessert..2b-p..4..1..2..1..............Rose..dh-1b..4..1..1..1
Mizelle..ss..5..0..0..0...................Pilkington..3b..4..1..2..2
Walling..1b..5..1..1..0...................Ham..c..4..1..2..2
Sneed..rf..5..1..3..o.......................Lancaster..lf..1..0..0..0
Sharpe..3b..4..1..0..0...................Edgerton..lf..4..0..3..1
Glidewell..lf..5..3..3..4..................Gurley..2b..1..0..0..0
Worthington..c..4..1..0..0............Narron..2b..3..0..0..0
Puglisi..cf..2..0..1..0....................................__________
.............___________...............................36..11..14..10
................39..8..12..8

Pitt...030...200..210 - 8..12..1
Wayne...201...052...01X - 11..14..2

E-Worthington, Gourley, Pilkington. LOB-Pitt 10, Wayne 9.
2B-Glidewell, Ham, Wooten, Sneed. 3B-Edgerton, Rose. HR-Glidewell, Hessert.
SB-Massey 4, Gourley 2, Davis, Pilkington, Sneed. CS-Fagan, Pilkington. SF-Rose.

Pitt...IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO........Wayne
Fagan(L)..4 2/3..8..8..7..3..4....Sasser..3 1/3..6..5..4..2..3
Rasberry..1/3..1..0..0..0..0......Grice....3 1/3..4..2..12..0
Hessert..3..5..3..3..3..0..............Wooten..1..2..2..1..0..0
......................................................Davis..1..0..0..0..0..2
WP-Sasser. HBP-Sharpe (by Sasser), Gourley (by Fagan),
Worthington (by Grice).

e hënë, 2 korrik 2007

Snow Hill Tops Pitt 39

Post 39 lost to Snow Hill Post 94 by a score of 6 to 10.

Runs Hits Errors

39 6 10 2
94 10 10 1


Post 39's record Conference 4 wins and 5 losses
Non-conference 2 wins and 2 losses
Overall 6 wins and 7 losses

e diel, 1 korrik 2007

On-Base Percentages

OBP=H+BB+HBP/(PA-SH)

Davis .652
Pilkington .581
Massey .526
Casey .500
Ham .485
Gourley .483
Wooten .470
Lancaster .415
Gurley .370
Edgerton .333
Wright .333

12 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVqjRu9awex_Uw

Hurray! I've caught up. I want to know in relation to the story I've posted: what WC pitchers would pitch to Bonds if he had 755?

11 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVrUBSxZn4MZRg

Through first Ahoskie game.

Anaheim Angels Leadoff Hitter Lives in House with Batting Cage

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/622940.html

From the outside, it looks like a warehouse, 60 feet long and 32 feet wide. But inside, it has everything a baseball family would ever need: a place to eat, sleep and hit.
When houseguests open the front door, they see a small bathroom and kitchen on the right, and two sofas and a television set on the left. The floors are covered with Berber carpet. The dining room table is adorned with a vase of flowers. There are no closets.
Toward the back, the pitching machine, the weight room and the master bedroom are clustered. "I did put in one wall," Reggie said.
When he wants to bat, he pushes aside the sofas to form his personal playing field. He steps inside the net, suspended from the ceiling. If Amber is busy, he hits off a tee.
If she is free, she feeds balls into the pitching machine. Amber stands behind an L-Screen, the kind used to protect batting-practice pitchers. Still, line drives sometimes rip through the screen.
"I know she's taken a few in the helmet," said Mickey Hatcher, the Angels' hitting coach. "But that's part of the game."

Story: Would You PItch to Bonds If He Had 755?

Would you be willing to give up No. 756 to Barry Bonds? Two different reactions.

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/622943.html

During an interview on a Boston radio station earlier this month, in anticipation of the San Francisco Giants coming to town, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was asked if Barry Bonds was at home run No. 755 and Schilling was pitching, would he give Bonds a pitch to hit.

"Not on purpose," Schilling said. "I don't want to be Al Downing."
In fact, the essential question is this: Who will have the courage to be Al Downing?...

"If you're a pitcher of Hall of Fame caliber, you're supposed to be challenging guys," Downing said. "Otherwise, don't pitch. You go out there and do the very best you can; don't take it personally, because this guy has already hit seven hundred and something home runs; it's not like he's singling you out. You just happen to be the guy who got the ball that night."

All Downing had to do was look at the names of pitchers who had given up home runs to Aaron: Sandy Koufax, seven; Bob Gibson, eight; Juan Marichal, eight; Don Drysdale, 17. Please.
Bonds has hit home runs against 442 pitchers.

"You're a major league ballplayer," Downing said. "You uphold the integrity of your own performance. Don't let your career be defined by one moment."

Downing's career was not.

He broke into major league baseball with the Yankees in 1961 and generally is regarded as the Yankees' first black starting pitcher. Once called the black Sandy Koufax, Downing played 17 seasons and finished with a record of 123-107 and a 3.22 earned run average. He was an All-Star in 1967, led the American League in strikeouts in 1964 and led the National League in shutouts in 1971.