e hënë, 13 gusht 2007

Calling It Quits for 2007

I got the idea for this blog last winter. I'm not the most tech savvy person around, so I was a bit apprehensive about trying it. In prior seasons, I collected emails, then sent stories to people on the list. This is a way to reach a wider audience.

It succeeded, to say the least. I've gotten complimentary responses from people in various parts of the state. This encourages me to do it again in 2008. It also allows people who want to check in on how we're going to get their scores and info first thing in the morning.

Now, some thanks to the people who do the work behind the scenes and in front of you. First, the knuckleheads at the gate. Many come, but few are willing to sit and collect money. So, thanks ladies.

The woman in the concession stand. She always made sure I got my hot dogs; otherwise I would have gone to work for the Wilson crowd. And she doesn't get to watch the games!

Our announcer is an acquired taste for some, but you can't say he is boring. And he cares enough to get the names right, no small thing from what I've heard elsewhere. I'd like to hear some Lynyrd Skynyrd opening a few games next season.

Athletic officer Sam Sasser has brought a much-need energy to the position. we'll have to keep Grant as a batboy so we don't lose Sam.

Our coaches, as do almost all coaches, work hard to get everything out of the players. Now, if our head coach could just quit antagonizing those folks from Caldwell County....

Finally, but most important, the players, my most special friends. To the ones who won't be returning, don't forget what this program gave you. Don't turn your back on it. Come to the field often and contribute something in time or money to help this program continue to be one of the premier ones in the state.

I will see you in May of 2008.

2007 Final Statistics

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVrEc8aVMNlAEw

Players who would like stats from previous seasons, well, I don't keep that stuff. I throw everything away.

I hope you believe that.

32 Game Totals

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

31 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVoQQrJ9_y77Ow

e diel, 12 gusht 2007

Wayne finishes Second in State for Fifth Time

I'm going to post the stats for the end of the season later today.

Wayne County's first American Legion state title will not come in 2007.

After taking care of Caldwell County 6-1 in the first game Sunday afternoon at Garner High School, Wayne had high hopes of bringing home the big trophy. Post 11 ace Garrett Davis was on the mound, and the bats were working.

But it wasn't to be. Cherryville's Chris Henderson limited Wayne to two hits and struck out 12 as Post 100 beat Post 11 6-1 to claim another state title and head for the regional in Georgia.

In the who-would-have-believed-it department, both of Wayne's losses in the double elimination event came with Davis as the starting pitcher. In stark contrast to the run support the other starters received, Davis' teammates scored one run in his two games. He pitched 11 innings, allowing five runs, including three earned.

'Garrett didn't lose. We lost," said Wayne coach Brad Reaves."Give us a 5 or 7 game series and we beat anyone at the tourney. I'll take my second place team over any team there." Wayne finished its most successful season since 2004 with a 27-6 mark.

Henderson didn't display Davis' fastball but he did show a solid command of the strike zone and an ability to keep the Wayne batters off balance almost the entire game. "That's what he did," said Reaves. "He mixed it up and I think we were out of gas."

Henderson hit Jay Rose on a 3-2 pitch to open the second, and the Post 11 players sensed an opening.

But none developed. Wayne's next runner came in the fifth on a Thomas Pilkington single. He was quickly erased on a double play.

Davis came into the sixth having avoided giving up a run thanks to a pair of good defensive plays, and he looked ready to go deep into the game having thrown 64 pitches. But his good fortune soon left him.

With one out, Payden Houser singled up the middle. Steven Hoyle's grounder was misplayed to put runners on first and second. Houser advanced on a wild pitch, and Paul finger sent a breaking pitch through the left side for the first run. the runners advanced on a grounder.

Then Henderson helped his own cause by lining the first pitch to right centefield for another two runs. Davis fanned the next batter, but he had thrown 26 pitches that inning and was through.

Cherryville's hurlers are not under any constraints in the pitch count department, but Henderson was in good shape anyway. He would go the distance and throw 115 with only one inning of more than 16.

Jackson Massey took over in the seventh and retired the side in order, but he couldn't sustain it in the eighth. After the first two batters went down, Finger reached on a bloop double to right. Jake Watts scored him with a single to right. Watts stole second and came home on a hit by Henderson. Henderson went to second on an error and scored on Aaron Haynes' single to center. The last two hits came on 1-2 pitches. Sterling Price came in and got the final out.

Wayne clung to the hopes of a last-inning rally after pinch hitter Zack Wright reached on an error and Will Edgerton doubled to right. Henderson, however, was not to be denied. He fanned Massey on three breaking pitches. A run scored as Walker Gourley was safe on an error, and Henderson got the next batters to send the Post 100 team on the field to celebrate.

in the first game of the afternoon, Wayne got another chance at Jimmy Messer, this time with better results. The UNC-bound right-hander wasn't as sharp as in the tournament opener, allowing eight hits and walking three.

Wayne got on the board in the secon as John Wooten drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on Rose double and scored on Ham's ground out.

Massey continued to have a great tournament as he opened the third with a home run to center. Gourley doubled into the left field corner to make it 3-0.

That would turn out to be all Post 11 starter T.J. Hinson would need. He gave up a home run in the bottom of the inning to Shane Clawson but kept Post 29 at bay for the next five innings.

He twice started double plays on check-swing grounders to the mound. In the eighth, when he was running out of gas, he hit a batter and allowed a double off the left field fence by Daniel Coffey. But he got the next batter on a soft liner and ended the inning on a fly ball to the outfield.

Wayne got Hinson plenty of insurance runs in the seventh. Conner Narron reached on an infield hit and made it home when Messer threw away Nolan Lancaster's bunt. Lancaster got to third on the same play and scored on a passed ball.

Rose opened the eighth with his second home run of the season.

Wayne....AB..R..H..BI..........Caldwell..AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..4..1..1..1..............Severt rf..4..0..1..0
Gourley ss..5..1..3..0............Clawson cf..5..1..1..1
Davis cf..3..0..1..1..................Chavis c..4..0..0..0
Edgerton lf ..2..0..0..0..........Craig 1b..2..0..1..0
Wooten 1b..4..1..1..0.............Coffey 3b..4..0..1..0
Rose dh-p..4..1..2..1..............Merrikan dh..4..0..1..0
Ham c..4..0..1..1.....................Hendrix 2b..3..0..1..0
Pilkington 3b..4..0..0..0........Shehan ss..3..0..0..0
Narron 2b..3..1..1..0..............Parham ph..1..0..0..0
Lancaster lf-cf 4..1..1..1.........Nelson lf..2..0..1..0
......................_______..........Hamby ph..1..0..0..0
.....................37..6..11..4..............................______
......................................................................33..1..7..1

Wayne....012...000...210 - 6..11..1
Caldwell..001...000...000 - 1..7..2


E-Pilkington, Messer, Shehan. DP Wayne 2, Caldwell 1.
LOB-Wayne 7, Caldwell 10.
2B-Rose, Gourley, Coffey. HR-Massey, Clawson. SB-Narron,
Davis. CS-Massey.

Wayne...IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Hinson (W)..8..7..1..1..3..2
Rose.............1..0..0..0..1..0
Caldwell
Messer (L)..7..8..5..4..3..4
Berry...........2..3..1..1..0..0
PB-Chavis. HBP-Craig (by Hinson).

Wayne..AB..R..H..BI.......Cherryville..AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf-p..4..0..0..0...Blake ss..4..0..0..0
Gourley ss..4..0..0..1......Houser..4..1..2..0
Wooten 1b..4..0..0..0......Hoyle ..4..1..0..0
Rose dh..2..0..0..0...........Finger 3b..4..2..3..1
Davis p-cf..1..0..0..0........Watts rf..4..1..2..1
Pilkington 3b..3..0..1..0...Henderson p..4..1..3..3
Narron 2b..3..0..0..0........Haynes c..2..0..1..1
Lancaster cf 2..0..0..0......Benson cf..3..0..0..0
Wright ph..1..0..0..0.........McSwain 2b..4..0..0..0
Gurley pr..0..1..0..0................................_______
.....................______...............................34..6..10..6
......................30..1..2..1

Wayne.........000...000...001 - 1..2..2
Cherryville..000...003...30x - 6..10..1

E-Gourley, Pilkington, Gourley, Blake. Wayne 1, Cherryville1.
LOB-Wayne 3, Cherryville 6.
2B-Henderson, Finger. SB-Watts. CS-Henderson.

Wayne..IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Davis (L)..6..7..3..1..0..5
Massey 1 2/3..4..3..2..1..2
Grice......1/3..0..0..0..0..0
Cherryville
Henderson (W)..9..2..1..0..0..12
WP-Davis. PB-Haynes. HBP-Rose (by Henderson).

Wayne Rolls Into Sunday


Another big game, and another big-time performance from Brandon Price.

The Wayne County Post 11 righthander fought his way through eight strong innings against a powerful offense while his teammates continued to punish opposition pitchers as Wayne defeated Cherryville Post 100 10-5 Saturday night in the American Legion state tournament in Garner.

Three teams are left in the quest for the title. Wayne will square off with Caldwell County Post 29 Sunday afternoon at one. The winner will face Cherryville for the championship around 4:30.
Since being held to a season-low three hits in the first game, Wayne has been a tear offensively, scoring 38 runs in its three wins. The pitchers have been equally effective, allowing four earned runs and walking three.

Price has been a model of consistency when it has counted the most. He's allowed two earned runs in his last 20 innings. And just when it seemed he was out of gas, he went into his reserve tank to get out of one more jam.

He took what seemed to be a comfortable 8-3 lead into the eighth and was on the verge of ending his night after retiring the first two batters. At that point, he had thrown 106 pitches, close to what Post 11 coach Brad Reaves gives his pitchers.

But Cherryville's potent lineup was not to be gotten out this easy. Cleanup hitter Paul Finger drilled a 2-0 fastball to left for a double. Jake Watts doubled him home and scored on Chris Henderson's single through the left side.

Then things got even dicier as Shane Richard's grounder was misplayed for an error to bring the tying run to the plate.

Reaves went to the mound, had a talk with Price and left him in. Price, an excellent fielder, rewarded his coach by snagging Nate Wright's ground ball up the middle for the last out.

Then came what may have been the emotionally back-breaking ninth. Pinch hitter Thomas Pilkington singled to open the inning. One out later, Tyler Ham caught a fastball and lined over the right field fence for his first home run of the season.

Jay Rose, who has appeared on the mound in all the tournament games, pitched a perfect ninth.

Cherryville struck first for two unearned runs in the second. Watts reached when his fly ball to left was dropped. Henderson singled him to third, and Richard walked. Watts scored on a wild pitch and Nate Wright hit a sacrifice fly.

Philip Russ, a soft-throwing lefty, got the starting nod for Cherryville as Post 100 saved Henderson for Sunday. Wayne left runners in scoring position in the first two innings before breaking through in the third.

Conner Narron was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. Noah Lancaster was safe on an infield hit to short, and Jackson Massey continued to be clutch with an RBI single up the middle to put runners on the corners. He took second on the throw.

But Wayne ran itself out of the inning. Walker Gourley hit a grounder to short, and Massey broke for third. He was out in a rundown. Gourley tried for second but failed to beat the throw. A strikeout ended the inning.

Cherryville went down in order in the third, and Wayne took the lead for good in the fourth, sending Russ from the game.

John Wooten doubled over the head of the centerfielder. Rose, the opposite-field specialist, doubled over the leftfielder for a run. Ham hit a screamer to the second baseman. He couldn't handle it, and Rose came home.

Cherryville rebounded in the fourth and seemed on the verge of tying it, but a base running blunder negated that. Finger had a lead off single. Watts hit smashed a 3-1 fastball to center, and Garrett Davis ran into a fence post, temporarily stunning him. He recovered and fired the ball to third. Watts beat the throw but tried to hold the bag without sliding. He was tagged out. The next batter hit what would have been a sacrifice fly to right.

Cherryville again threatened in the fifth, but Price rose to the occasion. Tripp McSwan singled and Trey Blake doubled with one out. Price went to a full count on Payden Houser, then struck him out on a breaking pitch. He got the next batter on a grounder.

Wayne added a run in the seventh against reliever Cory Parks. Gourley was hit by a pitch, went to second after Davis' grounder was misplayed, stole third and scored on a wild pitch.

The eighth saw Wayne go wild on the bases. Narron reached on a two-out fielder's choice and stole second and third. Lancaster singled him home and stole second.

Massey walked, and then Wayne's speed came into play as Lancaster raced home on Gourley's roller up the first base line. Davis singled through the right side to give Post 11 a five-run lead. Davis stole second, but the runners were stranded there.

Wayne AB..R..h..BI...............Cherryville AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..4..1..1..1................Blake ss..5..0..1..0
Gourley ss..4..1..2..2..............Houser cf..5..0..0..0
Davis cf.5..0..1..1....................Hoyle 1b..4..0..0..0
Wooten 3b..5..1..1..0..............Finger 3b..4..2..2..0
ZWright dh..4..0..0..0.............Watts rf..4..2..2..2
Pilkington dh..1..1..1..0..........Henderson c..4..1..2..1
Rose 1b-p..5.1..2..1.................Richard lf..2..0..0..0
Ham c..5..1..2..2.......................NWright..3..0..0..1
Narron 2b..3..2..0..0...............McSwain 2b..4..0..1..0
Lancaster lf..5..2..2..1.................................______
......................______..................................35..5..6..4
.......................41..10..12..8

Wayne.........002...200...132 - 10..12..2
Cherryville..020...100...020 - 5..6..4

E-Blake, Lancaster, Finger, McSwain 2, Wooten. LOB-Wayne 9,
Cherryville 6.
2B-Wooten, Rose, Ham, Blake, Finger, Watts. 3B-Watts. HR-Ham
SB-Massey, Lancaster 2, Davis 3, Gourley, Narron 2. SF-Wright.

Wayne..........IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Price (W)......8..8..5..2..2..6
Rose..............1..0..0..0..0..1
Cherryville
Russ (L)......3 1/3..4..4..3..1..2
Parks...........3 2/3..2..1..0..0..5
Haynes..........2..6..5..5..1..2
WP-Price, Parks. HBP-Narron (by Russ), Gourley (by Parks),
Narron (by Haynes.)

e shtunë, 11 gusht 2007

Listen to the Game Here

http://www.hrnb.com/wlon_index.html

Please tell as many people as possible. Try it out and let me know if there is a problem with the link.

30 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVoudr9p5BVsWA

Cherryville is in the final Sunday by virtue of being the last unbeaten team.

Scenario One: Cherryville wins. The Durham/Caldwell winner plays Cherryville Sunday at one. A second game, if needed, follows.

Scenario Two: Cherryville loses. The two Saturday winners play at one for the right to play for the title at four.

All clear?

e premte, 10 gusht 2007

Wayne Stuns Rowan County

More to come.

It was the baseball equivalent of shock and awe.

Wayne County Post 11 batted around in two straight innings and handed Area III powerhouse Rowan County its worst loss of the season 19-1 Friday afternoon at the American Legion state tournament in Garner.

Wayne (25-5) will play Saturday evening at nine against Cherryville because the tournament setup was changed this year.

Five players had multiple-hit games as Post 11 tagged five pitchers for 17 hits. Grant Sasser, who lasted less than two innings and and allowed seven runs in the Wednesday loss to Caldwell County, showed why he's headed to NC State this fall. "Sasser was the Sasser of old," said Wayne coach Brad Reaves. "He knew the importance of his job and like all good players he stepped up."

The lefty allowed one hit in six innings, a dribbler down the third base line, and didn't issue a walk as he picked up his third win.

Jackson Massey set the tone for the offensive landslide when he walked to start the game. One pitch later, Walker Gourley sent a fastball over the centerfield fence. Rowanstarter Weston Church walked Garrett Davis, but got the next two batters.

Next up was Zack Wright and his .180 batting average. But the light-hitting catcher was to be a pleasant surprise this afternoon. He pulled an 0-2 curve into the left field corner for a run and the first of four hits.

Sasser was on top of his game from the first, retiring the first nine batters. And it was in the third that the Rowan team and its vocal contingent got the idea that it was not going to be their afternoon.

Weston hit Gourley, and he stole second. Davis reached on an infield hit, and Gourley scored on an error on John Wooten's grounder. After Wooten was picked off first, Jay Rose was safe on an error. Wright drove another breaking pitch down the third base line for an RBI double.

The runners held on a ground out, but Conner Narron singled to right to make it 7-0. He went to seond on an error on the throw home, stole third and scored on a poor throw. Alex Casey walked, and Massey homered to right to put Wayne ahead 10-0.

Plenty more was to come in the fourth.

Davis singled, Wooten doubled to center and Rose walked to load the bases. Again, Wright was clutch as he doubled home two runs. Thomas Pilkington sngled to left to make the score 14-0.

Narron walked, and with one out Massey pulled a breaking pitch down the first base line for two runs. Gourley singled off the right field fence to finish the scoring.

Wright, who ended with four hits and five RBI, had a run-scoring single in the two-run ninth.

Wayne..AB..R..H..BI........Rowan..AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf..5..3..2..4.........Roland 3..1..0..0
Gourley ss..4..2..2..3........Ridenhour cf..3..0..1..0
Davis cf..4..3..3..0.............Church p-2b..2..0..0..1
Lancaster cf..1..0..0..0.....Holmes 1b..1..0..0..0
Rose dh-p..4..2..1..0.........Britt ph..1..0..0..0
Wright c..5..3..4..5............Jarrett 2b-p..2..0..0..0
Pilkington 3b..5..1..1..2.....Hillard p..0..0..0..0
Narron 2b..2..2..1..2..........Brown p..0..0..0..0
Gurley 2b..2..0..0..0..........Shive ph..1.0..0..0
Casey lf..1..1..0..0..............Dobbins c..3..0..1..0
Edgerton lf..3..0..1..1.........Mock 3b..3..0..0..0
....................._______.......Kesler lf..2..0..0..0
...................41..19..17..17....Cranford rf..1..0..0..0
.............................................Young rf..0..0..0..0
...............................................................________
................................................................22..1..2..1

Wayne.....307...700...2 - 19..17..1
Rowan.....000...100...0 - 1....2...4

E-Jarrett 2, Dobbins 2, Gourley. LOB-Wayne 5, Rowan 3.
2B-Wright 3, Wooten 2. 3B-Massey. HR-Gourley, Massey.
SB-Gourley, Narron. SF-Church.

Wayne..IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Sasser (W) 6..1..0..0..0..7
Rose............1..1..0..0..0..2
Rowan
Church (L)..2 2/3..5..8..5..2..2
Jarrett.........1 2/3..1..2..2..1..1
Hillard............0..4..5..5..1..0
Brown.............1/3..3..2..2..1..1
Shive............3 2/3..4..2..2..0..5
Holmes (by Sasser), Cranford (by Sasser).

On-base Percentages

H+BB+HBP/PA-sacrifice bunts -catcher's interference

Jackson Massey 73/135 =.541
Walker Gourley 57/135 = .422
Garrett Davis 39/87 = .448
John Wooten 51/118 =.432
Jay Rose 34/95 =.358
Tyler Ham 30/66 =.455
Zack Wright 15/55 =.273
Thomas Pilkington 37/89 =.416
Conner Narron 20/57 =.351
Nolan Lancaster 37/89 =.416

Pitchers' OBP
Garrett Davis 32/126 =.254
Grant Sasser 42/129 =.326
TJ Hinson 60/201 =.299
Brandon Price 42/151 =.278

29 Game Totals

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

e enjte, 9 gusht 2007

Massey, Hinson Help Wayne Stay Alive

The near record breaking heat at Garner High School Wednesday afternoon did little to deter Wayne County Post 11 outfielder Jackson Massey.

The veteran leadoff man homered to start Wayne's day at the plate, then speared a line drive to start a double play in a crucial part of the game to lead Post 11 to a 9-4 win over Randolph County in an elimination game at the American Legion state tournament. Wayne (24-5) will play Thursday for the third straight day at 12:30, this time against Rowan County, an 8-7 loser to Cherryville. Wayne and Rowan last met in the 2002 state tournament in Salisbury. Rowan defeated Wayne twice to win the title.

A day after suffering through a season-low three hits, the Post 11 offense came to life both at the plate and the bases, stealing five times in one inning and drawing two throwing errors by the catcher in the process.

Massey had two hits, a walk and a stolen base, but he has to share the stage with the player Wayne coach Brad Reaves calls the "bulldog" of the team: T.J. Hinson. The big righthander was a workhorse on the mound, going 6 2/3 innings in the oppressive conditions and outlasting his counterpart from Randolph to pick up his eight win of the season. Randolph used five pitchers in an effort to extend its season.

The score was tied at two in the fifth when Massey took an 0-2 fastball to left centerfield foe a one-out double. Walker Gourley drove a 1-2 breaking pitch down the third base line for his second two-bagger of the game. Garrett Davis was walked intentionally, but Jay rose followed a fly out with a run-scoring single through the left side of the infield for a two-run lead.

Hinson retired the order in the sixth, and the offense went to work again. Alex Casey was hit by a 1-2 fastball with one out. Massey walked after Casey stole second. Then came the first double steal and the throw in the dirt to left for a run. Massey continued to third and scored when Gourley's bouncer went through the third baseman for an error. The thievery went unabated as Gourley swiped second and third and scored on another throwing error.

Wayne had a 7-2 lead, but at this level a five-run lead is not safe. Hinson got the leadoff batter in the seventh, but Justin Yow reached on an error. Scott Hayes singled to left. Then came what could have been a major play.

Bryson Windson hit a possible double play ball to Gourley at short, but the ball took a wicked hop over his head for an RBI single. Ben Bunting singled up the middle on a 1-2 pitch to make it 7-4, and Reaves had seen enough. On came Brandon Price. Ethan Marsh hit a sinking liner to right, and it appeared Massey would have trouble with it. Instead, he came up with the play and doubled Bunting off first to kill the comeback.

To make matters worse for Randolph, its defense again faltered in the home half as Wayne got those runs back. Thomas Pilkington reached on an error and scored on Casey's single down the first base line. The first baseman threw wide of the mark at second on Massey's grounder in an attempted force play, and Gourley singled to load the bases. Wayne caught a break when Davis hit a check swing grounder to third to score Casey.

Price allowed one runner in the eighth, and Rose pitched the ninth, striking out two.

Gourley followed Massey's home run with a double and came home on a Davis single to right.

Randolph..AB..R..H..BI......Wayne..AB..R..H..BI
Bunting cf..3..0..1..1............Massey cf..4..3..2..1
Marsh rf..4..0..0..0..............Gourley ss..5..3..3..1
Pritchard ss..2..0..0..0........GDavis cf..3..0..1..2
Young c-ss..2..0..0..0..........Wooten 1b..4..0..1..0
SDavis dh..4..1..1..0.............Rose dh-p..4..0..1..1
Ridge 1b..4..0..1..0...............Ham c..3..0..0..0
Hohn c..4..0..1..0..................Wright c..1..0..0..0
Yow lf..3..2..1..0....................Pilkington 3b..4..1..0..0
Oxendine lf..1..0..0..0...........Narron 2b..4..0..0..0
Hayes 3b ..4..1..2..1...............Casey lf..3..2..1..1
Windson 2b ..4..0..1..1..........................______
.......................______...........................35..9..9..6
.........................35..4..9..3

Randolph..001..100..200 - 4..9..5
Wayne......200..023..20x - 9..9..1

E-Ridge 2, Hohn 2, Pilkington, Windson. DP-randolph 1, Wayne 2.
LOB-randolph 5, Wayne 10.
2B-Gourley 2, Yow, Ridge 2, Massey. HR-Massey. SB-Hayes, Davis, Rose,
Casey 2, Massey, Gourley 2.

Randolph..IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
McSwain (L) 4 2/3..6..4..4..4..1
Isaacs 2/3..0..2..2..1..0
Davis 2/3..1..1..0..1..1
Moore 1/3..1..2..1..0..0
Wayne
Hinson (W)..6 1/3..8..3..2..1..4
Price.............1 2/3..1..0..0..0..1
Rose..............1..0..0..0..0..2
HBP-Casey (byIsaacas).

28 Game Stats

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVpu2QHbHi0YIw

e mërkurë, 8 gusht 2007

Wayne Falters in Opener

Wayne County Post 11 pitcher Grant Sasser apologized to coach Brad Reaves for his poor performance in Wayne County's opening-round game against Caldwell County Post 29 at the American Legion state tournament at Garner High School Wednesday afternoon. But as Reaves said, it doesn't matter how many runs you give up if you can't put any on the board.

Caldwell broke open a close game with seven runs in the seventh and rolled to an 11-0 win to advance to a Thursday night meeting with Garner, a 6-3 winner over Randolph County. Wayne (23-5), which lost for the first time in the postseason, will face Randolph in the afternoon at 12:30 and again have to contend with the blistering heat. The loser is out of the eight-team double elimination event.

The shutout was the first for Wayne in 55 games. It was also the first time the team had lost by the ten-run rule to anyone outside Area I East since the rule was implemented in 1997. Wayne's three hits were the lowest of the season.

The game featured a match up of two UNC-bound pitchers in Wayne's Garrett Davis and Caldwell's Jimmy Messer. Davis left the game after five innings trailing 2-0 after having thrown 98 pitches. Messer was at 108 after six and likely was also not long for leaving.

But the decision for Caldwell coach Gary Hamby was made a lot easier in the seventh after Sasser, who is headed for N.C. State, took to the mound.

Sasser gave up a leadoff single to Jordan Nelson, but retired the next batter on a grounder. then his failure to close out came back to get him.

He got ahead of Shane Clawson 1-2 but walked him. Brad Chavis fell behind fell behind 1-2, fouled off two pitches, took a breaking pitch and then parked a fastball well into the trees in left.

Brad Craig singled to left on an 0-1 pitch,and Daniel Coffey doubled off an 0-2 curve to put runners on second and third. Zack Merrikein drove them in with a single down the third base line. Gordy Hendrix reached on an infield hit to finish Sasser, and Nelson ended the scoring with a double to left after being behind 0-2.

Caldwell added two more in the eighth on a two-run double by Coffey.

Wayne didn't lack for runners against Messer. In the first, Jackson Massey singled up the middle and stole second. Jay Rose was hit by a pitch with two out, but Messer got the next batter on a ground out.

In the third, a walk, an error and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with two out, but Messer again avoided the big inning with another ground out.

Wayne's biggest threat came in the fourth. Tyler4 Ham drew a lead off walk, and Conner Narron singled through the right side of the infield with one out. Massey followed a strikeout with a walk, but Messer got out of it with an inning-ending ground out.

Caldwell loaded the bases in the third against Davis on a single and two walks but he struck out Nelson to end the inning.

But he couldn't get out of the third unscathed. Josh Severt singled up the middle on the first pitch and scored when Clawson drove an 0-2 breaking pitch to center. He scored from third on a wild pitch.

Caldwell..AB..R..H..BI........Wayne..AB..R..H..BI
Severt rf..5..1..2..0..............Massey rf-cf..3..0..1..0
Clawson cf..3..3..1..1............Gourley ss..4..0..1..0
Chavis c..5..1..1..2................Wooten 1b..4..0..0..0
Craig 1b..2..2..2..0................Rose dh-p..2..0..0..0
Coffey 3b..5..1..2..2..............Pilkington 3b..4..0..0..0
Merrikan dh..4..1..3..2.........Ham c..2..0..0..0
Hendrix 2b..5..1..1..0...........Wright c..1..0..0..0
Shehan ss..4..0..0..0.............Lancaster cf..1..0..0..0
Nelson lf..4..1..2..2.................Davis cf..1...0..0..0
..................._______............Casey lf..0..0..0..0
....................37..1..14..9..........Narron 2b..3..0..1..0
.................................................Edgerton lf-rf..3..0..0..0
.................................................................______
...................................................................28..0..3..0

Caldwell 200..000..70 - 11..14..2
Wayne....000..000..00 - 0..3..1

E-Coffey, Craig, Narron. DP-Caldwell 1. LOB-Caldwell 9,
Wayne 9.

2B-Clawson, Coffey 2, Nelson. HR-Chavis. SB-Massey, Hendrix,
Clawson.

Caldwell....IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Messer (W)......6..3..0..0..3..7
...................1..0..0..0..0..0
...................1..0..0..0..1..0
Wayne
Davis (L)..........5..4..2..2..3..7
Sasser.........1 1/3..6..7..7..1..0
Bullard.............1..4..2..2..2..0
Rose...............2/3..0..0..0..0..1
WP-WP-Davis, Messer, Sasser. PB-Wright. Bk-Sasser.
HBP-JRose (by Messer.)

e diel, 5 gusht 2007

Comparative Statistics 1990-Present

The following numbers show how the 2007 team compares with teams from 1990-present in certain categories. The last number is the ranking.

It's important to consider the context of these numbers. In 2001, Wayne County moved from Southern Wayne High School to Mount Olive College. Legion teams don't play enough games for us to draw solid conclusions regarding park effects - what influence the field has on scoring - but common sense says that the change in venue hurt the offense and helped the defense. Therefore take that into consideration when making the comparisons.

Only one team that played at MOC- the 2002 squad that was second in the state - is in the top ten in runs per game. The three teams that have the most strikeouts per nine innings have the most wins.

BA - 311- 9
OBP - 419 - 6
SLG - 443 - 10
ISO - 129 - T9 Isolated power counts only bases beyond first on a hit. SLG minus BA.
Pct. of runners scored - 43 - 13
Runs/G - 7.8 - 14

Defense:
ERA - 3.17 - 4
BB/9 IP - 3.8 - T6
SO/9 IP - 8.4 - 9
BA - 238 - 9
Pct. of runners scored - 29 - 1
R/G - 4.0 - 2

e shtunë, 4 gusht 2007

27 Game Totals

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVpyWa8itW9MNA

Welcome to anyone from Caldwell County. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

I'm going to be posting a lot before the start of the tournament, so check in regularly for articles of interest relating to previous trips and program records.

e premte, 3 gusht 2007

Wayne Completes Historic Run

It was a little too close for comfort at the end, but Wayne County Post 11 is headed to the American Legion state tournament as the top team in Area I.

Brandon Price pitched seven brilliant innings, and Wayne survived a late grandslam to get past Durham Post 7 Friday night 7-6 at the Durham Athletic Park and cap an unprecedented ten-game run through the Area I playoffs. No Post 11 team has ever gone this far in the postseason without losing.

Wayne (23-4) will play Area IV runnerup Caldwell County, 28-11, Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 in the first round of the state tournament at Garner High School.

Wayne had scored in five different innings to build a comfortable 7-1 lead going into the ninth. Sterling Grice took over for Price in the eighth, retiring the side in order. He struck out the first batter in the ninth and appeared on his way to an easy finish.

But then things began to get interesting.

Nick Mangini doubled and scored on a hit by Tarron Robinson. Seth Moorman flied to left on a 2-0 fastball for the second out. Cameron Falcon also singled. Pinch hitter Tyler Robinson fell behind in the count 1-2 but fought back to walk and load the bases.

One pitch later, the tying run was at the plate, as Patrick Kerwin drilled a fastball to left. The ball hugged the line and stayed fair to get Durham within one.

And that was it for Grice. Grant Sasser got the call to shut down the rally.

Sasser fell behind Levi Diala 2-0, almost hitting him in the process. The count went to 3-1 before Sasser fired a called strike. Then he threw a fastball past Diala to end the comeback.

While Durham made it close at the end, most of the night belonged to the player who was the winning pitcher in Charles B. Aycock's 3-A state title-clinching game.

The Wayne offense staked Price to a lead in the first on John Wooten's two-run triple to center. Durham appreared to be on the way to getting one of those runs back when leadoff batter Lucas Martin doubled off the fence in center. But a relay from Garrett Davis to shortstop Walker Gourley cut down Martin at third. Jacob Ezzell followed with another double but was stranded at third.

A second-inning double by Cameron Falcon and an RBI single by Barrett Stover made it 2-1. And that would be the last damage Durham would do against Price. The next batter hit into an inning-ending double play, and Price would retire the side in the next three innings as well as 16 of the final 18 batters he faced.

He threw 89 pitches, 62 for strikes, and didn't walk anyone. In addition, he went to three balls on four of the 25 batters he faced.

While Price was keeping the opposition at bay, the Post 11 offense was slowly extending the lead. Jay Rose hit an opposite-field home run to left to begin the fourth. In the fifth, Noah Lancaster reached on a leadoff infield hit and continued to third on the throwing error. He scored on a grounder by Jackson Massey.

Wayne made it 6-1 in the sixth. Thomas Pilkington had a leadoff single, and Tyler Ham walked. The next two batters struck out, but Massey also walked to load the bases. Gourley drilled the next pitch up the middle for a two-run single.

Ham's RBI single in the seventh gave Wayne its biggest lead.

Wayne..AB..R..H..BI...........Durham..AB..R..H..BI
Massey rf-cf..3..1..0..1........Martin cf..4..0..1..0
Gourley ss..5..0..2..2...........Ezzell 2b-p-rf..4..0..2..0
Davis cf..5..1..0..0................Mangini c..4..1..1..0
Casey rf..0..0..0..0...............Robinson 1b..4..1..1..1
Wooten 1b..4..1..2..2........... Moorman dh-3b..4..0..0..0
Rose dh..5..1..1..1.................Falcon 3b-2b..4..2..3..0
Pilkington 3b..4..1..1..0........Stover rf..3..0..1..1
Ham c..3..1..1..1....................Schlitz p-rf..0..0..0..0
Narron 2b..2..0..0..0............Robinson ph..0..1..0..0
Gurley 2b..1..0..0..0.............Kerwin ss..4..1..1..4
Lancaster lf..3..1..1..0...........Diala lf..4..0..0..0
Edgerton lf..1..0..0..0............................______
........................._____............................35..6..10..6
..........................36..7..8..7

Wayne...200...112...1.. - 7..8..0
Durham..010...000...005 - 6..10..4

E-Robinson, Kerwin, Falcon, Madden. DP-Wayne 1, Durham 1.
LOB-Wayne 8, Durham 3.
2B-Martin, Ezzell, Falcon, Mangini. 3B-Wooten. HR-Rose
SB-Massey, Gourley 2, Narron. CS-Pilkington.

Wayne....IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Price (W)..7..6..1..1..0..3
Grice...... 1 2/3..4..5..5..1..2
Sasser(S)...1/3..0..0..0..0..1
Durham
Madden (L)5..4..4..3..2..4
Ezzell...........3..4..3..2..3..4
Schlitz..........1..0..0..0..0..1
WP-Ezzell. Bk-Ezzell. HBP- Narron (by Ezzell).

26 Game Totals; Scores

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pVVdFvniLbVo0-P_sY1bGLA

Rowan 11, Randolph 7. Deciding game tonight.

Caldwell 12, Cherryville 17. Cherryville wins Area IV

http://www.caldwellbaseball.com/Legion/index.html

e mërkurë, 1 gusht 2007

Wayne takes Area Opener

Walking a team's leading home run hitter intentionally late in the game might not be a bad idea. But it can be hazardous when it brings up the team's leader in runs batted in.

John Wooten drove in the go-ahead run in the last of the eighth and started a momentum-killing double play in the ninth as Wayne County Post 11 (22-4) rallied past Durham Post 7 (18-5) 3-2 at Mount Olive College Wednesday night in the opener of their best-of-three Area I title series.

The series resumes Friday night at the Durham Atheletic Park. If necessary, a third game will be played at MOC on Saturday. In other playoff action, Cherryville defeated Caldwell County 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five while Rowan County defeated Randolph County7-3 to still trail that series 3-2.

The score was tied at two in the eighth when leadoff batter Jackson Massey walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Post 7 rightfielder Nick Mangil made a diving catch of Walker Gourley's liner to bring up Garrett Davis, who leads Post 11 with five homers. He was given an intentional pass. Wooten, who entered the game with 27 RBI, took a breaking pitch, smoked a second one foul down the left field line, then drove another to left to bring home Massey.

But the ninth was anything but easy. T.J. Hinson hit leadoff batter Cameron Falcon, then gave up a groundball single to left to Sean Madden after Madden had attempted to advance Falcon with a bunt.

Durham chose not to bunt again, and Patrick Kerwin hit a one-hopper to Wooten at third. Wooten got to the bag and fired to first for the double play. Hinson got ahead 0-2 on Levi Diala with breaking pitches, then got him looking at a fastball to end it.

The game provided a stark contrast in pitching styles: Wayne's Davis and his fastball versus Durham's Barrett Sover and his changeup. According to Wayne coach Brad Reaves, the opposition got the better of it when it came to dealing with what the other hurler was throwing.

"We didn't make adjustments,"said Reaves. "I told them he was not going to knock the bat out of their hands. He ate us up with the changeup."

Durham got to Davis for two runs in the fifth, the first ones the UNC-bound righthander had allowed in more than 26 innings.

Leadoff batter Patrick Kerwin doubled to right centerfield and continued to third on an error. One out later, Lucas Martin singled up the middle. He went to third on a groundball single to right by Jacob Ezzell. Nick Mangil hit the first pitch through the right side for the lead, but Massey gunned down Ezzell at third.

Davis went six innings, allowing six hits and striking out 13.

"They did a good job on Garrett," said Reaves. "They took the ball to right field."

Wayne scored first in the fourth. Walker Gourley walked, stole second and came home on a one-out single to right by Wooten.

Post 11 tied it in the seventh. Nolan Lancaster reached on an infield single and came around when Conner Narron doubled over the head of the right fielder.

Wayne finished with six hits. "We're going to have to hit it better than this to win the series," said Reaves. "That's the best team we've seen this year."

Durham..AB..R..H..BI.........Wayne..AB..R..h..BI
Marin cf..4..1..1..1................Massey cf..2..1..1..0
Ezzell 2b..3..0..1..1...............Gourley ss..3..1..1..1
Mangil rf..3..0..1..0..............Davis p-cf..2..0..0..0
Robinson dh..3..0..0..0........Wooten 3b..4..0..2..2
Moorman c..4..0..2..0..........Rose 1b..4..0..0..0
Falcon 3b..2..0..0..0.............Lancaster cf-lf..4..1..1..0
Madden 1b..4..0..1..0...........Wright c..3..0..0..0
Kerwin ss..4..1..1..0..............Ham c..0..0..0..0
Diala lf..4..0..0..0...................Narron 2b..3..0..1..1
................._______..............Edgerton lf..2..0..0..0
.................31..2..7..2...............Sasser p..0..0..0..0
.................................................Pilkington ph..1..0..0..0
.................................................Hinson p..0..0..0..0
...............................................................________
.................................................................28..3..6..3

Durham..000...020...000 - 2..7..0
Wayne....000...100...11X - 3..6..2

E-Wooten, Lancaster. DP-Durham 2, Wayne 1. LOB-Durham, 7,
Wayne 7.
2B-Kerwin, Narron. SB-Diala, Gourley, Massey. S-Falcon, Mangil.

Durham..IP..H..R..ER..BB..SO
Stover.....7..5..2..2..3..6
Robinson(L) 1..1..1..1..2..0
Wayne
Davis......6..6..2..2..1..13
Sasser.....1..0..0..0..0..1
Hinson(W)..2..1..0..0..1..1
WP-Robinson.HBP-Falcon (by Hinson).

State Tourney Pairings Set

State tournament pairingsN.C. American Legion officials released the N.C. State tournament pairings for next week’s tournament in Garner.

In the August 8 opening day, Area II champion Morehead City will play the Area III runnerup (Rowan County or Randolph County) at 9:30 a.m.

The Area IV runnerup (Caldwell or Cherryville) will play the Area I champion (Durham or Wayne County) at 12:30 p.m.

The Area IV champion (Caldwell or Cherryville) will play the Area I runnerup (Durham or Wayne County) at 4:30 p.m.

Garner will play the Area III champion (Rowan County or Randolph County) at 7:30 p.m.