DuBose Shuts Down Benson as Wayne Rolls Again

One team had four batters to reach base. The other had 25. And for the second time in as many days, Wayne County Post 11 had little trouble disposing of Benson Post 109.

Eric DuBose was the epitome of economical pitching, and Wayne took advantage of nine walks to coast to a 12-2 win in eight innings at Mount Olive College Saturday night. Post 11 will take a 3-0 mark into its next contest but that won't be determined until the next day or two. Wayne is scheduled to play host to Raleigh Post 1 on Friday, but Legion officials are trying to put together a game for Tuesday.

As one of his former coaches said, DuBose is not going to knock the bat out of anyone's hands, but this season he's mostly been able to spot his pitches and make the batters beat him. Toss aside the opening inning against Ahoskie where he walked five and threw 40 pitches. In the other 12 innings, he's has two where he threw more than 15. By the time he was finished in the seventh inning against Benson, he had thrown four innings of eight pitches and one of six.

While DuBose was moving the game along and keeping his defense alert, his counterparts were again digging holes for themselves in the form of ten walks. In three games, 28 Post 11 batters have walked.

Wayne established control early with a five-run first inning. Robert Faucette singled with one out and Connor Narron walked on four pitches. Cambric Moye drove in a run with a hit to right and took second on the throw. Narron came home when the ball went over the head of the second baseman.

Adron Hollowell scored Moye on a grounder. Zack Chase singled with two out, and the inning kep going on an error on Cody Davis' grounder. Jordan Quinn singled to bring in Chase, and Quinn scored when Quinn drew a throw to first and got in to a rundown.

The other big inning was the eighth. Faucette walked to start it, stole second and scored as Narron reached on an error. Moye walked, and Hollowell got Narron home on a soft single to left. A walk to Chase loaded the bases. Davis put Wayne ahead by nine with a single through the left side of the infield, and pinch-hitter Zach Grantham ended it with an RBI force play at second.

Kevin Wise, Faucette and Davis led Wayne with two hits apiece.

The only hiccup for DuBose came in the third. Anthony Horne led off the inning with a home run to left. Alex Lopez doubled to left and later scored on a wild pitch. DuBose retired the side in order in every other inning.

Narron Leads Wayne Past Benson

The copy and paste functions don't seem to be working, so go to the League Lineup link on the right to read about the game.

Apex Game Rained Out

The Apex-Wayne County game scheduled for Monday night at MOC is off. It may be rescheduled.

Wayne Opens With Rout of Ahoskie

Box Score

It didn't take long for new Wayne County Post 11 coach Rob Watt to have to make a major decision in his team's American Legion opener against Ahoskie Post 102 Saturday afternoon at Mount Olive College.

Starting pitcher Eric DuBose had walked four of the first eight batters, including two with the bases loaded. Watt, however, stuck with his left-hander and it paid off handsomely.

DuBose followed a five-run first inning with five scoreless ones, and Wayne took advantage of a multitude of miscues to roll to an 18-6 win. Wayne will travel to Smithfield-Selma High School tonight to face Clayton. Game time is 7 p.m.

DuBose's control problems led to 40 pitches in the opening inning, but he regained his control and sailed through the next four innings on 53. He finished with six walks and six strikeouts.

His counterparts were another story. Four Ahoskie pitchers walked nine and threw eight wild pitches. Those control problems helped fuel the Post 11 comeback. The Post 102 defense didn't help matters with nine errors.

Both teams were missing players due to the postseason playoffs and other committments.

Wayne bounced back with three in the first, then seized control with nine in the third. Adron Hollowell and Zack Chase started the inning by walking on four pitches Nick McGee reached when the pitcher slipped while attempting to field a grounder in front of the mound.

A run scored on a wild pitch, and Chase was out at home on a grounder. McGee came home as Zach Grantham's grounder was being misplayed. Consecutive walks led to another run, and Jordan Quinn scored on an errant pickoff throw.

Still, Ahoskie was close to getting out of the inning without too much damage after reliever Tyler Pryor struck out the next batter. But it was not to be. Kevin Wise drilled a run-scoring double over the head of the shallow-playing centerfielder. Hollowell drew another walk, and Chase McGee and Cody Davis allow came through with RBI singles to make it 12-5.

Wayne's other big inning came in the five-run sixth. It was helped along by three errors, two wild pitches and two passed balls. Wise and Davis drove in runs.

A New Site Is Here

I've used this site for the past three years as the basis for my reporting on Wayne County American Legion baseball. Beginning this season, I'm going to be expanding the information I present you with the help of League Lineup. The link is here.

That site is a bit more complicated than this one, so my initial coverage will be in both places. I'll continue to place game stories as well as statistics here and link to both places. You can find other information such as schedules and rosters there. I'll provide a permanent link on the right hand side of this site. The other site will have a permanent link to this one.

Comments are welcome.