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.
e shtunë, 29 maj 2010
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.
e hënë, 24 maj 2010
Apex Game Rained Out
The Apex-Wayne County game scheduled for Monday night at MOC is off. It may be rescheduled.
e diel, 23 maj 2010
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.
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.
e martë, 11 maj 2010
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.
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.
e diel, 5 korrik 2009
Season Wrap
Final Statistics
American Legion baseball is very different in one respect from when I started doing this. From what I can recall, Wayne County Post 11 lost one player of note to either a wooden bat league or a travel team from 1983 to just a few years ago. Maybe I've missed someone, but the larger point remains.
That's all changed. No longer can many winning programs confidently predict what personnel they will have for next season. The proliferation of travel and showcase teams and events has been an allure that some players cannot resist. Ask the team that is hosting the American Legion state tournament.
It's for that reason that I am wary of predicting the level of talent Wayne County will field in 2010. (That's presuming the program does not fold.) Fourteen players are eligible to return, but we're more likely to see a Michael Jackson or Elvis sighting than have the pleasure of watching John Wooten perform his magic act at third again.
Wayne's 11-9 record was in line with the number of runs it scored and allowed. This was a decent team but nothing like the ones that the program has fielded over most of the past 20 years.
Of the position players, only Wooten, Tyler Edwards and Cambric Moye had extensive experience at the senior American Legion level. That came about due to a confluence of events that went against the program's hopes for 2009.
First, Walker Gourley took up an offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates. (He was too stingy to lend me any money.) Zach Wright, who was expected to join the team at the conclusion of ECU's postseason, was sent to the Northeast to play in another league. Jay Rose, who would have given the team a huge presence on the mound, had surgery and was lost for the season.
Then there were others who either had problems with the program or whose parents listened to the siren song of travel ball.
The youthful team then had to do without the Eastern Wayne players for much of the way, resulting in the use of several freshman.
Even with the personnel losses the team suffered, some of the newcomers came through. Nick McGee, Scott Holloman and Cody Richards all contributed offensively. They're all eligible to return.
Wayne's pitching was its weak spot. We were aware of this possibility going into the season. The team ERA was the highest of the past 20 years while the strikeout rate per nine innings was the lowest. (A telling statistic is that the three Wayne County teams with the most wins had the most strikeouts per nine innings.) Post 11 pitchers struck out a mere 12 batters more than they walked. But if all of the pitchers excepting Wooten return, Wayne will lose only 57 innings.
Wayne needed its offense to remain on track if it was to have a long run in the playoffs. That is precisely what didn't happen. The team batted .333 in the final nine regular season games after the Eastern Wayne players arrived, but that mark dipped to .243 in the playoffs. Edenton batted .364 over five games.
The teams scored the same number of runs, so how could that be the case? Wayne's biggest strength throughout the season was it defense, the ability not to give the opposition lots of extra chances to score. It proved to be the case in the playoff series. Edenton made 20 errors to Wayne's seven.
We'll have a new coach in 2009. Ditto with the athletic officer position. But if the talent projected to return does so, the pieces are in place for this great program to return to form and make an appearance in the state tournament in Area III.
See you in May!!!!!!!!!!!!
American Legion baseball is very different in one respect from when I started doing this. From what I can recall, Wayne County Post 11 lost one player of note to either a wooden bat league or a travel team from 1983 to just a few years ago. Maybe I've missed someone, but the larger point remains.
That's all changed. No longer can many winning programs confidently predict what personnel they will have for next season. The proliferation of travel and showcase teams and events has been an allure that some players cannot resist. Ask the team that is hosting the American Legion state tournament.
It's for that reason that I am wary of predicting the level of talent Wayne County will field in 2010. (That's presuming the program does not fold.) Fourteen players are eligible to return, but we're more likely to see a Michael Jackson or Elvis sighting than have the pleasure of watching John Wooten perform his magic act at third again.
Wayne's 11-9 record was in line with the number of runs it scored and allowed. This was a decent team but nothing like the ones that the program has fielded over most of the past 20 years.
Of the position players, only Wooten, Tyler Edwards and Cambric Moye had extensive experience at the senior American Legion level. That came about due to a confluence of events that went against the program's hopes for 2009.
First, Walker Gourley took up an offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates. (He was too stingy to lend me any money.) Zach Wright, who was expected to join the team at the conclusion of ECU's postseason, was sent to the Northeast to play in another league. Jay Rose, who would have given the team a huge presence on the mound, had surgery and was lost for the season.
Then there were others who either had problems with the program or whose parents listened to the siren song of travel ball.
The youthful team then had to do without the Eastern Wayne players for much of the way, resulting in the use of several freshman.
Even with the personnel losses the team suffered, some of the newcomers came through. Nick McGee, Scott Holloman and Cody Richards all contributed offensively. They're all eligible to return.
Wayne's pitching was its weak spot. We were aware of this possibility going into the season. The team ERA was the highest of the past 20 years while the strikeout rate per nine innings was the lowest. (A telling statistic is that the three Wayne County teams with the most wins had the most strikeouts per nine innings.) Post 11 pitchers struck out a mere 12 batters more than they walked. But if all of the pitchers excepting Wooten return, Wayne will lose only 57 innings.
Wayne needed its offense to remain on track if it was to have a long run in the playoffs. That is precisely what didn't happen. The team batted .333 in the final nine regular season games after the Eastern Wayne players arrived, but that mark dipped to .243 in the playoffs. Edenton batted .364 over five games.
The teams scored the same number of runs, so how could that be the case? Wayne's biggest strength throughout the season was it defense, the ability not to give the opposition lots of extra chances to score. It proved to be the case in the playoff series. Edenton made 20 errors to Wayne's seven.
We'll have a new coach in 2009. Ditto with the athletic officer position. But if the talent projected to return does so, the pieces are in place for this great program to return to form and make an appearance in the state tournament in Area III.
See you in May!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edenton Ousts Wayne from Playoffs
Season totals later today. I will be adding more information, including quotes, this evening. Also, I'll be adding another article about the season as a whole. If you don't come back for that, thanks for reading and, as far as I know, I'll be back for 2010.
Box
There would not be a storybook ending in this game.
One night after keeping its postseason alive with a thrilling extra-inning win on the road, Wayne County Post 11 saw its season come to an end Saturday night with a 7-4 loss to Edenton Post 40 at Mount Olive College.
Post 11 finishes with a 11-9 record. It also marks the end of the seven-year tenure of coach Brad Reaves. He will be moving to Nebraska.
Eric DuBose limited Edenton to one run in the series opener despite giving up 12 hits in a complete-game effort. This time, however, the magic was not there. The southpaw couldn't make it out of the third and was tagged for nine hits, including a lead off home run for the second straight game by Nikaloi Simonsen.
Offensively, just about everthing went right for the visitors, as they banged out 16 hits and got the benefit of three run-scoring bloop singles just behind the infielders. On the flip side, Edenton starter Campbell Brown went the distance ona six-hitter and threw only 111 pitches.
The back breaker for Wayne came in the third. With runners on first and second and two out, Chad Whitehead's single fell into shallow center field for a run and put runners on the corner. Jesse DeSanto followed with a two-run blooper to right for a 6-0 lead.
Edenton's final run came in the fifth with the aid of an error.
Wayne finally got on the board in the sixth. Tyler Edwards reached on an infield hit, and John Wooten doubled to left centerfield. Kevin Wise singled to center to score both runners. He later scored on a grounder by Nick McGee.
Wooten reached on an error in the eighth and scored on a wild pitch.
Edenton finished with a 23-10 advantage in baserunners.
Box
There would not be a storybook ending in this game.
One night after keeping its postseason alive with a thrilling extra-inning win on the road, Wayne County Post 11 saw its season come to an end Saturday night with a 7-4 loss to Edenton Post 40 at Mount Olive College.
Post 11 finishes with a 11-9 record. It also marks the end of the seven-year tenure of coach Brad Reaves. He will be moving to Nebraska.
Eric DuBose limited Edenton to one run in the series opener despite giving up 12 hits in a complete-game effort. This time, however, the magic was not there. The southpaw couldn't make it out of the third and was tagged for nine hits, including a lead off home run for the second straight game by Nikaloi Simonsen.
Offensively, just about everthing went right for the visitors, as they banged out 16 hits and got the benefit of three run-scoring bloop singles just behind the infielders. On the flip side, Edenton starter Campbell Brown went the distance ona six-hitter and threw only 111 pitches.
The back breaker for Wayne came in the third. With runners on first and second and two out, Chad Whitehead's single fell into shallow center field for a run and put runners on the corner. Jesse DeSanto followed with a two-run blooper to right for a 6-0 lead.
Edenton's final run came in the fifth with the aid of an error.
Wayne finally got on the board in the sixth. Tyler Edwards reached on an infield hit, and John Wooten doubled to left centerfield. Kevin Wise singled to center to score both runners. He later scored on a grounder by Nick McGee.
Wooten reached on an error in the eighth and scored on a wild pitch.
Edenton finished with a 23-10 advantage in baserunners.
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