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.