Wayne Drops First Game

Box is here.

Season stats are here.

Last night, Wayne County Post 11 got an indication of how competitive and brutal life might be in the Area I East South Division.

Visiting New Bern Post 24 (2-1, 4-2) couldn't hold an early 5-0 lead but came alive late and got four clutch innings of relief pitching from Nate Healy to defeat Wayne 9-7 at Southern Wayne High School Monday night. Wayne (1-1, 6-1) will travel to Greenville tonight for a enounter with Pitt County Post 39.

It took only six pitches for Wayne starter Taylor Allen to find himself in a big hole. Leadoff batter Chris Dorman and Matt Hardeman singled on the first offerings to them. Brett Williams sent a 1-2 breaking pitch over the center field fence. An inning later, Hardeman and Williams drove in runs to put Allen on the ropes. But the right-hander rallied and avoided the knockout punch in holding New Bern scoreless over the next three innings.

Wayne overcame the deficit with a pair of big innings. Alex Casey reached on a one-out infield hit in the third. Tyler Edwards and Walker Gourley singled to load the bases. After a fly ball out, Jay Rose singled through the right side of the infield for two runs. Gourley came home on a wild pitch.

In the fourth, Wayne benefited from two more clutch hits. Casey was hit by a pitch with two out to put runners on first and second. Edwards drove in a run with his third hit, and Guorley dropped a double down the right field line for a 6-5 lead. Rose homered to left in the fifth to put Post 11 ahead by two.

Wayne would leave five runners in scoring position the rest of the way.

Adron Hollowell replaced Allen after a leadoff walk in the sixth and struck out the next two batters to help strand the runner. A sacrifice fly by Gabe Brown in the seventh made it a one-run game. Hollowell contributed to his demise in the eighth when he airmailed a throw into right field on Eric Kosco's roller up the first base line. Kosco moved to third when Hollowell's 3-2 pitch to Anthony Holloway went to the backstop.

Wayne chose to play deep for the double play and got a grounder but couldn't turn it.

Williams walked to start the ninth and stole second. He scored on Shaun Armstrong's opposite-field double to right. A two-out infield hit put runners on the corner, and New Bern executed the double steal for a two-run cushion.

Zach Wright was hit by a pitch to start the home ninth but he died on first.

Healy relieved starter Glenn Nobles in the sixth and allowed two his and a walk along with two hit batters.