Pitt 160 Snaps Wayne's Win Streak

Box Season Totals

If Wayne County Post 11 is going to make a third straight appearance in the North Carolina American Legion state tournament, one thing is clear: the offense is going to have to rise to the occasion.

Wayne took a five-run lead into the seventh only to see Pitt County Post 160 score seven runs over the final three innings, including a walk-off single by David Stallings, for an 8-7 win at South Central High School Sunday night. The loss drops Wayne (3-2, 6-4) out of first place in the Area I East South standings. Pitt is 2-2.

The teams will meet Tuesday at Mount Olive College. Wayne will travel to Pitt County 39 on Wednesday for a make up game before playing host to New Bern on Thursday.

Bolstered by the addition of John Wooten to the lineup, Post 11 cranked out seven hits over the first six innings to take a 6-1 lead. Taylor Allen had allowed only four hits and seemed on his way to a third victory. But it all changed in the blink of an eye.

Pitt loaded the bases with one out on two singles and a walk, and Sean Peters chased Allen with an RBI single to left. Reliever Will Broadwell gave up a two-run single to Steven McDonald and a run-scoring single to Stewart Barnette in his brief stint on the mound. Post 11 coach Brad Reaves then went with Matt Neal, hoping for a repeat of Neal's outstanding performance of the previous night against New Bern.

And for the rest of the inning, he got it as Neal fanned the next batter and held on to Wayne's two-run lead with an inning-ending grounder. Post 11 got a temporary cushion in the eighth when Nick McGee was hit by a pitch and later scored on a wild pitch. Wayne had runners on first and second with none out, but a double play killed a potentially big inning.

Neal retired the first two batters in the bottom of the inning before Jordan Corbett singled, Zach Starcher tripled to right and pinch-hitter Alex Brown tied it with a liner up the middle.

Barnette led off the ninth and fell behind 0-2 but was hit by a pitch. He advanced to second on a bunt, and Neal walked Tanner Lovick before Reaves brought on Wooten. He got one out on a popup, but Stallings sent the first pitch to him into right and the throw to the plate was off the mark.

"We just quit swinging it," said Reaves. We weren't agressive. "We're going to give up runs, but if we're going to score just six or seven a game, we're not going to win many. We need to get nine or ten runs a game." Wayne failed to score 14 of its 21 runners.

Reaves also felt confident in leaving in Neal as long as he did before bringing on Wooten. "I thought Matt could have got us a ground ball with that sink. I didn't mind having that guy walk. We thought we would go to John then."

Wayne took a two-run lead in the first. McGee singled with one out and went to third on a Wooten double on a 3-0 pitch. One run scored on a ball off the pitcher's glove, and Robert Faucette drove in Wooten with a hit to right. Faucette was caught stealing for the first of four players lost on the bases. A walk and a hit batter followed before the inning ended on a strikeout.

Wooten sent the first pitch of the third over the center field fence. Cambric Moye put Post ahead 5-1 in the fifth with a two-run homer to center. McGee's grounder in the sixth scored Neal to put Post 11 ahead by five, but the inning again ended with the bases loaded.

Wayne was outhit 13-7.