Post 11 trio combines for shutout against Jacksonville

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on June 12, 2005 2:07 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- A trio of Wayne County pitchers -- Garrett Davis, Dustin Overman and Michael Sigmon -- combined on a three-hit, shutout as Post 11 defeated Jacksonville 4-0 on Friday night on the first day of the Wayne County Invitational.

Davis started and went the first four innings, striking out seven and giving up just two hits -- a pair of infield singles in the fourth. Davis worked ahead with his fastball, which stayed around 90 miles per hour, and mixed in his off-speed pitches effectively.

Overman (1-0), who picked up the win in two innings of relief, fanned two and yielded only an infield hit in the sixth in his second American Legion outing.

The submarine-throwing Sigmon came on to retire the side in the seventh, inducing two ground outs to the mound, then a fly to left to end the game.

For the game, the trio faced just one, three-ball count and walked none in Post 11's first shutout of the season. Out of 89 pitches thrown, Davis, Overman and Sigmon threw just 23 balls. Wayne County (7-1) has now walked just 18 batters in 62 innings.

"They all threw the ball well. What I liked that Garrett did tonight ... his curve ball wasn't sharp early and he had confidence in his fastball and he threw it," Wayne County coach Brad Reaves said. "We've got some kids who have got to get some work in on the mound.

"We just haven't had enough games because of the rain outs."

The defense was solid during the seven-inning affair, making no errors. The sixth inning was a defensive highlight reel.

Overman reacted quickly, fielding a sharp grounder up the middle off of the bat of Woody Wilson and throwing to Airlon Vinson at first for the first out. Vinson made a nice pick on a throw from Jes Snyder for the second out, before an infield single by Corey Colville. The left-handed Vinson finished off the stellar defensive inning -- robbing John Anderson of a hit with a diving grab to his right, then stepping on first for the unassisted put out.

"He's got some of the best feet I've ever seen over there," Reaves said.

Jacksonville starter, Bryan Biolicki, dodged a handful of bullets in the first two innings, before Post 11 got on the board with a three-run third.

Vinson sparked the rally with a two-run triple down the right-field line, following Austin Hood's RBI infield single, which scored Jackson Massey. Wayne County got its last run off of Biolicki one inning later, when Hood delivered a sacrifice fly to score Garrett Sutton.

Sutton reached on a single, stole second, then moved to third on a ground ball to the right side by Massey. Wayne County stole seven bases on the game. Post 11 has stolen 23 bases on the year compared to only five by their opponents.

"We've got some kids who can run a little bit, and we've got some kids who are smart base runners," Reaves said. "Some of them may not be the fastest in the world, but they are smart. We're going to have to do that to put some pressure on people."

Hood continued his strong start to the season. His average is nearly .500 with now four RBI and five runs. Jes Snyder finished the game at 2-for-3 as he is also hitting over .400 with a team-best three doubles.

"I'm seeing it a lot better. I'm waiting back and I didn't do that during school ball," Hood said. "Coach (Trae) McKee and coach Reaves have helped me out a lot. They've got confidence in me."

Facing Post 265 reliever Brandon Brinson, Massey scored the final run -- racing home on a past ball after a two-base throwing error by Brinson on a pick-off play. Three of Jacksonville's four errors came on pick-off attempts.

Jesse Lancaster, Joey Moye and Sutton added one hit each for Post 11, who finished with seven total hits.

Notes: Vinson's triple was Wayne County's first of the season. ... Massey has now scored 11 runs in eight games from the lead-off spot. ... The win was Post 11's fifth in a row on the season.