Aycock upends N. Lenoir

Published in Sports on March 30, 2006 2:02 PM

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LaGRANGE -- The streak is over.

Top-ranked North Lenoir saw its 20-game winning streak -- one that included a run to the 2A state championship last year -- come to an end at home against C.B. Aycock in a 4-3 decision on Wednesday.

"This was a case of two quality baseball teams going out there and battling each other," CBA coach Charles Davis said. "Anytime you can come over here and beat North Lenoir, you have to feel pretty good about yourself."

Aycock outfielder Garrett Davis hit a three-run home run off NL southpaw Brandon Sutton with two outs in the sixth inning that gave the Falcons (11-1) a 4-1 lead.

"Garrett has that in him," Charles Davis said. "It's simply a matter of him keeping his head on the ball and seeing the ball hit the bat."

The Hawks (10-1) answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, then had runners on second and third in the seventh inning before the comeback fizzled.

"We had ourselves in the situation that we wanted in the seventh inning," NL coach Jim Montague said. "We had the tying run at third base and the go-ahead run at second. But we were beat by a very good team. There are a lot of teams in the state that would love to win 20 straight games."

Sutton, who entered the game with a 24-inning scoreless streak of his own on the mound, gave up an unearned run in the fifth to stretch the run to 28 1/3 innings. The dinger to Davis came on a hung curveball, Davis said.

"That left-handed curveball stayed in the zone," Garrett Davis said. "I waited back on it and just drove it. I was just trying to get a base hit and hopefully get at least one run."

CBA junior starter Brandon Price went the distance for the Falcons, striking out six Hawks, walking two and giving up 10 hits. Only two of the three runs he surrendered were earned.

"He pitched a heck of a ballgame," Charles Davis said of Price.

North Lenoir out-hit Aycock, 10-7, and was led by the trio of Alex McGaughy, Taylor Ginn and Sthil Sowers, who had two hits each. Ginn plated NL's only RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. The Hawks scored their other two runs on a wild pitch and throwing error by the Aycock catcher in a bang-bang play in the sixth.

North Lenoir squandered scoring opportunities throughout the game. The Hawks left nine runners on base, including six in scoring position and four in the first three innings.

"We hurt ourselves early in the game when we left those guys in scoring position," Montague said. "

The Hawks open Class 2-A Eastern Plains Conference action with a home date against Farmville Central at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Aycock only had one batter -- leadoff man Jackson Massey -- finish with two hits as the outfielder was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

CBA, the No. 3 team in the latest Impactbaseball.com 3A poll, returns to Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference play on Friday when the Falcons visit Wilson Hunt.

By BRYAN C. HANKS

Courtesy Kinston Free Press