C.B. Aycock rebounds, shuts down Fike 9-2

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on March 2, 2007 2:19 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- The only thing not working for Charles B. Aycock on Thursday evening was the lights.

With the lights surrounding the diamond malfunctioning and darkness falling, the game between Aycock and Wilson Fike was called in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Golden Falcons winning 9-2.

The decision brought no protest from the Golden Demons as they had been thoroughly dominated by the Golden Falcons.

"They got a little confidence early and it carried over," said Aycock coach David West of his team. "It's what we needed -- a good offensive night and a good defensive night and we got both. I thought everyone did a terrific job."

Everyone including pitcher Emily Jordan.

Jordan dominated the overmatched Fike batters, allowing just three balls to be hit out of the infield -- only one going for a base hit.

Jordan (1-0) pitched a complete game with four strikeouts while giving up two runs on three hits.

"She pitched real confidently and the girls played good defense behind her," said West, whose team played error free in the field. "A pitcher always appreciates that."

A day after being no-hit by Washington High School, the Golden Falcon hitters shook the dust off their bats and put on a solid hitting display.

The Golden Falcons struck for two runs in the bottom of the second inning when Shelly Lancaster reached on an error by Kellen Skinner and then stole second base. Julia Lancaster followed with an RBI double, which just missed going over the fence.

Jazzmine Lee added a clutch two-out hit to drive in Julia Lancaster and give Aycock the early 2-0 lead.

The Golden Falcons' bats really got hot in the bottom of the third when they put their first three hitters on via two hits and a walk to bring up Shelly Lancaster.

After two straight balls from Fike pitcher Katelyn Suggs, the hurler unleashed a wild pitch to bring home Leigh Smith.

Staring at a 3-0 count, Shelly Lancaster made a decision.

"I knew it was coming right down the middle," she said. "I had three balls on me and I knew a strike was coming so I just swung. I had it in my head I was going to swing before she pitched it."

The decision paid off as she slammed the pitch deep over the left-centerfield fence for a three-run homer to give Aycock the 6-0 lead.

"I was glad to see Shelly do that," said West. "She has been struggling in practice with the bat. For her to come through tonight shows that she's still focused and committed to doing the right things up there.

"I hope she's got herself back together swinging because she's an excellent batter -- you'll hear things from her all year."

The rout was on as Aycock tallied one more run in the inning to go up 7-0 and chase the starter Suggs from the game.

Suggs (0-1) allowed sevens runs on six hits, walked two while striking out six.

With Jordan and the Aycock defense keeping the Golden Demon offense in check, the Golden Falcon bats went back to work in the bottom of the fifth inning.

With two outs, Brittany Ford reached on an error and Lee drove her in with an RBI single. Lee then scored without the need of a hit as she stole second and came home following consecutive errors by Fike catcher Amber Miller.

Lee finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI while Shelly Lancaster finished 1-for-3 with her first home run of the season, three RBIs and a stolen base for Aycock (1-1).

The Golden Falcons are hoping the victory can serve as a boost of confidence and get the team on a roll.

"This is really going to help us out," said Shelly Lancaster. "We finally got our jitters out. We're really ready now."

Fike 000 101 -- 2 3 5

Aycock 025 020 -- 9 9 0

NOTE: Game ended with no outs and two on in the bottom of the sixth

Leading Hitters -- Wilson Fike -- Brown 1-2, RBI; Skinner 1-1, 2B. C.B. Aycock -- Lee 2-4, 2 RBI; S. Lancaster 1-3, HR, 3 RBI; Jordan 2-4; J. Lancaster 1-3, 2B, RBI.

SB -- Lee, Dobbin, Smith, S. Lancaster, Savage.

IP H R ER BB SO

Wilson Fike

Suggs (0-1) 3 6 7 7 2 6

Skinner 2 3 2 2 1 3

C.B. Aycock

Jordan (1-0) 6 3 2 2 5 4

(Skinner pitched to three batters in the sixth)