Legion baseball: Post 11 ends regular season with road loss

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 15, 2007 2:03 AM

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NEW BERN -- Right-hander Keith Spinner threw a complete-game, six-hitter as New Bern Post 24 claimed an 8-3 decision over Wayne County Post 11 at Boykin Field on Saturday evening.

New Bern (11-6 overall) finished 8-2 in Area I East South Division play and clinched the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, which begin Monday. New Bern plays host to Beaufort, the No. 4 seed from the North Division.

Wayne County (13-4) compiled a 6-4 record and takes the No. 2 seed for the postseason. Post 11 welcomes Nash County, the No. 3 seed from the North Division, at Scarborough Field.

The remaining best-of-three, first-round series includes two-time defending champion Pitt County 39 at Edenton Post 40 and Pitt County Post 160 at Wilson Post 13. The Pitt 39-Edenton series is a rematch of last year's championship.

Spinner, a rising sophomore at Pitt Community College, fanned 12 Wayne County batters in the nine-inning affair. Will Edgerton and Walker Gourley paced Post 11's offensse with two hits apiece, while Zack Wright doubled and Nolan Lancaster delivered a pinch-hit, RBI single in the eighth inning.

New Bern, which won its first South Division title since 2004, seized a 4-0 lead in the third inning. A passed ball on a strikeout and two errors helped ignite the offensive uprising.

Post 11, which suffered its third road defeat of the season, avoided the shutout in the fifth inning. Edgerton singled to left, advanced to second on a groundout, took third on a passed ball and scored on a throwing error.

New Bern answered with Matt Hardeman's RBI single. Alan Edwards' RBI sacrifice fly and another Hardeman single boosted Post 24's lead to 7-1 after six innings.

John Wooten provided an RBI groundout in the seventh and Lancaster concluded Post 11's scoring in the eighth.

Grant Sasser took the mound loss, despite striking out seven and allowing five hits.