Wayne 14Us crush Lenoir

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on June 25, 2008 1:55 PM

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Wayne County 14U all-star softball coach Shawn Tyndall knows that winning is not always going to come so easy.

Tyndall's team of local standouts tallied 18 runs in the top half of the first inning and raced past Kinston-Lenoir 30-0 in the Babe Ruth District 8 championship game held at the Grantham Youth Softball complex on Tuesday.

"The important thing to remember at this point is to have fun," said Tyndall. "We have a great group of girls who really enjoy playing together."

Wayne County meant business during its opening at-bat.

Brittany Williams drew a leadoff walk and set the tone for the game's decisive inning. Megan Tyndall delivered the first big blow of the game with a two-run single and was immediately followed by a Chris Kelly single.

Three batters later, Sara Beth Marquis belted a bases-clearing single that was compounded by a Kinston error. After the team batted around for the second time in the inning, Marquis capped the 18-run outburst with a two-run double.

Wayne County managed 10 hits, drew seven walks and sent 23 batters to the plate during the productive inning.

"We jumped out early and got out to a safe lead before we started to slow things down," said Tyndall. "We hit the ball up and down the order tonight."

Wayne County tacked on three runs in the second and five in the third to add to the already lopsided score. Things got worse for Kinston in the fourth when relief pitcher Taylor Baysden took a line drive off the hip and was forced to leave the game. Little-used Brianna Langley came on and retired Wayne County's batters in order.

Marquis tossed 2 2/3 innings and struck out three to pick up the win on the rubber for Wayne County. Jessica Brown delivered Kinston's only hit in the first inning.

The District 8 champions must now endure a 15-day break before the state tournament begins July 9.

"The competition will only get better from here, so we need to stay focused," said Tyndall. "Our goal is to the regional in Wilson and see what happens."

Despite the wild outcome, Tyndall is concerned.

"We are pretty banged up," he said. "One girl has a cast on her arm and another isn't able to play because of a knee injury."