Warriors blast Pinecrest 11-0

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 14, 2009 1:46 PM

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GREENVILLE -- State-ranked Eastern Wayne scored in each of the first three innings en route to a 11-0 victory over Pinecrest in the second round of the Jimmie R. Grimsley Hot Stove League Invitational at Guy Smith Stadium on Monday.

Coming off of back-to-back losses, the Warriors responded with an offensive outburst and a sterling pitching performance.

"I was not worried about our guys coming out flat," Eastern Wayne head coach Jabo Fulghum said. "We have great leaders on this team and I think taking a loss on Saturday made our guys realize that they have to play hard every day."

The Warriors got off to a fast start at the plate.

Walker Gourley led off the game with a single and was followed by Colton Fulghum's fielder's choice. John Wooten delivered a double into center field and two batters later Robert Faucette delivered a two-run single.

Eastern Wayne added two additional runs in the second inning.

Josh Frederick reached on an error to begin the rally and immediately stole second base. Gourley delivered an RBI single and scored on Fulghum's base hit one batter later.

"We had some very good at-bats tonight," Jabo Fulghum said. "From top to bottom, I thought our guys were disciplined and hit the ball hard."

Four runs was more than enough for Frederick who kept Patriot hitters off-balance with a devastating curve ball and an accurate fastball. Frederick only allowed one hit, a third-inning single, on the night.

"Josh was very tough, changing speeds and getting ahead in the count," Fulghum said. "He had only thrown 80 pitches going into the last inning so we decided to let him finish what he started."

Staked to an 11-0 lead, Frederick walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh and allowed a second base runner as the result of an error. With his shutout on the line, the diminutive sophomore struck out Patriot first baseman Joey Grady to end the contest.

"I honestly think that losing our first game may have been a good thing," Fulghum said. "Sometimes getting your tail beat makes a team realize that every game is important. Tonight we played with confidence and got the job done."

Eastern Wayne (12-2 overall) will conclude the classic today when they take on Northern Durham at 4 p.m.