Saints hand Golden Falcons second loss

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

• Print
• Email

PIKEVILLE -- The third time was a charm.

Southern Wayne pounded out nine hits en route to a 4-0 victory over state-ranked Charles B. Aycock in the semifinals of the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference tournament on Wednesday night.

The fourth-seeded Saints travel to Hunt for the title game on Friday. First pitch is 7 p.m.

After Aycock, the three-time reigning ECC tournament queen, swept the regular-season series, Southern Wayne (12-12 overall) chose an opportune time to overthrow its archrival.

"It's a great time of the year to be playing your best ball," said Saints' head coach Michael Wiggs. "And this was, without a doubt, our best game of the season."

The Saints erupted in the fifth inning.

Freshman Madison Davis laced a two-out single and moved into scoring position on Tara Hirsch's base hit. Morgan Davis plated Madison with a base knock and Lauren Darden cranked out an RBI double.

Christina Williams plated two additional runs with a double.

"We were finally able to put a couple hits together and it all came because of a few good at-bats with two out," said Wiggs. "We hit the ball against good pitching tonight and that's encouraging as we go forward."

Darden easily protected the four-run cushion. The Mount Olive College signee permitted just two hits in a complete-game effort as the Saints snapped the Golden Falcons' 17-game win streak.

"Lauren pitched a great game. She refused to be beaten," said Golden Falcons head coach Brad Matthews. "You have to take your hat off to coach Wiggs and his team. They were more focused and they came ready to play."

Matthews regarded the loss as a wake-up call. Both teams secured berths in the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs, which begin next week.

"I think we thought that this game was won before we ever took the field," said Matthews. "Southern Wayne outplayed us all the way around. I don't think this team will get caught looking ahead again."

Aycock has the league's No. 1 seed. If Southern Wayne upsets Hunt, it will grab the No. 2 seed.

"It will take a near flawless game to beat Hunt," said Wiggs. "But we knew it would take a near perfect game tonight and we got it done."