Golden Falcon offense erupts in final 4 innings

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 27, 2010 11:41 PM

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FOUR OAKS -- State-ranked Charles B. Aycock was opportunistic on an afternoon when hits were a rare commodity Friday afternoon.

The Golden Falcons capitalized on eight walks and three errors in a 7-3 victory over South Johnston, and remained tied with county archrival Eastern Wayne for the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference baseball lead.

"Honestly, I thought we played at the two toughest places to play in the league, and to be able to get two wins in the conference on the road, we feel very fortunate," said Aycock head coach Charles Davis.

The Trojans (4-5 overall, 0-2 ECC) grabbed a 1-0 lead after three innings.

The Golden Falcons (10-1, 2-0) scored seven runs over the next four innings. Aycock erased its scoreless drought in the fourth and tacked on three additional runs in the fifth.

With two outs, Travis Musselman and Tyler Farmer drew consecutive walks to start the fifth-inning surge. Connor Narron reached on an infield error and Musselman scampered home to put Aycock ahead 2-1.

Farmer scored on a wild pitch and Narron trotted home on Tyler Ruffin's RBI single.

South Johnston pulled within 4-3, but could get no closer.

Aycock posted one run in the sixth and added two more in the seventh. Adron Hollowell started the final inning with a lead-off single and beat out the throw to second base on Ruffin's fielder's choice grounder. Jordan Quinn walked and Hollowell raced home on Nick McGee's sacrifice fly.

Ruffin smartly took third on McGee's fly ball and collected the Golden Falcons' final run on Jonathan Taylor's sacrifice fly.

Hollowell finished the day 2-for-3, while Ruffin batted 1-for-4 with two RBI.

"When we got the chance, we did manufacture some runs," said Davis. "It seemed like all game we had one runner on base, and were just one swing from breaking the game open. They opened the door with the big error in the fifth inning.

"They were generous. We didn't swing the bats well at all, but we made the most of our opportunities."

Southpaw Eric DuBose (3-0) worked six innings for the Golden Falcons. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder permitted three earned runs on nine hits and fanned three South Johnston batters. He picked off two runners and induced a double-play ball to escape another inning.

"Eric worked both sides of the plate today," said Davis. "He and Nick worked good together today, and called a good ballgame. Eric spotted his fastball, kept the ball down and threw his curveball for strikes in key situations."

Hollowell provided one inning of two-strikeout, scoreless relief.

Trojan hurlers Trey Thompson and Casey Lee combined to allow seven runs (four earned) on three hits and 11 walks. Thompson had four strikeouts during his five-inning stint.

Aycock carries its six-game win streak into Tuesday's home contest against defending ECC regular-season and tournament champion Eastern Wayne. First pitch is 7 p.m.