Saints get superb outing from Davis

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 3, 2010 11:05 PM

• Print
• Email

WINTERVILLE -- Southern Wayne opened its Easter holiday break with a 7-5 win over Watauga in the first round of the South Central/D.H. Conley Easter Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

After using all available arms in a conference loss to Eastern Wayne on Thursday night, Saints head coach Trae McKee was unsure of who would step up and take over on the pitcher's mound.

Cody Davis answered the call.

"Cody came to me after the last game and said that he wanted the ball today," said McKee. "I have been looking for someone to take that initiative and ask for the ball all season."

Davis delivered 42/3 innings of gutsy effort en route to the mound win. The multi-talented hurler allowed five runs (two earned) on nine hits, but avoided the big inning by inducing some key ground ball outs.

"(Davis) got hit a little bit because he left a few balls up, but overall I thought he did well," said McKee. "He has been so good behind the plate for us that I was a little reluctant to bring him out to pitch, but he wanted a shot and he did a nice job."

Southern Wayne jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Tyler Gainey was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, and was followed by singles from Davis and Kevin Wise that loaded the bases. Zach Grantham belted a single into the gap that plated two runs. Taylor Brock followed with an RBI single.

The Saints missed a chance to tack on more runs when Grantham was gunned down at the plate and Brock was caught trying to take second base on the throw.

Southern Wayne added a run in the top of the third inning, but Watauga battled back in its half of the stanza.

Josh Wyant reached on an error and moved into scoring position on a single by Kyle Hardee. David Martin loaded the bases with a single and Ryan Turner plated a run on a fielder's choice. Another Saints error allowed the Pioneers to tie the score 4-4.

The Saints immediately battled back with two runs in the fifth.

Keith Jones led off with a double and Gainey followed with a single. Davis plated a run on a fielder's choice and later scored on a wild pitch.

"It was nice to see the guys bounce back with a solid effort tonight," said McKee. "We hit the ball a little bit and we were able to put the last game behind us."

Will Broadwell tossed 21/3 innings of sterling relief to earn the save. Grantham led the victors at the plate with a perfect 3-for-3 effort that included three RBI.

Southern Wayne (7-6 overall) will play the winner of the matchup between South Central and Greene Central on Monday at 7 p.m. at D.H. Conley High School.