C.B. Aycock tops New Bern 12-2

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on April 6, 2010 1:46 PM

• Print
• Email

GREENVILLE -- State-ranked Charles B. Aycock executed its "win every inning" philosophy to near perfection Monday afternoon.

The Golden Falcons scored in four of six innings and rolled past perennial power New Bern 12-2 in semifinal-round play of the South Central/D.H. Conley Easter Invitational.

Tyler Farmer homered for Aycock, which opposes county nemesis Southern Wayne for the championship today. First pitch is 7 p.m. on the South Central High School diamond.

"It was a pretty complete game today ... a good team win," said Golden Falcons head coach Charles Davis. "Our goal is not to walk people, play defense and step up and swing the bats."

Aycock did just that.

Tyler Ruffin (RBI) and Jonathan Taylor (4 RBI) paced the Golden Falcons' offense with three hits apiece. Jeff Carmel and Farmer, who slugged his two-RBI dinger in the fifth inning, each contributed two hits. It was Farmer's first homer of the season and Aycock's 14th overall in 15 games.

Golden Falcon hurler Aaron Champion shook off the first inning and claimed his third decision this spring. The junior southpaw yielded four hits in five innings, and retired 10 of the final 13 batters he faced.

New Bern (7-5) stranded six runners, including three in scoring position, during that stretch. Champion induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

"That's been our story the last three weeks, just can't drive in a run," said Bears head coach Gary Smith. "We get two runs, one when the game is basically over, and the other we work a double steal. That's what we've had to do to try to score.

"I can't explain it."

The Bears' double steal led to the game's first run.

Aycock, ranked No. 2 in the latest ImpactBaseball.com 3-A poll, answered with four-run outburst in its first at-bat. Connor Narron drew a one-out walk and moved into scoring position on Adron Hollowell's two-strike single through the left side.

Narron scored on Ruffin's game-tying hit and Hollowell trotted home on Quinn's base knock to right field. A throwing error, Nichoas McGee's RBI sacrifice fly and Taylor's single gave Champion a 4-1 cushion.

"Up and down the lineup, we swung the bats extremely well," said Davis.

The Golden Falcons, winners of 10 consecutive games, chased Bears right-hander Worth Mills from the mound in the third inning. Mills plunked Ruffin, walked Quinn and plunked McGee to load the bases with no outs.

Taylor plated two runs with a single off reliever Matt Salter to left center and scored on a passed ball. Jeff Carmel reached on a fielder's choice and scampered home on Farmer's RBI groundout.

Farmer became the seventh Aycock player to homer this season with his bases-clearing blast. Taylor supplied a sixth-inning, RBI single and Travis Musselman induced the mercy rule with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field.

"We had some good quality at-bats," said Davis.