Warriors capture third consecutive ECC championship
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on May 2, 2010 1:50 AM
LaGRANGE -- Eastern Wayne did it's job.
And the Warriors got a little help from their friends.
The result was a third consecutive Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference regular season baseball championship.
Eastern Wayne struck early and often in a 9-4 victory over North Lenoir on Friday night in Wheat Swamp. The win assured the team of at least a share of the conference crown. After Southern Wayne handed C.B. Aycock a stunning defeat, the Warriors were left to celebrate on their own.
"There was a point in the season where I didn't think we would be standing here," Eastern Wayne head coach Jabo Fulghum said. "We got off to a 1-6 start and it didn't seem like anything was going right. But the kids came together and worked hard and here we are."
The Warriors got out of the gate fast on Friday night.
Colton Fulghum led off the game with a walk and was followed by a base on balls to Robert Faucette. Two pitches later Cambric Moye ripped a triple down the left field line and plated both runners. Moye immediately scored on a Zach Beachum groundout to make the score 3-0.
An error by the Hawks led to an additional run in the second inning, but the home team was not about to fade away.
J.T. Williams led off the second with a base hit and later scored on a wild pitch. Scott Ginn followed with a solo home run over the left field fence.
"We hit the ball tonight but we had some trouble locating pitches," North Lenoir head coach Jim Montague said. "I think our guys were trying to place the ball instead of throwing it."
Eastern Wayne put the game away in the fifth inning.
Josh Frederick reached on an error and was followed by a Colton Fulghum single. Robert Faucette bounced into a fielder's choice and Moye drew a walk in front of an RBI double from Beachum. Jose Ponce plated an additional run on a sacrifice fly that made the score 7-2.
The cushion was plenty for Beachem who earned the mound win by tossing 42/3 innings and scattering six hits. Zack Mozingo finished the game and preserved the victory.
"This was a total team effort tonight and it's been like that most of the season," said Fulghum. "It's not just the guys that get their names in the headlines, it's every guy helping out."
John Delaney suffered the defeat for the Hawks.
North Lenoir will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Southern Wayne in the opening round of the conference tournament.
Eastern Wayne will receive a bye through round one and wait until Thursday to host a second round matchup.