WCDS drops Pungo baseball
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 8, 2010 11:44 PM
The unfamiliarity didn't last long.
Once Pungo broke the scoreless tie, Wayne Country Day adopted the blue-collar attitude during the opening-round, N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A baseball contest Friday afternoon.
The opportunistic Chargers capitalized on seven walks, nine errors and strong base running to claim a 14-4 victory. Hil Tanner's one-strike, two-RBI single induced the mercy rule in the fifth inning.
Wayne Country Day (15-7 overall) continues its playoff journey at home Tuesday against perennial power Hobgood Academy. A game time has not been determined.
"A typical first-round game ... not knowing what to expect from anybody," said Chargers head coach Michael Taylor. "After that first inning, we woke up a little bit, put the bat on the ball and took advantage of their mistakes.
"We just went out and played, and I thought we played pretty well defensively."
The Chargers, winners in 11 of their last 13 outings, committed just one error and didn't strike out at the plate. Six starters collected at least one hit against Raider right-handers Zach Credle and Colby Latham.
Junior infielder Tyson Pearson slugged a first-inning home run over the right-field fence, and concluded the day 2-for-3. Tanner (1-for-3) drove in a game-high three runs, while lead-off batter Cody Neal supplied one hit and two RBI.
WCDS finished with seven hits.
"Yesterday, we had a bad day of BP (batting practice) and today before the game we had a good round of BP," said Taylor, who shrugged his shoulders. "I think a lot of it had to do with the inconsistency of their pitching ... not knowing it was going to be a strike or a ball.
"The guys were a little impatient in the box at times."
Right-hander Cole Davis claimed the mound win for the Chargers. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound sophomore permitted three earned runs on four hits and logged four strikeouts in a three-inning stint.
Pearson delivered two innings of two-hit, two-strikeout relief.
Senior catcher Tyler Mann doubled twice, tripled and plated a run for Pungo. Credle and Joseph Braddy each contributed a hit and an RBI for the Raiders, who were making their first playoff appearance since 1995.
"Their number three batter (Mann) is good," said Taylor. "He hit the ball hard all day. Once we got around him, I think we were all right. That's the first time Cole has pitched in a good while, and we wanted to give him innings before we get (deeper) into the playoffs."