Reigning eastern 3-A baseball champs start playoffs with solid win
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on May 15, 2010 11:07 PM
Eastern Wayne overcame some early adversity and capitalized on a pair of miscues in a 7-3 win over Nash Central in the opening round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A baseball playoffs on Friday evening.
The Bulldogs stepped onto the field with an inspired mindset and captured an early lead when Jordan Taylor walked and later scored on a wild pitch.
Eastern Wayne immediately answered.
Colton Fulghum belted a double and later scored on a groundout by Cambric Moye.
"You have to give Nash Central a lot of credit because they came in here and they were ready to play," said Eastern Wayne head coach Jabo Fulghum. "Their kids are scrappy and they put the pressure on us early."
After Nash Central added one run in the top of the second, the Warriors broke the game open in their second at-bat. Jose Ponce and Greg Simms each ripped a single to start the inning. Michael Fields delivered an RBI base hit and Josh Frederick came through with a sacrifice fly.
An error by the Bulldogs allowed Fields to score from second and complete the three-run outburst.
"They helped us out by misplaying a couple of balls, and we were able to get a key hit or two to capitalize," said Fulghum. "We hit some balls hard, but more than that, we got timely hits."
The Warriors put the game on ice in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Moye reached on an error with one out and Ponce followed with an RBI base hit. Simms belted a double and Ponce scored from third on a wild pitch.
Frederick belted a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to cap the scoring. The Mount Olive College signee also earned the win on the pitcher's mound. Frederick struck out eight batters 5 2/3 innings of work.
"Josh was not as sharp as he usually is, but he hung in there and gave us all he could," said Fulghum. "This time of the year is all about making it to the next game and getting better as you go."
Jeremy Sloop suffered the loss for Nash Central.
Eastern Wayne (15-10 overall) plays host to Currituck County on Tuesday.