Wayne County routs Sampson-Duplin

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 4, 2010 1:46 PM

• Print
• Email

MOUNT OLIVE -- Wayne County Post 11 didn't need long to knock the rust of its bats Thursday evening.

Connor Narron's two-run, third-inning blast ignited the offense and Post 11 rolled to a 15-2 decision over Duplin-Sampson Post 127 at Scarborough Field.

Narron swatted his second homer this season and Wayne County remained unbeaten in four outings. Post 11 concludes its five-game homestand tonight against Raleigh Post 1. First pitch is 7 p.m.

"You get a kid of that calibre and anytime he (Narron) steps up to the plate, he's got a chance to hurt somebody," said first-year Wayne County coach Rob Watt. "We were down 2-0 and there wasn't a whole lot of life (in the dugout), and all of a sudden, you get something like that and everybody gets a little vote of confidence.

"After that, we didn't look back. Hitting is contagious and sometimes you have to look toward your better players to get things started. Connor has done a good job of that for us."

Eight of nine Post 11 starters contributed at least one hit in the mercy rule-shortened affair. Cody Davis, the No. 9 batter in the order, finished 4-for-4 with a double and scored four runs.

Narron (3 RBI) batted 3-for-4. Tyler Edwards (2 RBI), Tyler Ruffin (RBI) and Nicholas McGee cranked out two hits apiece. Will Bynum collected three RBI from the lead-off spot and Adron Hollowell tripled to spark a seven-run, fourth-inning outburst.

Wayne County has outscored its opposition 57-13.

"We swung the bats pretty good and put pressure on the defense," said Watt. "I can't remember too many punchouts, so that means we were putting the ball in play and making them get us out. I thought we played a pretty good game."

Post 11 starter Zack Mozingo, in his second appearance, permitted eight hits in a six-inning stint. The right-hander worked through a shaky third inning and finished with seven strikeouts -- and no walks.

Duplin-Sampson, of the Area II ranks, touched Mozingo for two third-inning runs on three base knocks and a hit batsman. Mozingo (1-0) retired 10 of the final 13 batters he faced and forced the visitors to strand seven runners on the basepaths.

"Zack got better command of his stuff (after the third) and he didn't have a hard time throwing strikes all day," said Watt. "The last three or four innings, he had better command ... throwing the ball where he wanted and did a much better job controlling both sides of the plate."

Zach Beacham threw a scoreless seventh.

Brandon Thigpen and Kyle Herring paced Duplin-Sampson's attack with two hits and an RBI apiece.