Chase, Mozingo cool down Post 13 in final three innings
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 7, 2010 1:46 PM
WILSON -- Zack Chase and Zack Mozingo helped Wayne County Post 11 preserve its unbeaten status on a sultry Sunday evening.
The duo combined for two-plus innings of scoreless relief in an 11-10 triumph over Senior American Legion baseball archrival Wilson Post 13 at venerable Fleming Stadium.
"We needed one of these," said Post 11 coach Rob Watt.
Mercy-rule winners in four of its first five outings this season, Wayne County (6-0 overall) needed every hit -- and pitch -- it got against an aggressive Post 13 squad. Connor Narron supplied the eventual game-winning run -- a towering, seventh-inning homer that cleared the wall in right field.
Narron finished 4-for-4 with two home runs, two doubles and five RBI. The North Carolina signee drew two walks and saw a total of 25 pitches in his six plate appearances.
"We knew Wilson was going to have some good players and this was the game we needed to play right here after having all those 10-run games and what-not," said Watt. "We certainly used the bullpen tonight and those guys showed some guts, for sure. They had a decent lead, those guys chipped away and we kept them at bay the best we could."
Wayne County built an 8-2 advantage through 21/2 innings.
Narron, Tyler Edwards, Kevin Wise and Cody Davis (3-for-5, two RBI) handled the RBI duties during that stretch against Post 13 right-hander Louis Decarolis.
Wilson (1-2) pulled within 10-7 through five innings. Loyd Davis swatted a two-run homer off Post 11 starter Matt Neal in the fourth. Mitchell Wheeler drilled a two-RBI triple into the power alley in the fifth.
Watt called on his bullpen.
"This was the first team we saw who worked more three-ball counts," said Watt. "Matt's pitch count was up a little bit higher than he'd like it to have been. They were getting into hitter's counts moreso than other teams we've played who haven't been as aggressive."
Post 13 closed the gap to 10-9 on back-to-back RBI singles from Zac Lee and Michael McLawhorn. Narron's solo shot pushed the lead back to two and Wilson pulled within 11-10 on a bizarre seventh-inning play.
Chase, in relief of Zach Beachem, balked when the umpire didn't acknowledge Davis' timeout request in the batter's box. Working with a precarious one-run lead, the Greene Central standout fanned Davis and pinch-hitter Ches Lamm to end the threat.
Wilson left two runners stranded in the eighth on an inning-ending strikeout by Wheeler. Mozingo faced four batters in the ninth and earned the save with a game-ending, fielder's choice groundout to second base.
The Post 11 pitching staff yielded season highs in runs (11) and hits (14). Five hurlers saw action in the 3-hour, 15-minute affair that ended in a driving rainstorm.
"They (Wilson) did a good job at the plate," said Watt. "It was a little bit of a slugfest, but I feel like our bullpen did a good job of damage control. It was a good test, for sure."
Wayne County picked up its 64th victory in 107 meetings against Wilson.