Wayne County North knocks off North Lenoir, 4-3

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on June 18, 2010 1:46 PM

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Executing in key situations during a close ballgame is a vital part of the maturation process of a young team.

Wayne County North delivered at critical moments and picked up a 4-3, Junior American Legion victory over North Lenoir on Thursday night in New Hope.

Hawks' starting pitcher Joseph Jarman held Wayne North hitless through the first three innings. Wesley Stewart reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Jake May's double put runners on second and third and Stewart scored on Jarman's balk.

Nolan James' RBI groundout gave Wayne North a 2-0 lead.

J.T. Williams' RBI double and Rand Jackson's RBI single in the top of the fifth tied the game at 2-2. Williams paced North Lenoir with two hits and an RBI.

May's RBI fielder's choice in the home half of the fifth gave Wayne North the lead for good at 3-2.

May turned in the first of his two key defensive plays in the top of the sixth. He threw out pinch-runner and potential tying run, Sammy West, trying to steal third base to end the inning.

Benito Avila's two-out RBI infield single in the bottom of the sixth extended the Wayne North lead to 4-2.

The Hawks' pulled to within 4-3 in the top of the seventh on Williams' fielder's choice and a Wayne North error. Williams was thrown out by May trying to steal second base to end the ballgame.

"Jake's playing really well," said Wayne North head coach Roger May. "He's hitting the ball well, and he's getting better behind the plate and I'm really excited for him. It's always about progression and I think he's progressing well right now.

"I think he's earning some respect behind the plate."

Wayne North starting pitcher Josh Dixon surrendered two earned runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout in 42/3 innings to claim the pitching win. Ryan Faucette allowed an unearned run in 11/3 innings of relief. Jeremy Lancaster threw one shutout inning to record the save.

"Josh has done that for us in relief all year," said Roger May. "He really hasn't gone much over 40 pitches and we wanted to keep him around 70. I was tickled to death with his effort. Ryan came in and threw well and Jeremy did too.

"The key to this team is coming together. When they come together we've got potential."

Wayne North (6-5 overall) visits Snow Hill today.