WC North tops Aycock
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on June 23, 2010 1:46 PM
PIKEVILLE -- When it rains, it pours.
Charles B. Aycock found itself in a monsoon on Tuesday night.
Jeremy Lancaster tossed 52/3 innings of no-hit shutout relief and Wayne County North rallied past the Golden Falcons for a 7-5, Junior American Legion victory.
Wayne North picked up its sixth straight win.
Trailing 5-1 entering the top of the fifth, Wayne North pulled to within 5-2 on Nolan James' RBI double.
Wayne North sent nine men to the plate in the top of the sixth and tallied five hits in the inning off Aycock relievers Adam Pate and Collin DuBose.
Lancaster's RBI single scored Wesley Capps and cut the lead to 5-3. Benito Avila added an RBI single and Jake May's two-run single gave Wayne North a 6-5 lead. Avila later scored on a passed ball.
Avila and May (2 RBI) finished with two hits apiece.
"Hitting is contagious," said Wayne North head coach Roger May. "Once we got hits from Jake and Nolan (James), it picked us up a little bit. We started hitting the ball the other way and didn't try to pull it."
Lancaster relieved Wayne North starter Josh Dixon in the second inning and retired 16 of the 18 batters he faced. He allowed just two base runners on a hit batsman and a walk, and struck out six.
"It's like we keep telling him hit your spots, change speeds and get ahead of hitters," said May. "If you get ahead of hitters you've got something to work with. If you get behind hitters you're in trouble. Jeremy did an excellent job."
Wayne North took a 1-0 lead on May's RBI groundout in the top of the first. The Golden Falcons answered with DuBose's RBI triple and Travis Musselman's RBI groundout in the bottom of the first.
Aycock increased its lead to 5-1 in the home half of the second with Pate's RBI double and DuBose's two-run single. The Golden Falcons didn't collect another hit and sent just 16 men to the plate over the last five innings.
"Jeremy Lancaster came in and did a heck of a job," said Aycock head coach Nelson Cunningham. "He felt it from the second inning on. He settled in and did his job."
Aycock (8-2 overall) visits Spring Creek today. Wayne North (11-5) entertains Snow Hill on Thursday.