Wayne County Post 11 set to take on Wilson

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on July 3, 2010 11:34 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Wayne County Post 11 head coach Rob Watt has reason to be optimistic heading into the American Legion Area-I playoffs on Monday.

However, Watt also knows that strange things can happen in the postseason when old rivals get together.

Post 11 will battle Wilson Post 13 in the opening round.

On the bright side, Wayne County swept the regular season series and claimed the final game of the set 12-7 less than two weeks ago.

"We won both games during the regular season but both games were close," said Watt. "I don't think this series is going to be easy for either team."

Both teams boast high-powered offenses, which will put pitching at a premium during the playoffs. Post 11 will hand the ball to Josh Frederick in game one and see how far the Mount Olive College signee can take them before setting up the bullpen.

Frederick will carry a 3-0 record and a 1.42 earned run average into the opening contest.

"Pitching is the name of the game in the playoffs," said Watt. "Usually the team that can get the better outing out of their starter and save the bullpen winds up winning the series."

On the offensive side of the coin, Watt and his staff are hoping that the power surge that started at the end of the regular season will carry over into the playoffs. Led by Cody Davis and his .569 batting average, Wayne County has built a reputation as a team that can score runs in bunches.

Davis leads the team with eight doubles and has only struck out twice in 58 at-bats.

"Cody has been huge for us this year at the top of the lineup," Watt said. "He understands what we are looking for and his eye for the strike zone has been excellent. He's hitting .569 and when you throw in all the times he walks or gets hit by a pitch... He's on base a lot."

Other key Wayne County contributors include Adron Hollowell, who leads the team in runs batted in (25). Tyler Edwards who boasts a team-best 11 stolen bases and Zack Mozingo (.472 Avg.) who is tied for the team lead with three home runs.

"It's going to take a contribution from everybody to win the series," said Watt. "Wilson is one of the best teams we played all season so our guys are aware of what they have to do."

The best-of-three series opens on Monday night at historic Flemming Stadium in Wilson. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Game two of the set will be at Scarborough Field in Mount Olive on Tuesday night.

The winner of the opening-round series will advance to play either Kinston or Ahoskie in the second round.