South Johnston shuts out Eastern Wayne baseball

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on April 7, 2011 1:47 PM

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The little things that have haunted Eastern Wayne this season suddenly don't seem so little.

The Warriors committed three errors and left 10 runners on base in a 2-0 loss to Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference foe South Johnston on Wednesday evening.

Eastern Wayne left the bases loaded in the third inning. Trojans' second baseman Cam Wood made a diving stop on Dante Arthur's ground ball with runners on second and third base to end the fourth inning. The Warriors stranded a pair of runners in both the fifth and sixth innings, and batted 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

In its three conference losses, Eastern Wayne (8-5 overall, 4-3 ECC) has left a total of 26 runners on base and committed nine errors.

"We don't have anybody right now that wants to be at the plate with a runner at second base," said Warriors' head coach Jabo Fulghum. "Everybody's got to have an RBI mentality if you're going to score some runs. Defensively, we're trying to find ourselves on the infield. We're not going to give up on it.

"We feel like we've got a good infield if they'll just get confidence in themselves."

Trey Thompson's two-out RBI single gave South Johnston a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. The Trojans (6-8, 3-4) picked up a run two batters later on an Eastern Wayne error.

Warriors' starting pitcher Zach Mozingo took the loss on the mound. The junior right-hander surrendered two runs (one earned) on two hits with 11 strikeouts and six walks.

Mozingo struck out the side in the second inning and didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning. He recorded at least one strikeout in five of the 6 2/3 innings he pitched. Mozingo also went 3 for 4 at the plate.

"Mo threw the bell well, good enough to win," said Fulghum. "He wasn't as sharp as he has been, but he's had a layoff. It's been a week or so. We've got to bounce back."

Thompson pitched a complete-game shutout and earned the win. He scattered six hits and struck out nine with two walks.

Eastern Wayne plays host to Cleveland today.