Wayne County benefits from Clayton's miscues

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 29, 2011 1:51 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Some teams have all the luck.

Wayne County Post 11 certainly did Friday evening.

The defense turned a season-high three double plays and Clayton Post 71 committed five costly errors in Wayne County's wild, 14-10 triumph at Scarborough Field on the Mount Olive College campus.

"A great team effort," said Post 11 assistant coach Jackson Massey.

And this time, much to Jackson's liking, Wayne County put pressure on the opposing defense. Seven of nine batters in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, and eight starters reached base in the Area I affair.

Jonathan Taylor (three RBI) and Kevin Wise (RBI) led the charge with three hits apiece. Tyler Ruffin batted 2-for-5 with two RBI.

Wayne County had just five strikeouts against three Post 71 hurlers.

"I've been waiting for this for a few games and they see the difference when you lay bunts down, they either threw it away or bobbled it," said Massey. "Even the ground balls, if they're hit hard, that puts a little pressure on them and they ended up throwing a couple away at second base."

Clayton's five miscues led to 10 unearned runs.

Post 11 right-hander Derek Limbaugh earned his first-ever, Senior American Legion decision on the mound. The Charles B. Aycock standout yielded three earned runs on 12 hits in five-plus innings, and induced double-play balls in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

Relievers Aaron Champion and Jeremy Taylor, who each made their Senior Legion debut, overcame wobbly appearances. The duo allowed seven runs (four earned) on five hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.

"Limbaugh did a good of battling and making outs," said Massey. "Champion and Taylor looked a little shaky when they first came, but after that one inning, they both settled down a little bit ... start throwing strikes.

"It's tough to come in in a spot like that when these guys are used to starting all year in school ball, and then we change up their role a little bit. Coming out of the pen is going to take some getting used to."

Wayne County (3-1 overall) seized a 6-0 lead through five innings. Defensive plunders along with RBI hits from Jon Taylor, Ruffin and Wise helped give Limbaugh a comfortable margin.

Clayton climbed to within 6-5 in the sixth.

Post 11 scored four runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Taylor and Ruffin had RBI hits during that stretch and a two throwing errors plated four runs.