Wayne North-Wayne South Junior Legion

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on June 16, 2011 1:47 PM

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DUDLEY -- Wayne South is starting to develop a flair for the dramatic.

Clayton Cashwell's walk-off RBI single capped a two-run, seventh-inning rally in a 4-3 win over Wayne North on Wednesday evening. It was Wayne South's second walk-off win in six days.

Ryan Faucette's RBI single in the top of the first inning gave North a 1-0 lead. Jake May added a sac-fly in the top of the second inning.

South threatened with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Wayne North starting pitcher Nolan James struck out Colton Chrisman to end the threat.

Ashton Cox's RBI single in the home half of the third inning cut the lead to 2-1. Wesley Stewart scored on a wild pitch in the top of the fourth inning to extend the margin to 3-1.

Wayne South again failed to capitalize in with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth inning. James struck out Taylor Raynor with runners on second and third base and two outs to work out of trouble.

Jacob Sasser's RBI double in the bottom of the fifth pulled the Saints to within 3-2. James struck out Kevin Williams to end the inning and leave the tying run at third base.

"I really felt like we had runners in scoring position all day," said Wayne South head coach T.J. Hinson. "We could just never get that one big hit. James threw well against us, and mixed up and threw off-speed for strikes. We were never able to get that big knock."

Saints' reliever Jacob Hollingsworth tossed 3 1/3 innings of no-hit relief to record the win. Hollingsworth retired nine of the 10 batters he faced and the only base runner he allowed reached on a dropped third strike.

Wayne North did not record a hit after the fourth inning.

"I really feel like Hollingsworth has a great presence on the mound," said Hinson. "He's able to throw three pitches for strikes and he's able to get ahead of hitters. That's what you have to do."

Thomas Kelly led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single. Kelly was thrown out at second base on Jamie Dove's fielder's choice. Dove advanced to second base on a North error after Kelly was retired.

Cox reached on a dropped fly ball in the outfield and Sasser was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a force play. Cashwell lined a 2-2 pitch from Wayne North reliever Hunter Barnette into center field to score Cox from third base to end the ball game.

"We had some balls fall the right way for once today," said Hinson. "Clayton had a great day today. He got a ball up in the zone and he was able to handle it."

James allowed two earned runs on eight hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in six innings of work. He settled for a no-decision. Barnette took the tough-luck loss, allowing two unearned runs on one hit with one intentional walk.

North (6-1 overall) committed five errors.

"Nolan kept us in the game all afternoon," said Wayne North head coach Tyler Ham. "He threw the ball really well. He should have won that game. If we catch the ball, we win the ball game. That's all there is to it."

Wayne South (7-3) visits Charles B. Aycock. North entertains Wilson on Friday, and plays host to Snow Hill for a doubleheader on Saturday.