Warriors handcuff Trojans
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on March 7, 2012 1:49 PM
Eastern Wayne dominated for six innings and held off a late South Johnston rally for a 6-3 win on Tuesday night in New Hope. The game was the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference opener for both squads.
The Warriors enjoyed a strong pitching performance from University of North Carolina signee Zack Mozingo as they built a 6-0 lead over the first six innings. The right-hander struck out nine, scattered three hits and walked only one batter in six innings.
"Zach went out and he threw the ball well for us and I was proud of his effort," Eastern Wayne head coach Jabo Fulghum said. "I thought we played well for six innings as a whole and then it looked like we just slept through an inning."
Eastern Wayne broke the game open in the bottom of the second inning.
Wesley Stewart reached on an error with two outs and was followed by Grayson Wells' base hit. Hunter Barnett plated Stewart with a single and raced home two pitches later when Ryan Faucette reached on the Trojans' second miscue of the inning.
The Warriors added one unearned run in the fifth inning and scored two more in the sixth. Stewart walked and advanced on a single by Ryan Mitchell. Ryan Faucette walked to load the bases and Mozingo was hit by a pitch and forced in a run.
Nolan James made the score 6-0 with an RBI single.
Fulghum turned to Barnett to close the game in the top of the seventh.
South Johnston made things interesting when George Smith belted a two-out single and Jonathan Barefoot reached on an Eastern Wayne error. Will Raynor loaded the bases with a single and Austin Lee forced in a run by drawing a walk. Ryan Underwood closed the gap to 6-3 with a two-run single.
Barnett settled down and struck out Will Dupree to end the night.
"I don't think that we did a good job of controlling the things that we can control," Fulghum said. "We can control hustle, concentration and intensity. We need to learn to play seven innings with complete focus and hustle."
The Warriors (1-2 overall) travel to South Central today.