Eagles escape Cyclones in seventh
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 20, 2012 1:49 PM
Wayne Christian scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning and defeated Carolina Christian 1-A Conference foe Community Christian 7-6 on Thursday afternoon.
On a day when the Eagles pitching and defense were suspect, the offense showed up at critical times to ensure the win.
"One facet of the game really carried us today," Wayne Christian head coach Curt Hinton said. "I thought our guys' approach at the plate was better than it has been in recent games and we were able to get some quality at-bats at big moments."
Down 5-3 in the fifth inning, the Eagles' made use of five consecutive Community Christian errors. Chase Darden reached on an error with one out and moved to second on a second error. Bryce Norman walked and Ryan Cooke reached on a third Cyclone miscue as Darden scored.
Tanner Rose kept the inning alive when he reached on an error that allowed Norman to score and tie the game. Chandler Gentry's ground ball was thrown away for the final error of the inning, which allowed Cooke to score.
Community tied the game at 6-6 with a run in the top of the sixth inning.
Inconsistent pitching doomed the Cyclones in the seventh.
Cooke drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second on Chandler Harrell's infield hit. Tanner Rose walked to load the bases with one out and pinch-hitter Holden Foster ended the game with a walk that plated Cooke.
"Our guys were really patient right there and did not get ahead of themselves or get too excited," Hinton said. "We have worked on not swinging at high pitches, especially ahead in the count, and tonight that got us a win."
Darden got the win on the pitcher's mound. The senior tossed 2 2/3 innings of relief and allowed just one run on two hits.
Wayne Christian (11-5 overall, 4-0 CCC) travels to Cape Fear Christian on Tuesday. It's a rematch of last year's CCC tournament final won by Wayne Christian.