Wayne South's Cashwell shuts down Spring Creek

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on June 20, 2012 1:48 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Learning how to win close ballgames is a vital part of the maturation process of young baseball players.

Wayne South took another key step in that process with a 2-0, Junior America Legion victory on Tuesday evening at Spring Creek.

Right-hander Clayton Cashwell pitched six shutout innings and surrendered just one hit to earn the win on the mound. Cashwell retired nine of the first 10 batters he face and didn't allow a hit until Logan Miller's infield single in the fourth inning.

Cashwell finished with seven strikeouts and two walks.

"It's real important for the these young guys to learn how to win close games," Saints' coach David Combs said. "We're in a tough conference during the school year with Aycock and Eastern Wayne. To have this type of pressure on them makes them an all-around ball player."

Wayne South was held without a hit by Gators' starting pitcher Allen Coor until Nathan Barwick's one-out single in the top of the third inning. Barwick advanced to second on an error, later stole third base and eventually scored on an error.

Jacob Hollingsworth led off the top of the fourth inning with a single and later crossed the plate on a wild pitch to cap Wayne South's scoring. The Saints tallied just three hits and struck out nine times against Coor, who tossed a complete game.

"We've got to turn it around with the bat," Combs said. "We get in hitter's counts all the time and we take a lot of strikes. We've got to figure it out. We've got to work on some swings and we'll be all right."

Spring Creek left Miller at third base in the home half of the fourth inning and stranded Miller at second base in the sixth inning. The Gators loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning against Wayne South reliever Alex Bradley.

Bradley struck out pinch-hitter John Wiggins and Ian Ladd was tagged out at home while attempting to score on a dropped third strike to end the game.

"We've got a young squad and they need to be aggressive," Spring Creek head coach Allen Nichols said. "Allen kept us in the game. We just didn't hit enough. We've got to be a little more aggressive at the plate. We had our chances, we just didn't hit."