Sasser, Saints knock off Pine Forest

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 2, 2013 1:47 PM

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GREENVILLE -- Southern Wayne needed Jacob Sasser to have a good outing on the pitcher's mound.

He delivered Monday evening.

When the Saints needed a critical hit, Sasser came through again. The senior delivered a pair of doubles and four runs batted in for Southern Wayne during a 6-2 win over Pine Forest on day two of the 2013 Pitt County Classic.

"Jacob is a kid that wants the ball in big spots and the last two times we have given it to him he has been great," Southern Wayne head coach Trae McKee said. "He hits his spots with the fastball and tonight he was getting the breaking ball across which made him that much better."

The Saints (10-4 overall) got on the board in the third inning when Garrad Whitfield reached on an error in front of Clayton Cashwell's single. Sasser followed with a two-run double into the left center-field gap.

A similar story played out in the fifth inning when Cashwell walked and moved into scoring position when Kevin Williams drew a free pass. Sasser belted another double to left field and plated two more runs for a 4-0 lead.

"The offense has been struggling a little bit so it was good to see some guys have good at-bats," McKee said. "Obviously the two doubles were huge, but we put ourselves in position to score by taking advantage of a couple of mistakes by the defense and being aggressive on the bases."

Pine Forest (8-7) scored two runs in the sixth inning without the benefit of a hit. A walk, a hit batter, another walk, a wild pitch and a failed pick-off attempt pulled the Trojans to within 4-2.

Southern Wayne answered in the bottom of the sixth with two unearned runs of its own. Thomas Kelly reached on an error, Nathan Barwick walked and Kelly stole third base and scored on an overthrow. Whitfield drew a free pass and Barwick scored on a wild pitch that made the score 6-2.

That cushion would be plenty for Sasser. The big right-hander tossed a complete game and allowed just four hits. Sasser recorded 10 strikeouts and walked just two.

Southern Wayne played Raleigh Sanderson this morning at South Central High School.