Golden Falcons clinch portion of ECC 3A baseball title

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 26, 2013 1:47 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Charles B. Aycock scored in a variety of ways and rallied for a 7-2 win over archrival Southern Wayne on Thursday night.

The Golden Falcons celebrated senior night by clinching at least a share of the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference regular-season title. C.B. Aycock could earn the championship outright if South Johnston loses either of its last two games.

"I am as proud of this group of kids as any I have had in a long time," C.B. Aycock head coach Charles Davis said. "We lost seven starters off of last year's team and I think people kind of expected us to be down this year, but our guys never believed that and they worked hard to get where they are."

C.B. Aycock jumped in front in the bottom of the third inning when Hank Smitherman scored on a single by Bobby Hampton.

Southern Wayne tied the contest at 1-1 in the fourth inning, but could not hold the advantage. The Golden Falcons grabbed two runs in the fourth on an RBI single from Gregory Johnson and a sacrifice fly from Jordan Lee.

Trailing 3-1, the Saints got back on the scoreboard when Jacob Sasser doubled in the top of the fifth and scored on Cody Wendorf's single. That is as close as the Saints would get.

"I thought for about four innings we really battled," Southern Wayne head coach Trae McKee said. "Then a few things didn't go our way and we let our emotions get the best of us. You can't do that in the game of baseball and expect to win."

C.B. Aycock increased its lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Adam Pate walked, stole second and scored on a Noah West single. Jacob Naughton followed with a double and West scored from third on a wild pitch.

The Golden Falcons added the final two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on a balk and an RBI single from Naughton. The 7-2 cushion was more than enough for Pate, who tossed a complete game on the mound. Pate allowed two runs and struck out seven Southern Wayne batters.

"Adam did a good job of getting ahead of hitters," Davis said. "Even when (Southern Wayne) got guys on base he didn't panic and he made quality pitches."

C.B. Aycock and Southern Wayne return to action in the ECC tournament, which begins Tuesday. Opening-round pairings and times will not be determined until Monday.