Post 11 hopes week-long layoff doesn't break momentum

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 5, 2014 11:07 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- A week layoff for Wayne County Post 11 could be considered a double-edged sword.

The team deserved a much-needed break to heal some injuries and rest its pitching staff. But the seven-day pause could also disrupt Post 11's momentum since it triumphed in eight of its final nine regular-season outings.

The answer comes Monday when Wayne County (10-4-1 overall) opens its best-of-five semifinal-round series against either Kinston Post 43 or Windsor Post 37 on the Doyle Whitfield Athletic Complex.

First pitch is 7 p.m.

Two-time defending Area I East champ Pitt County 39 faces Wilson Post 13 in the other semifinal series.

"We're working as a team, not really looking for one person to do something," said Greg Johnson, a rising sophomore at Methodist University.

"We're working together, having a lot of faith in each other. We didn't have that at the beginning of the season because we were focused on who was going to what college, who played where in the high school and college season."

Third-year Post 11 head coach Jason Sherrer used different lineups in the early stages of the season. The top part of the order instantly solidified itself, while either the bottom three or four hitters struggled to consistently create offense.

Wayne County started 2-3-1.

Sherrer developed a productive pitching rotation, but that took a hit when Tim Naughton sustained a stress fracture in his foot. Naughton's absence took away not only a starter, but a possible closer.

Luke Miller and Kevin Williams, who has caught a majority of the games behind the plate, each responded well in a spot-start role on the bump. The duo combined to throw 13 solid innings in a pair of mercy-rule wins over Windsor.

"We're really going to have to depend on a lot of pitchers going into these five-game series," said Johnson, who has thrown a team-leading 35 innings -- five more than Jackson Hayes.

"We're going to have to have people step up, which we have. We need to work together as a team, put each other on each other's back."

Through 15 outings, Wayne County's 10-man pitching staff has compiled a 3.33 earned run average. The group has combined for 106 strikeouts and yielded just 47 earned runs in 127 innings of work.

Johnson and Hayes have combined for seven wins. Miller, Williams and Ben Rouse each have won victory apiece. Naughton and Hayes have each logged a save.

Offensively, Post 11 bats .313 as a team. Ryan Faucette is hitting .469, while Zack Smith is swinging the stick at a .429 clip. Lead-off man Garrett Joyner and Williams are hitting .377 and .348, respectively.

Faucette and Joyner are the leading base thieves with 11 and 10 steals, respectively. Overall, Wayne County has swiped 41 bases in 46 attempts.

"I feel like our plate approaches can be better at times," Johnson said. "But, we've stopped chasing the high pitches and curveballs, and we're looking for better pitches to hit early in the count which will help us out when we see better pitchers who can locate, which is something we haven't always seen in the conference."

Wayne County seeks its first Area I East title since 2011 and 11th overall since 1980.