Area I Finals: Garner takes Game 1 from Wayne County

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 20, 2014 9:44 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Garner Post 232 did what no other team has done this season -- beat Wayne County Post 11 for a second time on its home diamond.

N.C. State signee Jordan Bissette and southpaw Brighton Hudson combined for a seven-hitter during Garner's 4-1 victory in Game 1 of the Area I championship series Saturday evening.

Game 2 is today at Southern Wayne. First pitch is 7 p.m.

"They threw two good arms at us and we put the bat on the ball," Post 11 head coach Jason Sherrer said. "There wasn't too many times where we didn't put pressure on them. They made a bunch of good plays. We had our chances ... plenty of them.

"We just didn't score."

Wayne County provided little support for starter Coy Barnett. The left-hander yielded two earned runs on eight hits in a seven-inning, 99-pitch outing.

Garner's defense held Post 11 to its lowest offensive output of the playoffs. Sherrer gambled twice on the basepaths and Hudson induced an eighth-inning, double-play grounder that silenced a potential scoring rally.

Post 232 center fielder Saylon Kieft threw out Zack Smith, who tried to take third on Chad Spurgeon's single up the middle in the fourth inning. Wayne County left two runners stranded in scoring position.

In the fifth, second baseman Taylor Stephens shot down Ben Rouse at the plate.

"I'll take full responsibility for that," Sherrer said. "He (Smith) was coming ... 100 percent thought he was going to make it and they made a good throw and he was out. We should have scored Spurgeon on that same throw, but we didn't.

"It didn't take us out of the game by any means, but it definitely didn't help."

Overall, Wayne County (16-6-1 overall) stranded seven runners on base, including four in scoring position. Kevin Williams drove in Post 11's lone run on a third-inning single.

Garner knotted the game at 1-all in the fourth on Nick Yarbrough's poke into shallow left field. Kieft's two-out single pushed Post 232 in front, 2-1, in the fifth and its defense preserved the advantage.

"Barnett ... outstanding," Sherrer said.

Post 232 collected single runs in the eighth and ninth innings against Appalachian State signee Reed Howell. A dropped third strike extended the ninth and all but closed the door on Wayne County, which became stagnant offensively after the fifth inning.

Post 11 managed just four base runners against Hudson, who averaged 11 pitches an inning and reached a full count on just one occasion.

"Our offensive approach, we need to get back to where we know we should be and play hard tomorrow, see what happens," Sherrer said.

Garner (25-5) and Wayne County are meeting in the Area I finals for the first time since 2004 and fourth time overall in the past two decades. Post 11 leads the all-time series 20-15.