Game of inches: Aycock slips past pesky North Lenoir

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 11, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- One inch.

That turned out to be all Charles B. Aycock's defense needed in a 3-2, non-conference triumph over North Lenoir at Charles Davis Field on Tuesday afternoon.

Down 3-1, the Hawks put pressure on the Golden Falcons' defense in the top half of the fifth inning. Allen Sutton connected on a one-out double and scampered to third base on Orlando Cannon's infield single, which drew a throwing error on a double-play attempt.

Luke Jackson hit a bouncer to Aycock third baseman Ashton McGee, who gunned down Sutton at the plate. One batter later, Jacob Baird hit a grounder to right field that hit Jackson and ended the inning.

"(We) called a straight steal ... perfect timing or unlucky timing, however you want to look at it," NL head coach Donell Garris said. "The guy hits it square, it takes a perfect hop. If it's an inch away, it misses him and it's in right field. He's standing at third, might even score if the ball squirrels away from him enough."

North Lenoir (0-2 overall) scratched for a single run in the sixth against reliever Jacob Sanford. But the right-hander returned to throw a perfect seventh and preserved Aycock's second win of the season.

The Golden Falcons' bullpen is 2-0 in save attempts.

"I got a little rattled (in the sixth)," said Sanford, who leaned on a rake handle after smoothing out the dirt in both bullpens. "Coach Davis came out there, talked to me and told me to focus. In the seventh, I settled down and it went a lot better.

"I just got right mentally ... try to hit my spots and keep them off balance."

Aycock seized a 3-0 lead during its first at-bat.

Bobby Hampton singled, took second on a wild pitch and trotted into third on Hank Smitherman's single. Both runners raced home on McGee's double that sailed over Cannon's head in center field and rolled to the fence.

McGee scored on Charlie Robertson's base knock -- one of three hits by the senior outfielder on the day.

"I have a problem with not hitting a first-pitch fastball and he told me to do that today, so I went up there and tried to do my best," Robertson said.

Hawks southpaw Drew Burke and right-handed reliever Drew Rogers combined to yield just three hits over the next five innings. The Golden Falcons stranded runners on the corners twice and left five men aboard overall.

Aycock's bottom five hitters combined to hit 0-for-14 with four punchouts.

"I believe that pitching is ahead of hitting, but still as a batter, you've got to be mentally tough in the box and want to hit in a situation," CBA head coach Charles Davis said. "We're looking for nine guys that can hit in our lineup and that's what we tell them. It's still a feeling-out process, but we're looking for guys who can swing that bat."

Senior Jacob Naughton claimed the mound win. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander permitted one unearned run on three hits and logged one strikeout in five innings.