McKeel's walk-off single completes EW's 7th-inning comeback

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on April 16, 2015 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

Eastern Wayne is developing a flair for the dramatic.

The Warriors scored three seventh-inning runs and earned a 3-2, walk-off win over Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foe South Central on Wednesday afternoon.

A pitcher's duel for most of the game, the Warriors got their first chance to pull ahead when they loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the sixth. They couldn't capitalize, however, as the next three batters popped out to short, struck out, and grounded out to the pitcher, respectively.

Returning to the mound for the top of the seventh, Eastern Wayne starter Zack Smith -- who had pitched well thus far -- finally started to show signs of fatigue. South Central loaded the bases, eventually scoring two runs for a 2-0 lead.

After failing to score in the sixth with th bases loaded, McKeel and his teammates gathered before the seventh inning and made sure it wouldn't happen again.

"We had a mindset that we wanted to get in there, get this W," McKeel said. "It was very important. It was the first conference game coming back from the break, so we wanted to start coming back from the break real well.

"We all put our heads together and said 'Let's go.'"

As the temperature dropped and the rain picked up, third baseman Braxton Lewis started the Warriors' seventh with a single to right field. After Collin Nix walked and Carlisle Smith singled to load the bases with no outs, lead-off hitter Lee Daniels stepped up to the plate.

The shortstop fouled off several pitches before drawing an RBI walk.

McKeel -- who already has a game-winning hit on this season's resume -- laced a single back up the middle, which scored Nix and Smith to cap off an exciting final inning.

"We've been in some close games," head coach Jabo Fulghum said. "We've had some close ones that haven't gone our way. I just told the boys in the bottom of the seven, 'hey, let's get some baserunners.'"

The sixth and seventh innings overshadowed a game where the Warriors bats were otherwise silenced by South Central starting pitcher Cam Colmore. Colmore took a tough-luck loss, pitching seven innings while allowing three runs on seven hits. He also walked four -- all in the final two innings -- and struck out six.

Although McKeel struck out twice on the night, he knew what he wanted during his final at-bat.

"I was looking for one in my sweet spot, middle ... away," he said. "That's where I like to hit it. The first one I kind of fouled off trying to adjust to his speed. I saw it again, so I just went at it."

Smith went the distance once again. The right-hander earned the win with a five-hit, six-strikeout effort.

"He gives us a lot. When we see Zack up there, throwing his hardest, it makes us want to play harder behind him," McKeel said.

Eastern Wayne travels to New Bern on Friday.