Chargers survive pesky Raiders, advance to NCISAA elite 8
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 6, 2015 1:49 PM
rcoggins@newsargus.com
Patrick Hall dug his cleat into the pitcher's mound.
He stepped onto the rubber and gave up a first-pitch, two-RBI single to Pungo Christian's Will Respess with two outs.
All of a sudden, Wayne Country Day's comfortable multi-run advantage had been sliced to two as clean-up hitter Ryan Tooley strolled to the plate. Tooley worked Hall to a 2-2 count.
Hall's next offering, a waist-high pitch, sailed into the strike zone and popped into the mitt of catcher John Strickland. Tooley watched it float by.
The umpire stepped back, called "strike three" and the Chargers exhaled a huge sigh of relief -- especially head coach Michael Taylor.
Wayne Country Day escaped 12-10 in opening-round play of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 1-A state tournament Tuesday afternoon. The seventh-seeded Chargers (9-8 overall) continue play Friday at perennial power second-seeded Lawrence Academy. Game time is 5 p.m.
"That last out was hard to come by," WCDS head coach Michael Taylor said. "They're a very, very pesky group and I expected that from them from the scouting report I got. They never stop playing.
"They don't look the part, but they'll hang in there. I'm just proud of my guys for staying the course. We did the small things tonight."
And swung the sticks well.
Eight of nine starters had at least one hit for WCDS, which advanced to the elite eight for the first time since 2012. John Strickland (3-for-4, four RBI) and Jonathon Bryan (2-3, 2 RBI) each swatted a home run.
"It was kind of up in the zone," Strickland said of his first-inning, two-RBI dinger. "I tried to put a swing on it and it wound up going out."
Bryan belted his solo shot in the third inning.
"Both Johns have been swinging the bats well in practice (in fact) we've all been swinging the bats well in practice," Taylor said. "It was a different mindset with all the guys today. They were focused and wanting to win, and came up with big base hits."
Wayne Country Day plated runs in five of six innings and gave starting pitcher Amane Godo plenty of working room. The freshman right-hander surrendered five runs (four earned) on eight hits, and retired six Pungo batters on strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Godo threw 99 pitches.
"Amane, I tip my hat to him. He did a great job," Taylor said.
Mitch Turnage relieved Godo and retired two of the first three batters he faced. But the right-hander couldn't fill up the strike zone in the seventh as the Raiders whittled away at the deficit.
Strickland said his teammate was a little too pumped on adrenaline and that his pitches just missed biting the outside corner. Up by four, Taylor brought in Hall to eventually close the door and give WCDS its 13th postseason victory since 2003.
"Patrick bared down against their No. 4 batter -- the best hitter on their team," Taylor said. "We got him out twice tonight in big situations with runners on base. That was big."