Naughton does superb job against Chapel Hill

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on May 16, 2015 11:27 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Last season, Charles B. Aycock pitcher Jacob Naughton only made two appearances on the mound.

A junior then, Naughton didn't make much noise on the bump -- overshadowed by his older brother, Tim, who had a 5-1 record and sub-2 earned run average.

Jacob is making a name for himself this season.

The senior right-hander's impressive year continued as Charles B. Aycock defeated Chapel Hill, 4-1, in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A playoffs. Naughton allowed one run on five hits, walked one and had five strikeouts.

The Golden Falcons' bullpen will be the key to the Golden Falcons' postseason run.

"(Naughton) has been dependable all year for us," Aycock coach Charles Davis said. "He threw the ball well for us again tonight... we're very, very satisfied with the way he pitched."

Naughton, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as impressed with his outing.

"I thought I could have done a lot better," he said. "My fastball control wasn't really there, but my offspeed was working pretty good. I just worked the counts like they should be worked, and that was working for me."

Naughton scattering one hit between the third and sixth innings.

"That's the way he's been all year," Davis said. "Especially lately. The more he throws, the stronger he gets."

At the plate, it was another underwhelming game for the Golden Falcons. They left the bases loaded in the first two innings and scored only once.

The Golden Falcons broke open a 2-1 game in the bottom of the sixth inning after Chapel Hill relief pitcher Quint McFall couldn't find the strike zone. He walked four consecutive batters.

Hampton and first baseman Cameron Kornegay both had RBI doubles for the Golden Falcons as well. Even with the amount of runners stranded on base, Davis was more pleased with the way his team came out to play this time around.

"I thought it was (a better effort)," he said. "The only thing is, when you get 10 guys on base, we must be doing something right as hitters. But when you leave 10 on base, and strikeout nine times, that means you're not focusing a lot with runners on base. That was the only negative with them tonight.

"I didn't think we really competed with runners on base."

CBA faces either defending state champion Topsail or Eastern Guilford in the third round. Topsail eliminated Davis' team, 1-0, in fourth-round play last season.

"I think the kids would like to play them again, I really do," Davis said. "Last year, we lose 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning and they go on and win the state championship. We felt like the winner of that game was going to be the state champion."

"We should have won last year," Naughton added. "So of course we want to go back and make a difference this year."