Wayne Christian cruises past Southeastern

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on April 19, 2016 1:48 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

Gassers.

Over time, coaches have employed the sprint-based misery as a means of properly adjusting lethargy amongst players.

And following Monday evening's 11-1, mercy-rule victory over Southeastern, that's exactly what Wayne Christian varsity baseball coach Dustin Dupre had in mind.

"Go, and sprint, or we'll just keep on doing it," he said.

The Eagles (5-5 overall) weren't being unreasonably punished.

They were simply due a reminder.

"They competed," Dupre said of the Cardinals, a homeschool team. "Eighth grade and down. The score didn't reflect it, but for a while there..."

His voice trailed, but the point lingered.

Southeastern, comprised mostly of middle school students, outplayed WC early with stellar defensive work -- mostly against suspect Eagle base running.

There was a pick play at first.

A run-down between third and home.

A player judgment call, also at third, which offset a two-RBI single by Hunter Burt and signaled the end of a first-inning scoring spree.

And following a third inning RBI by Nathan Keeter, the Cardinals trailed just 3-1.

Could this be happening?

The answer, provided by Wayne Christian starter Will White, was a resounding "no."

The freshman was methodical on the hill, inducing ground balls and managing the affair with the poise of an upperclassman. En route to the complete-game victory, the righty scattered six hits and allowed just one run.

His performance, coupled with a shaky group effort by Southeastern pitchers, marked the beginning of the end for the visitors.

Burt struck again in the fourth, this time launching a two-run homer that was climbing as it scaled the left field fence. The shot tied him for the Wayne Christian career home run mark and capped a sensational, four-RBI performance.

As darkness fell, WC led 7-1.

The Eagles finished matters in the fifth, when Mason White punctuated a litany of Cardinal miscues by crossing home plate on an infield error. .

It couldn't have come soon enough for Dupre, who had a mobile post-game itinerary for his team.

""Every one of those (Southeastern) kids played in the middle school game (before varsity)," Dupre said. "It's a temptation to overlook them."

That's something the skipper hopes to avoid again when Wayne Christian travels to Terra Ceia next Tuesday.