ECBL: CBA Blue scores mercy-rule road win

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on June 22, 2016 1:48 PM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

C.B. Aycock Blue head coach Allen Thomas knows that he has a talented ballclub.

Wayne Country Day would agree wholeheartedly after their Eastern Carolina Baseball League game Tuesday evening.

The Golden Falcons cruised to a 15-2 mercy-rule victory over the Chargers. It was a game in which Aycock flexed its muscular wings and showed a glimpse of what the future may hold for the program.

"I was impressed," Thomas said. "Our at-bats early weren't the best in the world, but they got better and started making their pitchers throw some pitches. We squared some balls up and got some guys on, and kind of kept it rolling through the fifth inning."

The first inning went relatively smooth for WCDS. Starting pitcher Amane Godo didn't give up any hits and walked only one batter.

The disaster began in the second frame when Chris Turner slammed a three-run bomb. Later in the inning, Sam Mott and Cody Whaley added an RBI single and RBI double, respectively.

Blake Gipson finished off the offensive eruption with a sacrifice fly.

In the next inning, the Chargers didn't allow a hit. But Aycock still manufactured three runs. Caleb Matthews walked with the bases loaded, and two more runners scored on a costly error.

In the fourth inning, the Golden Falcons brought home four runners on just two hits.

"We just have to do the fundamental things right," said Wayne Country Day head coach Will Lane. "Today we didn't have it. Mentally, we were not there. Everybody could tell that. We didn't do our job on the mound, and a lot of errors on the field."

The lone bright spot for the Chargers was a two-run homer by Godo in the bottom of the fourth inning. It proved to be the only hit for WCDS in the shortened game. The Golden Falcons quickly responded with two more runs in the top of the fifth, all but ensuring the mercy rule.

Aycock starting pitcher Luke Frederick dominated on the mound, tossing four innings and striking out six batters. Gipson relieved him in the fifth inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.

Thomas said that he is excited about the team's future, but noted that there is still room for improvement. The physical tools are already in place.

Now Thomas is pushing his team to be more cerebral.

"We have been harping this summer on the mental aspect of learning the game," Thomas said. "And just the little things that can make them improve that much more. We're trying to stay after them to want to get better. And if they continue to do that, we got a chance to win a lot of ball games."