LEGION: Wayne County travels to Pitt Post 39

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 13, 2016 1:48 PM

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Role players have accepted their challenge in certain situations throughout the season and Wayne County Post 11's pitching staff is starting to find its groove.

The inner workings of the team's engine are starting click in unison.

Head coach Jason Sherrer hopes it continues to run smooth as Post 11 opens the Area I East Division championship series at nemesis Pitt County Post 39 tonight. First pitch in the best-of-five matchup is 7 o'clock at the Minges Overton Baseball Complex in Winterville.

Post 39 won both regular-season meetings.

One ended in heartbreaking fashion -- a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on Pitt's home diamond. A mere eight days later, Post 39 upended Wayne County at Scarborough Field.

"If it is Pitt (in the final), hopefully we can find a way," Sherrer said after Post 11 completed its three-game sweep of Wilson Post 13 on Sunday. "(Whoever) we face, we've got to play just like we did tonight -- play (error-free) defense, pitch the ball, throw strikes and have some good at-bats.

"You're not going to have the ball fall every time in the gaps, but as long as you put yourself in a good situation hopefully things will fall as they should."

Wayne County (17-7 overall) has emerged victorious in 13 of its last 15 outings since the road loss at Pitt. And each win has come with a different lineup in place and players penciled into unfamiliar positions.

The same scenario will take place this series.

Post 11 is without two pitchers -- Chandler Matthews and Tanner Wells. Utility player Zack Smith, who leads the team in nearly every offensive category, has officially enrolled in summer school at the University of Charlotte. The trio is not anticipated to return unless the series goes beyond three games.

"We've made some defensive changes that have helped us and those are the roles they've played all year," Sherrer said. "As long as they know in certain situations that we're putting them in there for a reason, if they do their job, that's all we can ask and that's why they are there."

Sherrer didn't reveal the starting pitcher for Game 1.

But he's confident any starter can get the job done. Right-hander Lance Wise (4-1 overall) worked six-plus innings, Matthews (4-2) hurled eight innings and JP Peacock (3-1) threw a complete game during the Wilson series. The threesome combined to allow just 10 runs, including four earned.

Smith and Wells each notched a save.

Wayne County has significantly lowered its 3.05 earned run average (ERA) nearly a point since the middle of June. Eleven different pitchers have combined to yield just 63 earned runs and retire 102 opposing batters on strikeouts in 185 2/3 innings of work.

"I think right now, in total, we're finally hitting that exact spot that we want to be in," Peacock said. "Pitchers are finding their grooves and we're going long distances (in games), and we need to do that because with the playoff series being a best-of-five, we need all the arms we can.

"The defense is starting to work really well together. It's all coming together really nicely."

Post 11 has 10 batters hitting .300 or higher. But its main strength has been its ability to put pressure on opposing defenses once runners reach base. Sherrer's club has 47 stolen bases in 55 attempts, including 15 swipes by Matthews, 10 by Daniels and seven by Ethan Chapin.

Wayne County hits .323 as a team.

Sherrer's group didn't waste at-bats in the Wilson series and executed in certain situations. Big offensive innings created some breathing room for the pitchers in the latter innings.

"It looks to me like they're having fun, finally, just being loose and having an idea of what they're trying to do as opposed to just trying to field a ground ball and throw the guy out or just trying to go up there and get a hit every time," Sherrer said. "They're actually thinking about what they're doing, taking it pitch by pitch. Everything has to work together."

Wayne County and Pitt County have combined to win 22 Area I East Division titles since 1980. The tradition-rich programs are meeting in the postseason for the sixth consecutive year and seventh time overall since 2008. Post 11 has emerged victorious in four of the series -- two of which led to state-tournament appearances in 2011 and 2014.

Post 11 leads the all-time series 84-67.