BASEBALL: CBA shuts out county foe

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on March 8, 2017 9:57 AM

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Good fortune and good pitching.

Charles B. Aycock used both elements on Tuesday afternoon, registering a workmanlike, 3-0 triumph in blustery conditions over longstanding county rival Rosewood.

And neither took much time to develop.

Aycock (3-0 overall) got matters started in its half of the first inning, crossing junior second baseman Tyler Daniels and Luke Frederick when a routine fly ball was mishandled in shallow center field by the Eagles.

Just like that, the powder blues led 2-0 -- which, as it turned out, was all the support necessary for starter Cody Whaley.

The junior was electric from the outset, controlling all portions of the zone with command, curve and increased run on a hard-to-locate fastball. He simply didn't offer the Eagles much to consider from the bump, fanning five the first nine batters he faced and 10 for the game.

The performance -- a six-inning gem in which he never encountered serious issue -- was lauded by skipper Charles Davis.

"I thought Cody was great today," the coach noted, "all the work he's done in the offseason paid off with the fastball, and he was able to throw his curve ball for strikes... that makes it tough."

Rosewood countered with senior Tanner Bradley, who kept the Eagles within reach by winning his share of moments in a tense, game-long staredown with Falcon batsmen.

Matters broke for good in the fourth, however, when Aycock 9-holer Joey Hampton secured the game's final run with an RBI poke to right field, scoring junior Carson Smitherman.

The at-bat -- a back-and-forth duel that typified the contest -- was the high-water mark of an outstanding game for the senior, who finished the afternoon 3-3 at the plate.

Whaley yielded to junior Jordan Gay in the seventh, who turned out the lights on Rosewood with a brisk, in-order session to formally close the proceedings.

The Eagles were led at the plate by Chance Howard, who went 3-3 on the afternoon. Bradley, Kolby Harris and Boone Moody also filed base knocks for the Eagles, who couldn't overcome their first-inning gaffe.

"Even with the mistakes we had, we were in that ball game from the beginning to the end," Rosewood skipper Jason King noted. "It's part of it -- part of the game."

Aycock, now 3-0 on the season, plays host to North Lenoir this afternoon at 5 p.m. Rosewood (2-2) is idle until Thursday, when it pays a Carolina 1-A visit to Hobbton.