BASEBALL: CBA finds its offensive swagger against Greene Central

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on April 7, 2017 10:00 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Earlier in the week, Charles B. Aycock head coach Charles Davis was displeased with his team's effort in the batter's box.

The main mission was to cut down the strikeouts and put the ball in play.

His message seemed to stick Thursday against Greene Central. The Golden Falcons racked up a season-high 15 hits and struck out just five times in a dominant 11-2 victory over the Rams.

"Better," Davis said. "It's good to get back in a rhythm, especially with the weather. I was so thankful that we were able to get this game in. I'm a firm believer that the more live pitches you see, the better hitters you become.

"I liked our approaches much better."

CBA steadily improved its hitting throughout the week.

On Tuesday, the Golden Falcons tallied nine hits and struck out 14 times against Eastern Wayne. One day later, at North Lenoir, the Golden Falcons rattled off 11 hits and struck out three times.

Unlike those previous two games, CBA jump-started its offense much earlier against the Rams. In the first inning, Blake Gipson slammed an RBI double and Carson Smitherman added an RBI single.

After scoring a run in the second, the Golden Falcons erupted for five hits and four runs in the third inning. Those three innings witnessed 11 hits and gave CBA a comfortable 7-0 lead.

Davis said the players showed more balance at the plate compared to previous games.

"And we had talked about that," Davis said. "We even worked on that on the side today off the tees...and again, it's just putting the ball in play and cutting down your swing and spreading your feet out with two strikes. I think we did a better job of that today."

CBA recorded no runs and one hit in the fourth and fifth innings, but returned to full strength with a four-run sixth inning. That frame included a two-RBI triple by Cody Whaley and an RBI single by Matthews.

The other run came off a wild pitch.

Matthews led the team with three hits and three RBI. Gipson, Joey Hampton, Tyler Daniels and Nick Aycock slammed two hits each. Jordan Gay, Gipson and Matthews combined for seven strikeouts and two walks from the mound.

Davis said he likes where the team is at now, compared to last week when the team dropped games against New Bern and J.H. Rose.

With just 11 games left in the regular season, the veteran skipper believes this is the time for his team to dig in its heels.

"What you want to see now is more consistency and everything out of them," Davis said. "So we got that this week I thought for the most part. We just have to continue to build on it. Now is the time to start fine-tuning some things."