GOLDEN LEAF INVITATIONAL: Bulldogs cruise past Saints

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on April 19, 2017 10:00 AM

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WILSON -- His gait, measured and spacious, gave new meaning to the phrase "speed economy."

His voice, leveled and barely audible against the blaring of a nearby PA monitor, gave scarce soundtrack to the story.

"I was kind of hoping we were going to pitch a little better than that," Southern Wayne varsity baseball coach Trae McKee said with a shrug. "Every ball we threw that was a strike hit a barrel, and the ones that didn't were hit soft -- and they found holes, too."

Such was the immediate aftermath of the Saints' lopsided, 12-1 defeat at the hands of Nash Central on Monday -- an effort that, amongst other things, signaled the end of their holiday gauntlet at the 2017 Golden Leaf Invitational.

Nash Central (13-8 overall) jumped on Southern's Kolby Anderson from the outset, inflicting mass casualty on a spray of base knocks in a bother-me-not, free-swing first frame. In the span of just two outs, the Bulldogs batted around their lineup, plated five runs and chased Anderson from his perch in favor of sophomore Justin Edwards.

The capable right-hander did his best to steady matters over the next three innings, but allowed four runs of his own in the process. With the mercy-rule in full frame to start the fifth, he was supplanted by senior staffer Derek Holsinger -- who, although valiant, also failed to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

Nash Central's revolving-door offensive approach crossed three more runs, and when the halos failed to reply with two in their half, the proceedings dissolved into a handshake line.

The Bulldogs were paced offensively by designated hitter Garrett Killebrew, who finished the contest 1-4 with two RBI. In total, eight Nash Central players recorded base hits, with seven driving damage across the plate.

Picking up the win was right-hander Zach Patterson, whose mix of pace and curvature allowed just one run on five hits. He also recorded four strikeouts.

Southern Wayne (9-10 overall) was led by Edwards, who went 2-3 with an RBI. Holsinger and junior Jack Casbarro combined for a trio of hits.

After the conclusion of spring break, the Saints travel to face ECC 3-A/4-A foe D.H. Conley on April 25.