Baseball -- ND comes up short against Hobbton

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on April 8, 2004 2:01 PM

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CALYPSO -- Sterling Grice ripped a pair of extra-base hits Wednesday afternoon, but North Duplin couldn't overcome crucial defensive mistakes in an 8-5, non-conference loss against Hobbton.

Grice doubled and homered in two at-bats as the Rebels fell to 2-11 overall. They return to action Friday with a non-conference battle against Holly Ridge Dixon at 4 p.m.

The visiting Wildcats, of the Super Six 1-A Conference, capitalized on four North Duplin errors and tallied five unearned runs. A shaky defense victimized starter Brad Lloyd, who surrendered all five runs in a three-inning stint.

Matt Braswell (1-3) suffered the pitching loss, despite striking out seven and yielding three hits in a four-inning effort.

"Again, not another well-played game defensively," first-year North Duplin coach Rob Futch said.

Grice's offensive prowess led to a nine-hit outing by the Rebels. Will Lewis batted 2-for-4, while Phillip Lampron added a hit in three at-bats.

"Our bats are beginning to come around, finally, and we're getting a few rallies here and there," Futch said. "What I find interesting is that it is our young guys that are actually getting the job done.

"Freshmen like Daniel Howell, Will Lewis and Sterling Grice that should be in over their heads making the transition from junior high school to high school that are really starting to consistently have good at-bats."

Hobbton 203 120 0 -- 8 5 0

North Duplin 002 001 2 -- 5 9 4

Leading hitters -- North Duplin -- Sterling Grice 2-2, 2B, HR; Will Lewis 2-4; Phillip Lampron 1-3. Hobbton -- Thornton 2-4; Bryan 1-3.

IP H R ER BB SO

North Duplin

Lloyd 3 5 0 2 2 4

Braswell (L, 1-3) 4 3 3 4 2 7