Princeton knocks off Pamlico, moves on in playoffs

Published in Sports on May 19, 2004 1:55 PM

• Print
• Email

Courtesy News Bern Sun Journal

BAYBORO -- Behind the solid pitching of Dustin Myers and timely hitting, Princeton, the No. 3 seed from the Carolina Conference, pulled off an 11-7 upset of the Coastal Plains Conference champion Pamlico Hurricanes Tuesday night.

Princeton will take on Ayden-Grifton, the Carolina Conference's No. 2 seeded team, in Ayden on Friday night for a second-round matchup. The Chargers beat the Bulldogs 2-1 in eight innings last week in a game to determine playoff seeding.

"We've had a good year, and played in a real good conference É and I felt coming in we had a good chance," said Princeton head coach Bruce Proctor. "They've got a real good baseball team, and we're real fortunate to get by."

After a shaky start, Myers settled down to retire 12 of 14 batters he faced through the middle innings to silence the Hurricane bats until the seventh inning.

During that stretch, the Bulldogs (14-8) came alive at the plate, knocking four different Pamlico pitchers out of the game, en route to scoring 11 unanswered runs and blew open the game.

The big blows came in the top of the third and the fifth innings when Princeton scored four runs in each to take an 8-4 lead.

In the third, Colin Parker singled home a pair of runs and Daniel Gerrell lifted a towering double to plate Brew Hall and tie the game at four.

In the fifth, Thomas Turnage lined the 1-2 pitch from Bryan Watson for a two-run single. Turnage and Zach Harmon also scored in the fifth when Patrick Gatewood hit into a 6-4 ground out and the Hurricanes (19-6) were unable to turn a double play, allowing Turnage to score.

Parker paced Princeton going 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Turnage went 1-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Watson took the loss, going just 12Ú3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and gave up four walks.

Princeton 004 042 1 -- 11 8 1

Pamlico 310 000 3 -- 7 6 2

Leading hitters -- Princeton -- Colin Parker 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 Runs; Thomas Turnage 1-3 2 RB; Daniel Gerrell 1-3 RBI; Patrick Gatewood 1-3, RBI; Brooks Moore 1-3, 2B, RBI. Pamlico -- Mike Twichell 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Deondre Greene 1-3, HR.

WP -- Dustin Myers. LP -- Bryan Watson

IP H R ER BB SO

Princeton

Dustin Myers 61Ú3 4 7 4 4 6

Josh Thompson 2Ú3 2 0 0 0 0