Overman's bunt sparks Wayne County Post 11

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on June 22, 2007 1:48 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Pitt County Post 39 pitcher Ethan Powell showed signs of fatigue in the sixth inning Thursday evening at Scarborough Field.

Wayne County Post 11 took advantage.

Powell walked Nolan Lancaster and Thomas Pilkington to open the inning. Dave Overman followed with a beautifully-executed bunt that Powell misplayed when he overthrew first base.

Lancaster scored on the play and boosted Post 11's lead to 5-2.

"That was a super job by Dave Overman," said Wayne County coach Brad Reaves. "That kind of broke their backs."

The infield miscue compounded Pitt County 39's troubles as Wayne County scratched for five additional unanswered runs. Once the dust settled, Post 11 claimed a 10-3, Area I East South Division victory.

Reaves' team pounded out 12 hits overall, including three-hit efforts from Pilkington and Walker Gourley. John Wooten supplied two doubles and three RBI in five at-bats.

"I thought we swung OK in spots," said Reaves. "John Wooten had a good night."

On the mound, Brandon Price shook off a rough first inning in which Pitt County drew two walks and recorded a hit to scratch out an early lead. The Lenoir Community College signee found his groove and yielded just one run in the next five innings.

Price (1-0) surrendered two runs on five hits, walked three and notched four strikeouts.

"I didn't think his curve ball was good at all in the first inning," said Reaves. "After that it seemed to have a little bite to it. You can count on him. It doesn't matter what the situation is.

"He's a super kid and we knew he was going to do the job."

Price benefited from the solid hitting of his teammates. Wooten and Zach Wright each delivered an RBI groundout to put Wayne County in front 2-1.

Post 11 took the lead for good in the third inning thanks to aggressive play on the bases. Reaves noticed an abundance of breaking pitches being thrown by Powell and gave his Post 11 team the green light to run.

Gourley led off the third with a single and immediately took second base. Jackson Massey walked, and the two runners pulled off a double steal to advance to second and third with no outs.

Wooten followed with a two-RBI double to make it 4-2.

"We ran the bases pretty well," said Reaves, whose team had five steals.

The lead was 6-2 in the seventh inning when Tyler Ham singled home Wooten, who connected on a one-out double. Overman plated Ham with an RBI double to make it 8-2.

In the eighth inning, Pitt County miscues led to two more Wayne County runs.

A dropped fly ball with two outs allowed Gourley to score. Post 11 scored its final run on a wild pitch by Chase Hardee that allowed Massey to trot home to make it 10-2.

Despite the solid, all-around effort, Reaves saw things he didn't like from his squad.

"I wasn't very happy with our intensity tonight," he said. "We didn't really play our game."

Wayne County (6-1 overall, 3-1 Area I East South) is the guest of Wilson Post 13 tonight. Game time is 7 p.m. at Fleming Stadium.

Pitt Co. Post 39 110 000 001 -- 3 7 3

Wayne County Post 11 202 002 220 -- 10 12 0

Leading Hitters -- Pitt County -- Andy Powers 2-4, 2B, RBI; Daniel Boyd 1-4, 2B; Michael Spruill 1-4, RBI. Wayne County -- Walker Gourley 3-5, 2B; Thomas Pilkington 3-3; John Wooten 2-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI; Dave Overman 2-2, 2B, RBI.

LOB -- Pitt County 8, Wayne County 8. SB -- Gourley 2, Massey 2, Lancaster. CS -- Massey. S -- Hardee.

IP H R ER BB SO

Pitt County

Powell (L) 7 11 8 8 5 3

Hardee 1 1 2 0 1 0

Wayne County

Price (W, 1-0) 6 5 2 2 3 4

Hinson 2 1 0 0 0 1

Rose 2/3 1 1 1 2 2

Wooten 1/3 0 0 0 0 0

WP -- Hardee, Wooten. PB -- Powers.