Eastern Wayne downs Gators

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on April 11, 2008 3:04 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Eastern Wayne pounded out 16 hits and used an 11-run, fourth-inning outburst to defeat county foe Spring Creek 16-0 on Thursday afternoon.

The Warriors started off slow, however.

Spring Creek hurler Paul Hayes allowed two early runs, but kept Eastern Wayne's batters off balance with a variety of breaking pitches.

"I thought their starting pitcher did a great job. He kept us on our toes, and got out of some jams," said Warriors coach Jabo Fulghum. "Then in the fourth, our guys got a little confidence, and it looked like he started to get tired."

Walker Gourley ignited the fourth-inning uprising with a solo home run. Six teammates followed with hits as Eastern Wayne's lead swelled to double digits. Nolan Lancaster and John Wooten each reached base twice during the 11-run inning, and accounted for four runs.

The Gators' Kevin Prunest faced four batters in relief, but gave way to Nick Hatem. Hatem recorded the third out on a slow grounder by Jeff Hill.

Second-year Spring Creek coach Heath Whitfield, whose team plays at North Johnston today, could only watch as the Warriors pulled away.

"I thought Paul did a great job for three innings, but then it looked like they got his off-speed stuff down and their timing was better," Whitfield said. "(Eastern Wayne) is a good hitting team."

The Warriors got four solid innings from sophomore Adrian Hollowell, who earned the mound win. Anthony Otellio pitched a scoreless fifth to end the mercy-rule shortened game.

"Adrian threw the ball extremely well today," Fulghum said. "He has been doing a good job for us ever since we brought him up from junior varsity last week."

The Eastern Wayne skipper was also pleased with his team's intensity.

"I knew it would take some time to get things going this afternoon, especially after playing at such a hostile environment last night, but I was happy with the way our guys came through," Fulghum said. "Now we have to regroup and get ready to jump back into conference action Tuesday at Wilson Hunt."

Eastern Wayne improved to 12-5 overall, while Spring Creek dropped to 5-11.

"Tomorrow we travel to North Johnston and we have to forget about today and come to play," Whitfield said. "Right now they are the top dog in our league, so we know what the next game means."