Post 11 ready for playoffs

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on July 10, 2008 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY - Tonight the second season gets underway for Post 11 and head coach Brad Reaves.

A time that the skipper hopes will bring out the best in his top-seeded group of talented young players.

"I really like the playoffs, and I especially like the series format," Reaves said. "This is the time when the good teams come to the top."

Post 11 will play host to Edgecombe County in the first game of a best-of-three game series tonight at Southern Wayne High School. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

It has been a summer of twists and turns within the Area I East Southern Division standings, as well as for the Post 11 squad, which reached the top of the class with a victory over Kinston on Sunday. Wayne County ended the regular season with a 5-3 record in division play and a 14-4 overall mark.

"We showed throughout the year that we can hit the ball with anybody," said Reaves. "Now need to keep up the intensity and play to our potential."

Walker Gourley has been the most productive Post 11 performer at the plate thus far in 2008. The Eastern Wayne product leads the team in batting average (.456), hits (31), walks (15) and stolen bases (21). As a team, Wayne County is batting .311.

On the mound, Post 11 has found the going much tougher within Area I East play. A total of 11 different arms have taken the hill, some with more success than others.

Left-hander Adron Hollowell will likely get the ball tonight. A decision that is based on Hollowell's ability to work within the strikezone.

"Adron has earned the opening playoff start, he has shown that he has the stuff to compete ," Reaves said. "And the way our rotation has worked out over the last week or so, we are back to his spot."

Giving Hollowell the ball tonight will also line-up Michael Douglas for the Friday night start in Tarboro. Douglas is coming off his best outing of the year on Sunday, and possesses an arsenal of pitches that allows him be effective even without his best stuff.

"At this point I think everyone is in the same boat when it comes to pitching," Reaves said. "You have guys that have thrown a lot of innings, and we especially need to realize that we are not going to strike out a lot of people."

For Edgecombe County it has been a long summer with wins coming few and far between. Two division wins proved enough to make the playoffs thanks to a 1-7 showing from Ahoskie.

Despite the opponent's poor record Reaves knows that his team can not get caught looking ahead.

"I really don't think our guys will do that... at least I hope not," Reaves said. "All we need to do is look at Wilson to see what happens when you take Edgcombe County to lightly."

The head coach was referring to his counterparts best quality win, which came at the expense of Nothern Division front-runner Wilson.

"We played our most complete game of the season on Sunday," Reaves said. "I hope that with that game to build on, we have turned a corner, and we are ready to make a run."