BASEBALL: Warriors fall short against Falcons

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on April 8, 2017 11:19 PM

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The post-game huddle, dressed in home white along the right-field chalk, was enthusiastic.

Lively, even.

In fact, had one not been exposed to the game's material details, it would have been difficult to determine that Eastern Wayne varsity skipper Walker Gourley was dissecting the finer points of a bitterly contested, 5-3 setback to Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A foe South Central.

The loss, deliberated in speedy fashion on Friday, was his club's fifth in a row since toppling Greene Central on March 22 -- not that you could tell, however.

"I'm really proud of the way we played the game tonight," Gourley said. "We played hard for seven innings, and that was great to see -- there was belief."

Indeed there was.

South Central (8-6 overall, 3-4 ECC) began the affair with little noise, but made hay in the second and third frames from the middle of its lineup. In short order, the Falcons plated a quartet of runs on three RBI by designated hitter Scott Mayo and senior right fielder Jackson Morse.

Their effort also chased Warriors' starter Ryan Sullivan, who ceded the cliff to senior Keyon Gaines after the dust of SC's outbreak finally settled.

Following a dicey third frame in which he walked a pair and gave up an RBI to Morse, Gaines settled into a familiar, workman-like rhythm -- one that seemed to inspire his mates.

With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, EW junior Nathan Bell rode a Christian Stokes offering to deep left field, plating Jacob Ginn and third baseman Drew Barnes. The roped blast -- a stand-up double -- made the score 4-2 and sent a much-needed jolt through the frigid New Hope faithful.

After both teams plated a run in the fifth, a good old-fashioned reliever's duel developed between SC's Stone Baldwin, in for Stokes, and Bell, who supplanted Gaines after three frames of work.

In short, it was a dandy.

Bell hurled vapor to the Falcons in the sixth, inducing three routine fly balls to end their half. In step with his fellow hilltopper, the quick-working Baldwin seated two Warriors via the strikeout and offered assistance on a putout at first base to end the frame.

And following more hastiness by Bell in the last, there was hope for the hosts.

"What I felt in the seventh," Gourley said, "was what I felt (amongst his team) all night... consistent belief."

Alas, it wasn't to be.

Right fielder Andrew Fricks drew an opening walk from Baldwin, but was left stranded when the junior successfully navigated the top of EW's lineup -- a troupe that experienced difficulty all evening.

Ball game.

South Central 5, Eastern Wayne 3.

The Falcons were led offensively by Mayo, who finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Morse and center fielder Chris Mills also factored prominently for the visitors, going a combined 2-for-6 with three RBI.

Stokes picked up the win for South Central.

Bell paced the hosts with an RBI double, while designated hitter Jacob Ginn finished 1-for-3 with an RBI. Barnes, first baseman Jay Wiseman and Tanner Wells also had a base knock for EW, who fell to 1-12 overall and winless in league matters.

Still, an upbeat tone persisted the aftermath.

"Separating offense and defense," Gourley said of his outfit. "And playing the game the right way, with energy -- it was nice to see us have that."

Eastern Wayne continues its schedule -- and optimistic outlook -- next Tuesday on the ECC trail against league foe New Bern.