GOLDSBORO – Wayne County Post 11 was without their number one pitching option, Mallory Reed, on June 10, but they still found a way to hold South Wake to just three runs as they came away with a 6-3 victory.
Coming into the game, Mallory Reed had led the way for Wayne County at the circle starting in both of their first two games of the season where she didn’t give up a single hit— pitching 4.1 hitless innings against South Wake in their 7-0 victory on opening day this season and then pitching two more hitless innings in their second game against North Wake on June 3 in a game they won 16-0 by way of mercy rule after just three innings.
Reed, who pitches for multiple travel teams in the summer though, was taking a much-needed rest on June 10, and without her at the circle, the Post 11 girls would need someone to step up and take command of the game for them. For that responsibility, the coaching staff turned to Hailey King who seemed to be unphased by the pressure of filling in for such an excellent pitcher as she opened up the top of the first inning by not allowing a single runner to reach base.
South Wake’s starting pitcher also brought her best to the mound though, and she held Wayne County to just one hit and allowed no runs in the bottom of the first inning.
In a game that looked as if it was heading for a pitching battle, King threw another hitless inning in the top of the second, and Wayne County got off to a rough start in the bottom of that inning when Kasey Jones opened things up with a groundout. The offense quickly got going though when Hayley Bedford earned a walk which was followed by an A.J. Verme double to put two runners in scoring position with just one out. The next batter up for Wayne County, Lou Castillo, then hit into a groundout, but it was enough to score Bedford as Wayne County took a 1-0 lead.
After taking the lead though, Post 11 gave it up just one inning later— thanks to a series of mistakes that started when King walked the first two batters of the inning. After earning a strikeout, King then forced a fly ball for what should have been the second out of the inning, but an error by the left fielder allowed batter the batter to reach first base safely and load the bases. With the bases loaded, King continued to struggle to find the strike zone, and she walked another batter to give South Wake a free run to tie the game 1-1. King quickly regained her composure though, and she earned a strikeout and forced a lineout to end the top of the third inning.
In a game that proved to be a back and forth scoring battle, Post 11 quickly reclaimed their lead when they opened up the bottom of the third with three singles in-a-row with the third coming from King who knocked in R. Hatch to give her team a 2-1 lead. During the next at-bat, Wayne County then earned its fourth hit in-a-row to begin the inning when M.G. Beyer also hit an RBI single to knock in McKenzie Millard. After a flyout from Sarah Hess, Post 11 extended its lead even further during the next at-bat when Jones hit an RBI double to score King and give Post 11 a 4-1 lead.
In the top of the fourth inning, to better get an idea of their pitching rotation, the Wayne County coaching staff decided to make a change at pitcher, and they brought in R. Sutton to replace H. King at the circle. The change proved to be an effective one, and just like King, Sutton got off to an excellent start earning two strikeouts and forcing a groundout to end the top of the inning after facing just three batters.
In the bottom of that same inning, Wayne County expanded its lead to four runs, and with the bases loaded and only one out, Sutton walked allowing Castillo to come home and score from third base. Wayne County was unable to take further advantage of the bases-loaded situation though as Beyer grounded out, and Sarah Hess flew out to end the inning. Still the four-run cushion proved to be enough as South Wake never got within more than three runs of the Wayne County lead.
The win was a total team effort for Wayne County with duties on the mound being split between King, Riley Sutton, and Kaden Sutton. King started the game earning five strikeouts and allowing five walks, one run, and no hits in three innings while Riley Sutton and Kaden Sutton came on as relievers pitching two innings each with Riley Sutton earning two strikeouts and allowing zero walks, zero runs, and one hit and Kaden Sutton earning three strikeouts, and allowing zero walks, two runs (zero earned), and four hits.
Post 11 head coach T.J. Smothers said they did an excellent job on the mound which is something that didn’t surprise him.
“We (allowed) three girls (to throw), and I planned to do that all day today. I knew Mal wasn’t going to be here, and actually Mal was going to be our (work) horse, but I mean those three can throw. I think we are going to be deep as a pitching staff,” Smothers said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0