Clayton baseball completes sweep of Garner

Any time Clayton sweeps Garner, in any sport, it probably means the Comets are having a good season.

And going by what happened in their baseball series, the Comets are definitely on a tear.

Starter Mason Medlin picked up the decision on a night that Zach Greene, Blake Joyner and John Messina all homered as the Comets rolled 12-1 in the finish of their two-game Greater Neuse River 4A Conference series.

The game was stopped after six innings on run differential. Clayton had won their first meeting 8-2 on Wednesday at Pleasant Field.

The Comets (12-5, 7-1 GNRC) sent 11 batters to the plate in its seven-run fourth inning, and then added five more runs in the sixth.

“Mason mixed his pitches well and got ahead most of the time,” said Clayton coach Stacey Houser. “They had a couple of at-bats where they got up to eight or nine pitches. But he did a great job and got us to the bullpen. We’ve just taken advantage of mistakes and walks in both games we’ve played against Garner.”

Medlin (3-1) went 4 and 2/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits.

“I was able to establish my curve ball for a strike and then come back with my fastball,” Medlin said. “I was able to keep them off-balance pretty well. And it always helps when my teammates hit like that.”

Garner fell to 7-8 overall and 5-3 in the conference.

Turning Point

With the Comets leading 3-0 and one out in the fourth, Dylan Omana hit a two-run triple to right and scored on a wild pitch.

They Said It

“Early in both our games it was a good game, and they scored seven in each fourth inning,” said Garner coach Derik Goffena. “To their credit, they took advantage of a ton of opportunities and hit the ball really well, and offensively we just didn’t have anything for them in either game.”

Three to Know

Zach Greene, Clayton: The senior left fielder went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and an RBI triple.

“I just drove the ball as hard as I could,” Greene said. “When we hit the ball like we did, we’re tough to beat. And our defense played good tonight.”

Blake Joyner, Clayton: The senior centerfielder went 2-for-4 with an inside-the-park homer and a double.

“I got lucky on that one,” Joyner said. “I play center field too, and I know how hard it is to see that ball. I heard one of my teammates say ‘four’ when I was at second, and just kicked it into fifth gear and went for it. Beating the Trojans never gets old.”

John Messina, Clayton: The senior shortstop homered and singled.

By the Numbers

0: Runs scored in the game’s first three innings.

5: Consecutive Clayton hits in the sixth inning.

6: Clayton batters consecutively reaching safely in the fourth inning.

7: Extra-base hits for the Comets.

10: Total Clayton hits.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Clayton baseball completes sweep of Garner."