Efficient West Johnston downs Clayton in battle for GNRC baseball lead
West Johnston was just more efficient at getting things done.
Hunter Hood pitched a solid six innings and was backed up by timely hitting and solid defense Tuesday night, giving the Wildcats a 6-2 victory in the opener of the county rivals’ two-game baseball series.
West (10-9, 8-1) took sole possession of first place in the Greater Neuse River 4A with its third straight victory, while Clayton fell to 12-6 and 7-2. The teams meet again on Thursday night at Pleasant Field in Clayton.
Clayton had won the teams’ earlier meeting 9-8 in the Johnston County Easter Tournament on March 28 in Four Oaks, but this night belonged to the Wildcats.
The Comets took the lead in the first as Dylan Omana led off with a walk and later scored Blake Joyner’s one-out sacrifice fly to right.
But West responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame, with the key hit being a two-out single up the middle from second baseman Garrett Giddens for the Wildcats’ third run.
“To win the championship you’ve got to beat good teams, and Stacey’s got a really good team,” West coach Joey Worley said. “Hunter pitched at 100 percent, we got some timely hits and we got some breaks. I wouldn’t say it was a ‘must’ win, but it helps to get the first one in each series. I love this format.”
Turning point
Giddens’ single in the first that made it 3-1.
They said it
“We just didn’t pitch well enough, hit well enough or defend well enough to win,” Clayton coach Stacey Houser said. “We started off slow and didn’t execute pitches early in the game. (West) didn’t hit the ball all over the field. But they hit the ball when they needed to. We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities and they did.”
Three to Watch
Hunter Hood, West Johnston: The junior went six innings and allowed two runs on six hits, striking out seven against one walk in the win.
“I just had a great defense behind me,” Hood said. “We knew this was going to be a big game. And we got a lot of timely hitting.”
Andre Wilson, West Johnston: The junior left fielder went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a steal and two runs scored.
Trevor Wilson, West Johnston: The junior came in for the seventh inning and struck out three while allowing a single.
“When I came in I knew I could get them with off-speed pitches,” Trevor Wilson said. “I just needed to be aggressive.”
By the numbers
0: Extra-base hits in the game.
3: Consecutive Clayton hits in the Comets’ one-run third.
3: Walks drawn by West Johnston leadoff man Tony Mack.
6: Men left on base by each team.
10: Strikeouts by West Johnston pitchers.
13: Total hits in the game.
Looking ahead
The two teams meet again Thursday at Clayton.
West has its two-game series with Garner this coming week, while the Comets will go home-and-home with Rolesville.
“We got baserunners but we didn’t get hits when we needed to,” Clayton first baseman Brooks Verona said. “Last week against Garner we scored 20 runs, and today we only scored two.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Efficient West Johnston downs Clayton in battle for GNRC baseball lead."