Wayne County Post 11 head coach Adam Pate (blue shirt) talks with his infield during a recent game. Post 11 cruised to an 11-5 win over Wilmington Post 10 Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Those two weekend road bumps are distant memories.
Wyatt Lasstier pounded out a team-leading three hits as Wayne County Post 11 cruised to an 11-5 triumph over reigning N.C. Senior American Legion baseball state champ Wilmington Post 10 on Tuesday evening.
“We played well, we really did against a really good team,” said Post 11 head coach Adam Pate, whose team dropped weekend contests against Cherryville and Rowan County.
Lassiter sparked the offense early with a lead-off single in the bottom of the first inning. He took second on a passed ball and moved to third after Davis Albert legged out an infield single.
With Mason Moffett at the dish, Lassiter swiped home plate on a perfectly-executed double steal. Moffett singled to left, which put Albert on the hot corner.
Albert, with one out, stole home on another double steal.
Moffett followed suit with Nate Smith in the batter’s box.
“We ran the bases well … can’t make that up,” Pate said of the early thievery.
Post 11 built an 8-0 lead through four innings.
Wilmington closed the gap to 8-5, but Pate’s club shut the door on the perennial Area II powerhouse with a three-run, seventh-inning surge of its own.
Lassiter, Braeden Collins (2-for-3) and Collin Woolard (2-for-3) each provided three RBI on the night. Smith doubled, tripled and walked twice during his four plate appearances.
Albert and Moffett each went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases.
Woolard swiped two bags, while Lassiter and Carter Aycock had one SB apiece.
“Our guys were looking for ways to take an extra base [and] had guys doing what they could to anticipate stuff,” Pate said. “We did a good job of giving ourselves at least a chance in so many of those situations.”
Will Pennington emerged as the winning pitcher.
The right-hander yielded two runs (one earned) on six hits and posted three strikeouts in an efficient six innings. He flashed some leather on defense that thwarted any significant Post 10 rallies.
“He threw a ton of strikes, worked his way out of trouble a couple of times, too, and that was great to see,” Pate said. “His breaking ball and fastball were working well, but at the same time, he made some really good defensive plays himself.
“There was a bunt and slow rollers off the bat where he had to make the play, or he had to run over and cover first to make some plays. That’s always really good to see, too.”
Cohen Waddell, Daniel Weeks, Landon Sutton and Smith appeared out of the bullpen. The quartet combined for three innings of two-hit, three-strikeout relief.
The “second season” begins today.
Wayne County (12-2 overall) launches Area I West play against Fuquay-Varina Post 116 at Doak Field on the NC State campus.
“It will be a good experience for our kids to play on a nice college field against what will be a good team,” Pate said. “Now that we’re in the west with the landscape of Area I changing, it will be fun.”
First pitch is 7 p.m.
