RALEIGH — Wayne County Post 11 enjoyed a rousing debut in its first-ever Area I West division outing Wednesday evening.
Wyatt Lassiter turned in his third consecutive multi-hit performance during a 7-3 triumph over Fuquay-Varina Post 116 at Doak Park on the NC State campus.
Moved to the lead-off position, the rising junior at Rosewood finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored. In his last five outings, Lassiter is 12-for-17 with five RBI and four stolen bases.
“When you hit anywhere in the top half [of the lineup], the capabilities of those kids are they can hit [well],” WC head coach Adam Pate said. “[Former lead-off batter] Lane [McLean] is a stud in terms of running the bases, hitting for power, hitting for average. He’s hit some hard balls, but hasn’t had a lot of luck [lately].
“We wanted to change some things a little bit, put some people in different spots [of the lineup]. It’s a good balance, a good way to free them up and give them a change of pace that will hopefully get both going again.”
Lassiter grounded out during his first at-bat. His next three plate appearances resulted in base hits, including a second-inning single that helped spark a four-run outburst.
Now in the clean-up spot, McLean plated WC’s first run — a first-inning, RBI double that scored Ferrum College signee Mason Moffett. Moffett turned his six-pitch at-bat into a base hit.
In all, Post 11 collected 12 hits.
Moffett batted 3-for-4 with two RBI. Daniel Kornegay went 2-for-3. Davis Albert (two RBI), McLean (RBI), Braeden Collins (RBI) and Collin Woolard (RBI) provided one hit apiece.
“We swung the bats against some good pitching, which was really good to see,” Pate said.
Carson Gipson yielded three runs (one earned) on six hits and logged five strikeouts in the scorebook. Gabe Adams shut the door on Post 116 with one inning of one-hit relief.
Wayne County (13-2 overall) won its 12th straight division opener.
Post 11 returns to action today against Randolph County Post 45. The teams square off at Jim Perry Stadium on the Campbell University campus in Buies Creek.
“Randolph has got a lot of guys back from their team last year,” Pate said. “They’re an older team with [experienced] high school and college players. Like always, they’re one of those powerhouses.”
Game time is 7 p.m.
