A Goldsboro runner successfully takes second base as Southern Wayne second baseman Drew Sweet has trouble handling the ball during early-inning action Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne sophomore right-hander Brayden McKee yielded two earned runs on three hits and collected four strikeouts, and earned the mound win against Goldsboro on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s E’lla Boykin, back, helps the umpire make the call at the plate as teammate Drew Sweet scores on an errant throw and beats the tag by Goldsboro’s Jonah Harrell. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — With three starters back, day-to-day growth seems to be the early-season mantra for Southern Wayne on the baseball diamond this season.
Head coach Trae McKee certainly likes what he sees.
Alex Ferrell slugged a solo home run and Brayden McKee hurled four solid innings during a 13-3, mercy-rule conquest of county rival Goldsboro on a rainy Thursday evening.
“It’s just trying to get that confidence to build, get that offensive mentality going, getting guys on [base] and making good solid contact when they’re out there,” coach McKee said. “We knew with a three-game week, we were going to have to rely on some young guys who hadn’t had a lot of mound experience. I thought Brayden and Cuyler [Daly] did a good job with that.”
Shouldered with his first start of the season, McKee recorded an inning-ending strikeout to end Goldsboro’s bases-loaded threat in the first. The Cougars loaded the bases again in the second before McKee (1-0) regained his composure.
The sophomore right-hander kept the Cougars scoreless in the third and fourth. His stat line read two earned runs on three hits, four walks and four punchouts in four innings.
McKee threw 85 pitches.
“He settled down a little bit,” coach McKee said. “He’s young. He’s a strike thrower, not going to throw it by anybody. He can mix his speeds up. We knew we were going to have to play really good defense, and for the most part we did.”
Daly provided one inning of two-strikeout relief.
Ferrell deposited a fastball over the left-centerfield fence during his first at-bat. He ended the night 2-for-3 with two RBI, three runs scored and a walk.
Goldsboro forged ahead 2-1 before the Saints found their offense.
They plated 10 runs in the third and fourth innings combined. Freshman Hayden Waller doubled and scored twice during the rally. Senior Drew Sweet doubled and tripled, and touched the plate twice.
“I thought we hit the ball really good in some spots,” McKee said. “We’ve got to work a little bit on base running. When we are stealing, I think we’re getting caught a little bit, but I thought we ran the bases well and aggressively.
“We had some good, timely hitting.”
Daly (RBI), Brayden McKee (two RBI) and Jake Coates contributed one hit apiece. Waller stole two bases, while Sweet and E’lla Boykin each swiped one bag.
Southern Wayne improved to 35-36 against Wayne County opposition since 2009. Goldsboro, meanwhile, has a 10-28 worksheet when facing county foes since 2010.
“I coached Chris Davis whenever he was a player here at Southern Wayne,” coach McKee said. “I knew they were going to be fundamentally sound and were going to be ready to play. They’re going to surprise some people.”
Weather permitting, the Saints (2-0 overall) play host to Northern Nash today. The teams split their regular-season series a year ago.
