Wayne 18's move on in Eastern tourney

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on July 18, 2006 2:15 PM

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TARBORO -- Matt Godwin pounded out four hits and drove in two runs as Wayne County eliminated county rival Fremont 15-5 in the Eastern N.C. State Babe Ruth 18U tournament Monday evening.

One of four teams remaining in the double-elimination event, Wayne County opposes Crystal Coast at 2:30 p.m. today on the Municipal Stadium diamond.

Garrett Howell (two RBIs), Kevin Shanle and Josh Hamilton complemented Godwin's offensive effort with three hits each. Billy Smith batted 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Josiah Wright and Dustin Sittig each provided a hit.

Tyler Thomas and Sittig combined for the pitching win.

Wayne County (2-1) opened tournament play with a 4-1 victory over Triangle on Saturday afternoon.

Joey Burridge emerged the offensive leader with three hits and an RBI in four plate appearances. Howell contributed two hits and an RBI in three at-bats.

McKinley, the starting pitcher, benefited from two double plays and struck out five Triangle batters in a six-inning stint. Max Davis provided one inning of two-strikeout relief.

Johnston-Wilson steadily built a mutiple-run lead and dropped Wayne County 7-4 early Sunday afternoon. Wayne County avoided the shutout in the sixth inning on Tyler Thomas' two-RBI single and added another run on a Johnston-Wilson defensive miscue.

McKinley, Matt Godwin, Howell, Thomas, Chris Jones and Shanle each had one hit. Sittig, Davis and Thomas each threw several innings in the loss.

"(In) the losers' bracket, we have a lot of games to play now to get back into the finals," said coach Bobby Davis. "But I know that this team can come back and overcome the loss."