Randolph sweeps Mocksville
Published 10:33 am Thursday, July 13, 2017
- Jesse Draughn fires a pitch.
Jamie Sheek fulfilled his end of the bargain, pounding out four hits in game three of Mocksville’s second-round series against visiting Randolph County.
But little else went right as Mocksville was buried 9-1 on July 6 as Randolph completed a three-games-to-none sweep.
Randolph outscored Mocksville 25-5 over three games, ran its winning streak to nine and pushed its overall record to 23-7. Mocksville finished 12-16.
Jalen Scott got the ball in game three, hoping to extend his blistering pace on the mound. But errors ruined his final start in a Mocksville uniform.
An error, followed by two singles, led to two unearned runs in the Randolph second. In the fifth, the first batter reached on an error and two unearned runs followed as Randolph’s lead swelled to 4-1.
Scott pitched into the sixth. His record fell to 2-3 despite an outstanding 2.25 ERA.
Randolph kept attacking against reliever Henry Stone, scoring twice in the sixth to widen the gap to 6-1. It poured across three runs on five hits in the eighth.
“We made an error that snowballed on us,” coach Charles Kurfees said.
Mocksville cut Randolph’s 2-0 lead in half in the second. Guy Brunelli, Matt Martir-Tullock and Drew Martin had hits, with the latter one plating Mocksville’s first run. Tullock, though, was thrown out at the plate by the left fielder.
Mocksville wasted opportunities throughout the night. With Jesse Draughn, Sheek and Cody Smith aboard in the fifth, Tyler Campbell lined out to first to prevent Mocksville from cutting into a 4-1 deficit.
When Mocksville was behind 6-1 in the sixth, it failed to score even though Scott and David Highman had doubles in the same inning.
Sheek was hitting .239 on June 28, but he found redemption. He went 12 for 24 over the last six games to raise his average to .328. He dazzled in the leadoff spot in game three, going 4 for 5.
“Sheek was a very good player for us,” Kurfees said. “He was seeing the ball very well in the playoffs and he set the table. He is everything you want in a leadoff batter. He sees a lot of pitches, he’s fast and he finds a way to get on base.”
Mocksville got one hit from C. Smith (1-5), Brunelli (1-2), Scott (1-2), Tullock (1-4), Highman (1-4), Martin (1-4) and Draughn (1-4).
Mocksville was not outhit by that much (15-11), but it “just didn’t hit with men on base,” Kurfees said.
Randolph ended Mocksville’s season in the second round for the second year in a row. Last year it was three games to one.
It was an offensively-challenged team to say the least, the team average closing at .261. Campbell slumped at the end, getting one hit in the Randolph series. But his earlier torrid run was enough to keep him atop in batting average at .363. He also paced Mocksville in homers (four) and RBIs (22).
Scott, who was second at .358, had a superb season. He hit safely in eight of the last nine games while leading the club in walks/HBPs (18) and steals (seven). On top of that, he logged 48 innings and fanned 44 batters, both team highs.
Sheek hit .328 and Brunelli .323. Mikey Smith led the team in runs (20) and Brunelli was first in doubles (eight). Tullock was indispensable, handling the demanding catching duties in 26 of 28 games. Despite the wear and tear of that position, he closed the season on a four-game hitting streak.
On the dark side, this was the fifth straight losing season for Mocksville. It went 9-16 in 2013, 13-16 in 2014, 10-18 in 2015 and 11-16 in 2016.