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Troy Clary supplied three hits, coach Charles Kurfees found effective pitching from unlikely sources and the Mocksville senior baseball team salvaged a doubleheader split by taking game two against visiting Randolph County, 7-6, on July 12.

The first game saw Mocksville’s four-game winning streak come to an end as Randolph won 7-4.

“I think we should have won that game,” Kurfees said. “We gave that game away with mistakes. If we don’t make baserunning mistakes, it’s a lot different.”

Joe Johnson (2-4), Aaron Williams (2-2, two RBIs) and Blake Little (2-4) had two hits each in defeat. Mocksville got one hit from Logan Hosch (1-4), Clary (1-3, double), John Davenport (1-2, two walks) and Josh Westmoreland (1-3). Randolph countered with 12 hits.

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In the nightcap, Mocksville roared to a 6-0 lead and held on. A six-run explosion in the bottom of the second was ultimately the difference.

Clary had two of the four hits in the big second, with the other two coming from Wyatt Jester and J. Johnson. Three errors and a walk helped the cause.

Clary was far and away the offensive star, going 3 for 4 with a double as he accounted for half of Mocksville’s hits.

With Kurfees down to few mound options, three pitchers stepped up and held Randolph to six hits.

Cole Johnson got the win by going four innings in his first start of the season. He came in with only 4.1 innings under his belt. Little worked two innings in his first mound action of the season. And Williams, who normally handles the catching duties, shut the door after pitching just two innings before this.

In the sixth, Little got Randolph 1-2-3 to preserve the 7-6 lead. In the seventh, Williams worked around a one-out walk to earn the save.

“We just threw (Williams) out there,” Kurfees said. “He’s done good (in two relief outings).  He just does what he has to do. He’s a player. Our pitching has done well because we’ve got a good catcher. It makes a big difference when you’ve got somebody like Aaron catching you.”

The teams split a DH for the second time this season. A 5-1 run evened Mocksville’s record at 7-7.

“Five of six, that ain’t bad,” Kurfees said. “We’re playing pretty good right now. That first week, we’d only been on the field three days. The more they’re on the field, the better they get.”