Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Two nights after he had an inglorious debut as the Mocksville Legion baseball coach, Tristan “Shaggy” Wyatt found more wreckage when he showed up at Rich Park for the second game of the season against Concord.

“I showed up at the field and found out our starting first baseman was sick with food poisoning, our starting third baseman was sick with allergies and my starting pitcher told me at the last minute he wasn’t going to be able to make it,” Wyatt said.

Yeah, the situation felt pretty dark. But by the end of the night, Mocksville was all smiles. It pulled out a 6-5, extra-inning win with guys like Darren Shore, Christian Brown and Kayden Leazer playing crucial roles in Wyatt’s first W.

Rand 16, Mock 1

Randolph County, which traveled to Mocksville on May 21, is always one of the top teams in Area III. This year looks no different.

It was actually not a bad game until the sixth. That’s when Randolph pushed its 4-1 lead to 13-1.

Mock 6, Concord 5

When Wyatt learned he would not have his scheduled starter on the mound, he turned to Darren Shore. The senior from Starmount was up to the task.

“Darren came up and said: ‘If you need me to do it, I’ll do it,’” Wyatt said after notching his first Mocksville win in eight innings. “He did exactly that. He threw 90-some pitches and did his job.”

Mocksville jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first, but Concord tied it in the third. When Dakota Green bounced a two-run double down the third-base line in the fifth, Mocksville had a 5-2 lead.

But Concord rallied again, tying it in the sixth and loading the bases with two outs in the top of the eighth, with the No. 3 batter stepping into the box. Wyatt summoned Brown, who coaxed a grounder to second baseman Lawrence Hancock to get out of the jam.

Mocksville’s winning rally in the bottom of the eighth began with a Shawn Sealey walk. He advanced to third on an error and Hancock walked. The ninth spot in the order was next. Wyatt pointed to Leazer, who came off the bench and delivered a sac fly to center. Sealey scored standing up as Mocksville won in walk-off fashion.

“It was a great experience to go from a 16-1 loss to an eight-inning win,” Wyatt said. “(Leazer) is a young guy. I felt confident in this kid. He can play anywhere and he has a good, solid bat. After two games of sitting on the bench, he comes in and hits the game-winning sac fly.”

Notes: Wyatt used three pitchers, with Cooper Bliss working in middle relief. … A key play was made by shortstop Tyson Hinkle. “He jumped up to catch one and saved a possible double,” Wyatt said. “Tyson is probably 5-11 and he had to get up high. It knocked his hat and glasses off.”

Moore 14, Mock 10

Dan Loyd hit a two-run bomb to give Mocksville a 2-0 lead. It was seemingly in control with a 6-1 lead. But that’s when things went sideways at Mooresville on May 24.

Mooresville scored 13 unanswered runs and beat a Mocksville team that was missing eight players for various reasons.

Wyatt said the guys he sent to the mound did not pitch as bad as the score suggests.

“They had some very fortunate hits,” he said. “There were bloop singles where they was nothing our guys could do. Sealey pitched great. They just found holes.”