By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó Salisbury sophomore Brian Baukís ERA jumped from 2.21 to 3.63 in a matter of minutes and his teammates fared no better.
West Davidson crushed Salisbury 16-3 at Robertson Stadium in Fridayís highly anticipated battle for first place in the CCC. West Davidson avenged a 4-0 loss to the Hornets on March 29, a game in which Bauk fired a one-hitter at the Green Dragons (11-5, 5-1).
ěIím glad itís over,î sighed Salisbury coach Scott Maddox, after his team turned in a fair impression of the Seventh Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. ěSometimes youíre the hammer and sometimes youíre the nail, and tonight West Davidson had a sledgehammer.î
The visitors didnít do much wrong, sending 43 men to the plate in a six-inning game and riding a stout pitching performance from ace Gary Ferguson, who walked only one.
On the other hand, Salisbury, which has been playing extremely well of late, didnít do much right.
ěWe made four errors, walked nine and hit three more,î Maddox said. ěThatís 16 baserunners we gave them, and you canít beat a good T-ball team when you do that. And thatís not to take anything away from West Davidson. They played very well.î
West Davidson coach Jerry Walser coach said his team took too many strikes against Bauk in the first meeting and arrived at Robertson Stadium prepared to swing the bats.
ěA bad pitcherís got one pitch, and a good pitcherís got two,î Walser said. ěBauk ó heís got two. Let him get ahead of you with one, and heíll finish you off with the other. I donít know that his stuff was that much different than it was the first time, but we were a lot more aggressive.î
West Davidson strung together four singles, a hit batsmen and a sacrifice fly for a four-run first that set the tone.
Bauk (3-2) had a great chance to limit the damage to just two runs, but Koby Martin and Zach Queen delivered two-out RBI singles.
Salisbury (9-5, 4-2) has rallied from some four-run deficits, so it wasnít over yet.
But it was over after Bauk, who got two quick outs in the second, couldnít find the third one. Five straight batters reached base ó one single, one HBP and three walks ó and Baukís night on the mound was done with SHS down 6-0.
When reliever John Knox wild-pitched a run home, it was 7-0. Then Ferguson put the Hornets away 1-2-3 in the second, and it was clear where this one was headed.
ěItís a nice win for us,î Walser said. ěThis was a game between the two hottest teams in our league, and this makes five out of six for us. The cream rises to the top. That could be us, but it also could be them. Theyíre very good, and thereís a long way to go.î
Jake Walser belted a three-run homer for the Dragons as they put up six runs in the sixth against Clint Veal.
ěWe just didnít compete very well,î Maddox said. ěThis makes it tougher for us. Weíve got Central Davidson on Tuesday (the Spartans beat Salisbury 10-3), and we wanted to go over there 5-1, not 4-2.î