East Gaston rolls in MEGA 7 opener

MOUNT HOLLY – As a first-year member of the MEGA 7 4A Conference, East Gaston High’s athletic teams have slowly but surely gotten used to playing different rivals.

But the Warriors’ baseball team gave little indication Tuesday night there would be much of an adjustment period for them in their conference opener.

Senior left-hander Jay Puckett pitched a two-hitter in a 12-1 victory over Harding in which the East Gaston offense had 11 hits, drew five walks and reached base three more times on hit batters.

"Jay’s going to be our go-to guy," said Warriors coach Randy Sellers, whose team improved to 3-1 overall with the victory. "I expect big things from him this year. He’s a senior and he’s already signed with the Abbey, so he’s going to be a leader of our pitching staff."

Puckett is already 2-0 on the season and has failed to allow any earned runs. And after striking out 10 and allowing two hits against the Rams, Puckett has 21 strikeouts and had yielded six hits in 12 innings this season.

Harding’s lone run came on a double-steal in the fourth inning after back-to-back infield errors created a scoring opportunity for the Rams (1-3).

Puckett was supported early and often, as the Warriors’ won the game by the 10-run mercy rule after only 4 1-2 innings. East Gaston scored two runs in the first, third and fourth innings and had a game-breaking six-run second inning.

Freshman Justin Williams led offense with three hits and two RBI. Ethan Frazier had two hits and a two RBI and Zac Bumgarner, Matthew Grimmett and Brandon Bates added RBI doubles.

The Warriors continue in league play with road games at Garinger (Friday) and Catholic (next Tuesday) before returning home March 26 against Olympic.

"We’re learning the teams in this conference as we go along," Sellers said. "We’ve played West Meck the last couple of years and expect them to be strong again, but the other teams are new to us. I think if we do all the things we’re supposed to do defensively and get Logan (Armstrong) back, we should be pretty competitive."

Armstrong, a .477 hitter with four homers and 26 RBI as a sophomore last season, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 26.

"We’re expecting him back within the next week or so if things keep progressing like they have been," Sellers said.