BY CHARLIE BERGMANN: Sports Writer

The three-run seventh-inning rally that helped Sandhills Post 72 end a five-game losing streak Friday began when leadoff hitter Barry Guin made good on a pledge to his coach.

Trailing 3-2 after C.J. Gaddis put Fayetteville Post 4 ahead with a solo homer in the top of the seventh, the rising Pinecrest junior sidled up to assistant coach Carl Boykin as he headed toward the first base coaching box.

“He told me to watch it coach, I’m going to push it right down that line and I’ll see you in a minute,” Boykin said. “I said okay Barry, and on the next pitch, he was down there.”

All Fayetteville third baseman Matt Draughon could do was underhand the perfectly placed drag bunt back to pitcher Josh Sutton, who had not given up a hit since the third inning.

“I was thinking we’ve got to get something started if we’re going to win this game,” said Guin, who pitched the first six innings for the Diamond. “I’m fast — and I was going to lay it down and see what happened.”

Things unraveled for the visitors after that. A catcher’s interference, an infield hit by Brad Shinn and a pair of run-scoring wild pitches gave the Diamond a 5-3 edge it held to the end.

Stuart Richardson, pitching the last three innings in relief, struck out six and gave up just one hit after surrendering Gaddis’ homer to gain credit for the victory.

Making his first start for the Diamond, Guin switched positions with centerfielder Richardson in the top of the seventh inning with the scored tied at 2-2. His pitching chart showed one earned run and two hits allowed in six innings. The left-hander struck out six and walked four. He also contributed a nice running catch on a liner off the bat of Gaddis in the eighth.

Diamond coach Jeff Hewitt said that Guin, who pitched for the Pinecrest junior varsity in the spring, showed improvement in his mechanics as the game went on. His pitches include a fastball, curve and change.

“Throughout the game, we were working on keeping his body back and letting his arm catch up,” the coach said. “We tried to slow him down a little bit because he gets in a hurry and it makes his pitches go high. Barry does a good job of listening to you and trying to do what you tell him.”

“He told me to calm down a little and have fun playing the game,” Guin said. “I started thinking about what I was doing wrong and what I was doing right and it worked out good.”

In the first inning, many of his serves were high, but Post 4 was swinging anyway and he struck out the side while walking one batter.

A line drive up the right center alley by Andrew Synowiez leading off the bottom of the second inning kicked off a two-run Diamond rally. Synowiez made it all the way to third when two Post 4 outfielders couldn’t decide who should pick the ball up. Following a walk to Jesse Navarro, Billy Barber drove in the first run with a ground single over the third base bag. Later, Navarro scored on a ground out to short by Guin.

Darryl Spencer got the first Post 4 hit in the third and scored when catcher Barber threw the ball into left field as he stole third base. A walk to Gaddis and a double off the centerfield wall by Raul Santiago tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth. It stayed that way until the decisive seventh inning.

Sandhills (4-8) swept its three games with Fayetteville (3-10). Hewitt was pleased with all phases of his team’s effort.

“I thought they all stepped up,” he said of the 12 players that dressed for the game. “We stayed right in there defensively behind good pitching tonight and we did what we needed to do at the plate.

“The bulldog mentality Barry has when he’s on the mound is a pleasure to see. I didn’t think Stuart had his best stuff, but he settled down and did just what he needed to do.”

The Diamond travel to Whiteville for a 7 p.m. contest tonight. Wednesday they are at home against Stedman.

Diamond Bits: Synowiez, who will begin his sophomore year at UNC in the fall, had two of his team’s five hits and was at bat when the last two runs scored in the seventh inning. With the score tied at 3-3, and runners on second and third and none out, Post 4 pitcher Josh Sutton stiffened and struck out Ben Richardson and Matt Haley. He was one pitch away from escaping further damage when he got a two-strike count on Synowiez, but the next two pitches sailed to the backstop scoring both runners.

“He had me on the ropes,” the left fielder said. “He was just overthrowing. I was pretty happy about that. It was a good ‘W.’”

A part-time player in his senior year for Pinecrest, he has been one of the Diamond’s most consistent hitters since joining the team about two weeks ago.

“Andrew has been a big surprise because we were at practice one day and he just showed up,” coach Hewitt said. “He is just enjoying playing and he’s happy-go-lucky in the dugout — and, you know, that spreads a little bit.”

“I didn’t get to play a lot in high school for other circumstances, but it’s a lot of fun out here,” the computer science major said. “I want to help show the guys something they can build on for next year. I want to show them what I’ve got.”

In attendance was Wingate University assistant baseball coach Rich Drennen. He came to get his first look at Stuart and Ben Richardson (Pinecrest) and Post 4’s David McNeill (Hoke). The three All-Mid-Southeastern Conference players will be joining the Bulldog baseball program in the fall.

“We were just coming from the state games in Raleigh which is a good showcase of talent and swung through to see a couple of players that have committed to Wingate,” the coach said. “It is a good thing to know what we’ve got coming in to help us out.”

R H E

Fayetteville 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 — 3 4 5

Sandhills 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 x — 5 5 1