By Hunter Chase: Sports Editor

To say Monday’s season-opening baseball game between Union Pines and visiting North Moore was a pitching duel is putting it mildly.

Sam Buie paced the Vikings to a comeback 3-1 win over its inter-county rival Mustangs, pitching a complete game two-hitter and knocking in two runs. The Mustangs’ Stephen Davis was just as hard to hit, striking out eight of the first nine batters he faced in allowing just one hit in five-and-a-third innings of work.

“You don’t like to have a one-hitter thrown at you,” said Viking first-year coach Scott Blue, “but if you get the hit at the right time and end up with a win that’s a good thing.”

The snake-bit Davis was rolling along protecting a 1-0 lead that the Mustangs had grabbed in the top of the first before the Vikings finally got to the sophomore left-hander. In the bottom of the sixth, Josh Meares reached on an error, and then Carson McLean was plunked by a Davis pitch to put men on first and second with no outs. Jacob Slocum’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners up a base with Buie coming to the plate.

Buie smacked a Davis offering toward center field. Misjudged by center-fielder Clay Hutchins, the ball fell in for a triple, scoring Meares and McLean. After a walk, Lucas Garner came on in relief, and Drew Robinson greeted him with a sacrifice fly to right that knocked in Philip Bullins, running for Buie, for the Vikings’ third run.

Buie then got two of his eight strikeouts in the top of the seventh as the Mustangs were retired in order.

“As far as being a close, tense ball game, the game was exciting,” said Mustang coach Bobby Collins. “There wasn’t a whole lot of hitting going on. They (Union Pines) played real good defense. That third baseman and shortstop gobbled up every thing that was hit at them.”

Slocum manned third, while McLean covered shortstop for a Viking team that had no fielding errors. The one bump in the Vikings defense came in the first inning and resulted in Hutchins scoring the Mustangs’ lone run. After the lead-off hitter struck out, Hutchins reached on a single and then advanced to third when Buie’s effort to pick him off at first base sailed away. Hutchins would score on Davis’ RBI groundout to second base.

“It’s early in the year,” Blue said. “I hope we build on today and remember what good defense can do in a tight game. It sure made a difference in this game.”