GOLDSBORO -- Charles B. Aycock left-hander Eric DuBose entered Monday night's 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference championship game against Eastern Wayne on a roll, but it all came crashing down in the blink of an eye.
DuBose had his 14-inning scoreless streak abruptly snapped on back-to-back home runs in the first inning, but the Golden Falcons' bats roared to life with a seven-run third to spur a 13-4 come-from-behind victory for the defending state 3-A champions.
Eastern Wayne's John Wooten, the third hitter of the inning, crushed a three-run home run to left field. The next hitter, Tyler Wicks, smashed a solo shot to make it 4-0 Eastern Wayne.
"After the first four hitters it wasn't looking good, but these guys never cease to amaze me," Aycock head coach Charles Davis said. "Once Eric DuBose got over that initial shock, he got the ball down and started getting people out. For a sophomore to be able to get lit up like that and still be able to gut it out is special."
DuBose (8-2) went on to allow just four hits in six shutout innings after Wicks' homer.
"I got behind in the count, didn't throw too good and ended getting a couple of home runs hit off me," DuBose said. "I was just hoping we'd get some runs and I'd come back out and hold them down."
And that's exactly what happened.
Aycock (18-6), the No. 2 seed because of two regular-season losses to the top-seeded Warriors (19-6), pushed across three runs in the second inning to cut the lead to one before erupting for seven in the third.
"I'm as proud of this group of guys as any team I've ever coached," Davis said. "They have accomplished a lot this year."
Connor Narron, Jordan Carr and Zach Wright led off the third with consecutive singles to load the bases. An error and a walk to the next two batters, respectively, pushed two more runs across to give Aycock a 5-4 lead.
Will Edgerton capped the big inning with a two-run blast to dead center field on the first pitch of the at-bat and Aycock tacked on another pair in the fourth on senior second baseman Stephen Strouse's two-run job that landed nearly in the same spot as Edgerton's blast.
It was just the second home run of the season for Strouse, who also singled, drew two walks and drove in four runs.
"We might have been a little worried because (Eastern Wayne's) already beaten us twice," Strouse said," but we've been hitting the ball all year so we knew we could come back."
Aycock will host Oxford-Webb Friday night at 7 in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Associaion 3-A playoffs.
Strouse, one of the few remaining players from last season's championship team, says the team is even closer than last season's group because they all depend on each other.
"It's a lot more of a team effort this year," Strouse said. "We don't have that guy who can go out and carry us. Everyone has to contribute and do their part, and so far we've been able to do that most of the time."
Also enjoying outstanding days for Aycock were Narron and Zach Wright (both went 3 for 5). Carr was the only other Golden Falcon with two hits.
Aycock knocked Wooten (2-5) out of the game after just 2 2/3 innings.
Eastern Wayne will host a playoff game Friday night, but head coach Jabo Fulghum hopes to see some changes before then.
"We didn't locate," Fulghum said of his pitchers."We kept the ball up and defensively we didn't make plays -- defensively we were awful. The little things killed us tonight."
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