By Will Dickins
North Delta hosted Strayhorn in a junior varsity and two varsity games Saturday afternoon.  Strayhorn won the JV and first varsity game, but the Green Wave won the last game of the day.
After losing the first two games, North Delta wanted to end the day on a high note. They accomplished that with a 3-0 victory after dueling it out with Strayhorn’s ace pitcher.
Hunter Houston started the game for North Delta and pitched two scoreless innings.  He allowed no runs on two hits and struck out three batters.
Shawn Payne entered in relief in the third and lasted for the rest of the game to complete the combined shutout.  
North Delta went scoreless until they scored two runs in the third.  The crucial runs came from a leadoff walk by Jones  Montgomery. He was moved to third on a Bailey Ross double to the right field line before being scored by Tyler Holland’s groundout to the shortstop.  
Ross came home on a ground ball that the second baseman did not field.  
With a two run lead, Payne found a rhythm which included a four pitch inning in the sixth.  North Delta added one more run in the fifth. Hayden Hankins hit a single and later scored when Jack Evans earned an RBI with a bases loaded walk.  
Time was running out with Strayhorn needing to put something together, but Payne kept them at bay.  He had two strikeouts and seemed to get every out by fly balls to the outfield. The North Delta pitchers “challenged” and “saw how far he could hit it”, as Coach Haygood usually said with a lead.  
Payne grabbed the win for the game on the mound.  Helping him offensively was: Ross, one single, one double, one run scored; Holland, one RBI; Hunter Baker, one hit and one RBI; Hankins, one hit and one run scored; Ethan Calvert, one single; Lige Simmerman, one single; Evans, one RBI; and Montgomery with one run scored.  
North Delta won the pitcher’s/defensive duel 3-0 to leave the ballfield on a positive note before traveling to Greenville Tuesday for district play against Saint Joseph Catholic School.