More than 3,000 spectators filled the stands as Piedmont played “Small Ball” and prevailed in its home opener. The Weevils collected 11 hits and received some top-notch pitching from starter Adam Walker in a 6-3 South Atlantic League victory over Charleston (WV).

“We were pretty entertaining,” first-year manager Greg Legg said after Piedmont (4-1) earned its fourth straight win. “We did a lot of the little things. We used our speed, we got timely hits and we played defense. It makes us fun to watch.”

They were certainly resourceful. The Weevils drew seven walks, stole five bases and beat out four infield hits to send Charleston (1-4) to its fourth straight loss.

“We concentrated all spring on doing those little things,” said outfielder Marlon Byrd, who coaxed four walks, swiped two bases and lofted a fourth-inning sacrifice fly. “That’s the Phillies’ way. You run the bases hard and work on situational hitting. You’re not gonna hit the ball hard every game, so if you can scrape up a couple of runs here and there, you can still win.”

A perfect example was provided in the last of the third inning. Byrd drew a one-out walk against Charleston starter Kyle Turner, stole second and scored on teammate Jorge Padilla’s clutch, two-out double down the left-field line.

Piedmont broke the game open — and chased Turner — with three runs in the last of the fourth. The first scored on a Brian Hitchcox sacrifice fly, another on Ambiorix Reyes’ infield hit and a third on Byrd’s flyout to right.

In the meantime, Walker was composing sweet music on the mound. The slender lefty with the hissing fastball pitched five shutout innings and improved to 10-0 lifetime in a Weevils’ uniform. He allowed only two hits — a pair of first-inning singles — while fanning six batters and retiring the last 10 men he faced.

“I threw a lot of fastballs on the corners,” he said before phoning his parents in New Mexico. “It was a good, aggressive approach. I go after hitters. I’ll make them prove they can hit my fastball before I start mixing it up.”

Piedmont catcher Russ Jacobson spent most of the night calling for No. 1. “(Walker) threw about 90 percent fastballs,” he said. “They were all pretty lively and effective. He kept hitting his spots. When you do that, you get a lot of outs.”

Walker, who was 9-0 for the Weevils in 1998, faced 18 batters and threw 12 first-pitch strikes. Pitching coach Rod Nichols felt it was a crafty, almost deceptive, 76-pitch performance.

“He didn’t throw a lot of curveballs or change-ups, but he mixed them in very well,” said Nichols. “That made his fastball look that much harder.”

The Weevils, who entered the game with a .367 team batting average, also played some long ball. Jacobson opened the last of the seventh against Charleston reliever Jason Gilfillan with his first professional home run — a Ruthian shot that was in the books while it was still in the sky.

“I didn’t feel anything,” smiled Jacobson, a third-round pick out of the University of Miami. “It just felt good to hit the ball cleanly after the way I’ve started the season (1-for-11). I’m sure (Gilfillan) was trying to get ahead of me, but he just grooved one right down the middle.”

Walker, who won nine games for Clearwater last summer, believes there’s more juice where that came from. “The guys known more for their defense have been coming through for us,” he said. “When the guys expected to lead the offense get going, other teams will be in trouble.”

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