Byrd’s eighth-inning, eight-hopper right over the second base bag was good for a tie-breaking two-run single and keyed the Boll Weevils’ 9-6 South Atlantic League baseball win over Cape Fear on Sunday afternoon.

Byrd’s rap put a nice wrap on the first half of the season.

“Let’s just say Byrd’s hit had some good direction on it,” chuckled Piedmont manager Greg Legg.

Legg had reason to laugh. The Weevils (47-24) have known just one direction of late, and that’s up. Life’s been a bowl of cherries for a team that’s treated its fans to astonishing .662 baseball. The Weevils absolutely breezed to a first-half Northern Division title in the usually competitive SAL, essentially winning two out of three since they threw out the first pitch. Toss out an 0-3 start and the Weevils won 69 percent of their ballgames.

A lot of the wins were like yesterday’s. The Weevils trailed by three runs, yet came back.

“This game pretty much summed up the way the whole first half went,” agreed Legg.

Brad Pautz had a rocky start for the Weevils, who trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of the fifth.

But in the fifth, Tom Batson got a run home with a sac fly and Brian Hitchcox made it 5-4 with a sharp RBI single. Then the Weevils tied it in the sixth when Ambiorix Reyes singled, moved up on Julio Collazo’s bunt and scored on a hit by Sitzman, an all-star who returned to the lineup after missing several days with lower back pain.

That set the stage for the eighth. With Collazo and Sitzman aboard and two outs, Byrd’s grounder ran to daylight for his third hit of the game and a 7-5 Piedmont lead.

Shaken by his ill fortune, Cape Fear previously unbeaten reliever Julie Perez, who will be in Tuesday’s SAL All-Star Game, threw his next pitch about 10 feet over catcher Andrew McMillian’s head.

Then, Perez’s next pitch went about 10 feet over the right-center field wall with a little boost from Piedmont slugger Nate Espy.

It was the 18th homer for Espy, the SAL’s first-half homer king. That gave Weevils a four-run cushion.

“Those were big hits by Byrd and Espy,” said Legg, who beamed as he talked about his two middle-of-the-order boppers. “Byrd has been so consistent all year. He’s just showed a nice overall game. Nate’s just Nate. He keeps coming through.”

So does the Weevil bullpen.

Legg got a scoreless frame apiece from Chris Keelin, Elio Serrano and Franklin Perez, who was the winning hurler thanks to the damage done by Byrd and Espy.

All-star reliever Mark Outlaw allowed a run, but got the last three outs.

Legg, an all-star manager, trotted out a parade of arms, because most of his pitchers will be off for the next three days and needed work.

Legg said he had no special plans for Father’s Day — his family is in Pennsylvania — except to call Philly and tell the brass about yet another impressive win. The big question now is will that brass break up the Weevils and prevent them from repeating their rampage in the second half.

“My feeling is that they’re gonna let us finish what we’ve started — that they’re gonna leave Marlon and Nate and (catcher Russ) Jacobson and (youthful pitching star Brett) Myers right here,” said Legg. “That’s the ultimate in developing players when you can leave ‘em at a level for a full year, then move them up together.

Legg continued, “The one thing that can change that, of course, is injuries.”