EAST MECKLENBURG BASEBALL SPRING BREAK SHOWCASE

Braves you know i love you man, but i think some guys over at Mallard Creek might take offense to you saying North will win the conference and everybody else is playing for second.

 

Of course they would...and should. It's not like me to paint a bullseye on someone's back And it's not like me to shift some focus off of Hopewell's inconsistency and place the attention on another team.

But give me a minute so I can can make the same argument how Mikal Hill, Blaine Lewis and company will quietly rise to the top, while others are looking elsewhere.

 

From Today's Charlotte Observer

Leach motivated by grandmother's death​

The junior pitcher preserved East Meck's hard-won lead during the final two innings.​

By Jay Edwards
Special Correspondent
Posted: Wednesday, Apr. 07, 2010
​

Ben Leach's mind wasn't totally in the game. Despite pitching two full innings and getting a win for his team, the East Meck junior was thinking mostly about his grandmother, Patsy Jack, who passed away Monday night.
Leach, motivated by the memory of his grandmother, helped preserve a 7-6 advantage and win for the final two innings, after his team scored five unanswered runs to take the lead.
"I was thinking about her (his grandmother) all day and even when I was on the mound," said Leach, who pitched the 6th and 7th innings in relief to get the win for East Meck. "I was praying that she would help me and my team. I think she would have been proud of what we did."
After losing 3-2 in 10 innings Monday night to Marvin Ridge, the Eagles looked like they were headed in the same direction Tuesday when Weddington (10-5) scored three runs in the top of the 5th inning to take a 6-2 lead.
But instead of caving, East Meck responded.
"In the middle of the game, we hit a lull and looked like we we're drained and out of it," East Meck baseball coach Clint Koppe said. "But we didn't give up, and we dug deep and got back in the game."
East Meck (10-5), who matched their win total from last year with the victory, didn't waste a lot of time, scoring four runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game. Olen Little, who had three RBIs in the game, sparked the rally with a one-out, two-RBI double that got the Eagles within 6-4. Then, starting pitcher Jonathan Crews hit an RBI single to get his team within one, before Little struck again.
Little, a senior, outhustled Weddington pitcher Jeremy Schellhorn and catcher Andrew Knight on the scramble after a wild pitch and slid under Knight's tag in a bang-bang play.
Then, after Leach held the Warriors without a run in the top of the 6th, the rally was completed when first baseman David Reisterer's RBI double off the wall scored pinch-runner Adam Brady for what turned out to be the game-winning score.
Leach finished off the Warriors with a scoreless 7th, capping the game with a strikeout of Weddington leadoff hitter Payden Honeycutt.
"It didn't even hit me what was happening (with Ben Leach) until the last inning," Koppe said of Leach pitching less than 24 hours after his grandmother passed.
"Once he struck out the last guy (for the win), I couldn't get out there fast enough to hug and congratulate him. It was a great win for our team and for Ben (and his family)."
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Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/07/1361398/leach-motivated-by-grandmothers.html#ixzz0kQ8ho8eH​

 

Titan Baseball

I agree that the Titans are a very talented team that has had a hard start to a season that some believed would be their best - new coach, coaching style changes as well as unforseen injuries has played a part to the cohesiveness of the team. Losing Great players in Michael Russell and Keith Peterson has impacted the game to some degree. The Titans have had some really good players step up to fill their shoes and have done a great job at it. However that does put us down 2 good bats and a pitcher. Prowse moving to the relief role has taken us down to 1 seasoned catcher and a Freshman reliever. After reading several of the post slamming on the catching last night I wonder if the catcher was the only problem, did it have anything to do with any of the wild pitches, leaving runners on base several innings in a row, the walks that got those runners on base or the totally inconsistant strike zone that put the runners on base from the walks. I do applaud Coach Greeson for giving Whitecavage the opportunity to pitch last night since he has been the only catcher that the Titans have used this season. As far as the Titan loses - Providence, Myers Park (1 Loss 1 Win), Lake Norman & Mooresville - I will have to say those loses are to some pretty good teams, LKN & Mooresville are leading the IMECK. I do look forward to watching the TItans when the season resumes after spring break, I believe they can be the team that everyone thought the could be - they definitely have talent now they just need to put that talent to use.

 

Hopewell

I am a parent at N Meck and still agree with Pirates. We are good but have struggled this year as well in certain games. I know that Hopewell has struggled but thought at first it was just an adjustment to new coaching style but now I am not so sure. I have seen maybe 3 of their games this year....will not name any names but have been confused with the lineups I have seen. I know that the coach is new but why not check out the stats from the prior year....it seems, in just the 3 games I have seen, that the lineup is based more on the "what have you done for me lately" system. I can't speak for the other games, just the 3 I have seen. Selfishly, I hope this will keep up, at least until after they play us next week.

Don't count the Titans out, they have had some injuries I know and they have the talent. Don't forget, they are still a relatively young team and jerking the line up around and pulling kids in and out can have an adverse affect. It will be interested to see how the conference goes, in my opinion there are really 5 teams that could take the conference.

On another note, it will be interesting to see how the new high school will impact both us and Hopewell.

 

Very good first post

 

Well said. A group of good players does not make a great team. Hopewell has been through a lot of turmoil over the past two years and I believe there are still some real distractions that make it hard for them to live up to expectations.

 

What a great story! Thanks for sharing this Lion. After coming back from a tough loss speaks volumes about the Eagles and Ben Leach. Congrats also to Olen Little. This young man hates to lose and his performance on the field shows that.

 

I believe this too

 

I believe this says less about the quality of Hopewell versus the overall increase of talent across the board. It has become increasingly difficult for any team to dominate any longer like in past years where once several top players could dramatically tip the balance of power.

I saw Hopewell handle Independence very easily (13-5) last week and then Indy turns around and pounds out 14 runs on 17 hits including three HRs against North Meck five days later. And North started Jip, so it was not like the Patriots had an opportunity against a JV player up for the tournament.

It was mentioned the Hopewell has challenged themselves with a competitive schedule. When that happens in today’s game loses are going to occur, there are just so many quality players on each team.

I do not follow the I-Meck as closely as I do the SW4A, but I am confidence that the SW4A plays as high a level of baseball as any league in the state, yet every team in the league has at least four losses. Half way through the conference schedule there are three 4-2 teams, a 3-3 team and three 2-4 teams and it is not a total stretch to say that every team feels that their record could have flipped or will flip the second time around. There is not a team in the league that would be able to play any other team in the state and not feel that they have a good chance to win the game and I am sure there are many other teams across the state that the feeling is mutual.

Why Coach Greeson plays who is he plays is way beyond me, but I do have great respect for the way he does business and I am absolutely confidence the he has the big picture in mind as well as what is happening pitch to pitch.

Come playoff time there is little question that Hopewell has the talent to make a very long run, they could also go out in the first round. That is what high school baseball has become in this area and it is far better this way as one of the best things about baseball is that the best teams do not win every game.