Southeast Regional

Both teams gone

So we've gone from a great David vs goliath story by a fearless 5'5" 145 pound jacob watcher....to a classless, stupid, moronic incident between Georgia and NC.

Cherryville player crosses home plate. Must have said something. Catcher for georgia threw the ball and hit the runner in the back. On deck batter charges the catcher and gets punched. and then both teams came out and started fighting. Coming to a YouTube near you. A dozen Police dotted the field. The national legion rep sent both teams home. The Gastonia paper should have good coverage. They detained the georgia team until the nc team clears out of the hotel. I'm guessing it was provoked and I know the resulting actions were wrong.

 

Unbelievable. Sad.

 

That's not exactly what happened. On deck batter didn't charge anybody. I'd bet that catcher from Ga regrets his actions right now. Got his team sent home, and got absolutely pummeled by Thomas Bess. Had to have stitches, and his mommy is pressing charges.

 

How do you know it was provoked? Maybe the GA catcher is just a hotheaded punk. You ever think about that?

 

Taunting

Watching the game live the Cville player back trotted after scoring from home and it looked very much like he said something to the catcher who was trying to locate the ball. All you hear about is what the catcher did. The broadcast said the Cville player went over to say he was sorry. If he provoked the fight then enough said. Keep your mouth shut! What a bad way to lose when you are up 4-0.

 

http://www.gastongazette.com/sports/brawl-59778-clearing-season.html

 

I saw the replay and it doesn't look like Mosteller said anything. All he did was glance back at the plate as he was on his way to the dugout. I believe you are mistaken sir!

 

Provoked? Does it matter?

Maybe a teenager's Sunday morning is better spent in Church. ( Food for thought.)

Taking a step back.... there is nothing in the rules against talking to, yelling at, running into, sliding into, or looking back at another player.

Understand that several unaffiliated fans and 2 reporters told me that #15 for Cherryville had some contact with and said something to the catcher. Would it be incorrect to say that Cherryville plays with some "gamesmanship", push the envelope, and affect other teams mental approach? Perhaps not.

If you watch the link below like i did. you see the catcher hitting the dirt, back to the plate. it's unclear if he was slid into, or if he was diving for the ball. you can see #15 walking past the catcher, was there a bump? I'm not sure. Can you see him turn and say something? He turned and jumped, but the video doesn't have sound and it's too blury to see his mouth. What is clear is that the catcher threw the ball at him imediately afterward. You be the judge on whether he was provoked. But, does it matter. Catcher was wrong. He may have been slid into, bumped, and taunted, but he was still wrong.

On the Cherryville side, the creed says I will not "loose my temper". C-ville players cleared the bench and charged with enthusiasm. The rules say they are wrong. However, It would be very difficult to see your teamate hit by a baseball in the back or punched in the face and not "loose your temper" and get involved. That's for sure.

Too bad. I came to watch both teams play baseball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGvD9Vh-ZTA

 

It's down to Gaffney, SC and Bradenton, FL

Sumter gave up 4 runs in the 2nd and never recovered. Lost 12-2. To many pitches with too little command for Sumter (both wild pitches and past balls) with the first 2 pitchers. They scattered a few hits, but left several stranded.

There is a bright side for Sumter's future. As it turns out there is another little 5'5' 145 pitcher. But he was wearing #34 this time. Phillip Watcher, the twin of Jacob #33, stabilized the situation for a few innings. After freshman pitcher Phillip finished his first inning of relief, striking out 2 in a row, his brother said, "Your lucky". Then he struck out 3 in a row another inning. So much for luck.

These are two competitive young men who lost their father recently, and worked on mission trips early this summer, have turned into two tough customers on the mound. Phillip threw efficiently and was cruising around 81 mph on my radar, which may have been a little slow. And showed off a tight breaking ball. Did i mention he's 5'5" and 145 lbs? His arm action was tension free and his future looks very bright.

 

Hey, Big t you were right about Cherryville. They did disgrace NC. You saw this coming. It takes a bigger man to walk away from a fight. But, as cocky as their players were it didn't suprise me that this happened either.


Good Job Cherryville you did a hell of a job representing NC idiots