3rd Round American Legion Playoff Scores

It's real easy to find, right off US 220 , Presnell Road exit, beautiful little ball park. Signs at exit directing you to McCrary park. Have nice grandstands And bleachers down the left field line & a picnic area down right field line.

 

Here is this morning's article from the Asheboro Courier Tribune on the 10-9 victory by Randolph over Stanly.

http://www.courier-tribune.com/articles/2006/07/17/sports/es2.txt

ASHEBORO — Talent, guts and heart.

That’s what Randolph County Post 45 brought to Game 5 of their American Legion Area III semifinal series with Stanly County Post 76 Monday night at McCrary Park. A whole lot of talent, a whole lot of guts ands a whole lot of heart.

And every drop of all those characteristics were needed as Post 45 earned a 10-9 victory, a 3-2 series win and a berth in the Area III Finals, which will begin Wednesday night at Kannapolis Brown High School against Kannapolis. The winner of that series will advance to the American Legion State Tournament in High Point.

Hall Toledano blasted a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning that helped erase a 5-2 deficit, Neal Pritchard showed as much guts and heart as one player could and Post 45 was able to hold on after watching a 10-5 lead dwindle to just one after eight innings.

The victory came after it was learned Area III Commissioner Bob Beeson had denied Post 45’s protest of an ineligible player and an appeal to North Carolina Chairman Roy Waters was also denied.


Post 45 could and may still follow up on the appeal process, but the end result would still be the same.

“The best thing was the way we fought back and the way we answered after we made some mistakes early on,’’ said Post 45 coach Ronnie Pugh, whose team will take a 27-11 record into the Area III Finals.

A couple of bad decisions allowed Stanly County to grab a 5-2 lead after four innings, but Post 45, which scored twice in the first without the benefit of a hit and had recorded just one single through the first four innings, found its offense in a big way in the fifth.

Trailing 5-2, Ben Bunting started the uprising with a one-out single. He stole second and went to third on a throwing error before Josh Hohn walked. Bunting scored on a wild pitch and Pritchard knocked in a run before Fank Gariano walked. After Ryan Stultz reached on an error to load the bases, Toledano swung at the first pitch and drove it over the fence just to the right of the 400-foot mark in centerfield. That gave Post 45 an 8-5 lead. “Coach Pugh said look for the curve and to hit it from gap to gap,’’ said Toledano. “Sure enough it was a curveball and a hanging one at that. I didn’t even feel it. I got it with the perfect part of the bat. This is my fifth year of playing Legion and I want to go all the way. I needed to do something big and I saw the pitch right out of his hand. Awesome.”

“Sometimes you can guess and guess right,’’ said Pugh. “He went up there looking for that pitch and I even told him where to hit it. He hit it a little further than I told him to, but we’re not going to give it back.’’

RBI hits from Pritchard and Gariano pushed the Randolph County lead to 10-5 in the sixth and Pritchard, who had relieved starter Chris Kennedy in the fifth, retired nine of the 10 batters he ad faced heading into the eighth. But Pritchard, who went nine innings Thursday night in a Game 1 win and three innings Sunday night for the save, tired in the eighth and Stanly County parlayed two walks and three hits into four runs to close to within 10-9.

“I was pitching on all heart at the end,’’ said Pritchard, who gave up a two-out single in the ninth before registering the final out on a short fly to left. “They were going to ask me about the ninth inning and I told them stick me on the mound. I did this for the team, the fans, for everybody.”

Pritchard finished the series with two wins and a save.

“He’s one of the guttiest players I have ever been around,’’ said Pugh. “It’s never about Neal. It’s always about getting the ‘W’.”

An ill-advised throw to second with a runner on third led to a run for Stanly County and a wild throw to the plate in an attempt to get a runner coming in from third helped Stanly County jump in front 5-2 in the fourth. Post 45 had scored twice in the first on two walks, a sacrifice, an error and a grounder.

Bunting and Pritchard each had two hits for Post 45 while Russell Brewer had three hits, including a solo homer, for Post 76. Kurk Benton and Tyler Almond had two hits each for SC.

 

PINEVILLE 6 CHERRYVILLE 5

GREAT GAME.. Nail biter all the way. Cherryville jumped out to a 5-0 lead thru 4.5 innings, but Pineville clawed back into it with 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th. Pineville's Dan Whitten pitched a gutsy game thru 7 innings. Chase Austin pitched the 8th and got the WIN. Matt Andress closed the door in the 9th to earn the SAVE.

The TURNING POINT of the game was in the top of the 8th. Up 5-4, Cherryville had a man on 2nd with one out. They tried to bunt him over to 3rd, but the bunt went right back to Pitcher Chase Austin who threw widely to 3rd. The Cherryville 3B Coach interfered with Pineville 3B Reid Rollison, allowing the throw to go into left field. After deliberation, the UMPs ruled the batter out and put the runner who had scored to go back to 2nd.

The rest is history. Pineville plated 2 in the bottom of the 8th and won the series 3-1.

The Pineville/Cherryville Series was outstanding. Cherryville can crack the apple and their pithing was solid also.

Next is Caldwell County at South Meck HS Thursday night at 7pm.

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Pineville is 28-6.

 

Appreciate that, tj21!!

GO WOJANS!!!!!