Ardrey Kell vs East Meck

Wow…it doesn’t get much better than this. A beautiful night, hamburgers and hot dogs grilling with the smoke trailing everywhere you go and a hard fought, intense baseball game. When you enter Greeson’s Gauntlet, you’re amazed at seeing the best high school field in the state, but you also know you are getting ready to see something special. You can’t play there and expect just another game…ain’t going to happen. And Friday night proved to be another barnburner.

Teams don’t seem to want to believe me. The 2009 East Meck Eagles are not the same teams of the past. This team will fight you and won’t quit until the umpire says, “Game over.”…and last night’s 5-4 Ardrey Kell’s win is proof of it.

In the 1st inning, Alex Wood put the Knight’s on the board with a bases clearing double and AK ended the inning up 4-0. In past years, it would have broken the back of the Eagles and their spirit along with it: But not this year’s team. They battled back to end the inning at 4-2 and never stopped clawing the rest of the night. Both pitchers, Alex Baker and Lou Trosch, settled in and kept competing, despite some base running errors and controversial plays.

What was exciting was the intensity of the game. Each at bat was contested, every pitch mattered and every play was magnified. The Daniel’s boys and co. kept putting pressure on the Knights, but Coach Bagwell always seemed to make the right call at the right time to hold off the Eagles’ charge. And the most important decision was bringing in his “Lover”---that is Ashton “Baby Bull” Lover. The kid was brought in with the bases loaded at an extremely intense time and after one pitch…inning over and he and Bagwell were chest bumping into the dugout. Ash Lover was dealing the rest of the way. The kid was throwing hard and challenged every batter with his stuff. “ Here it is…hit it if you can”….and most times they didn’t. Without the performance by Lover, AK would not have won this game.

What a night…what a game…what a venue. Congratulations to both teams. This is how all HS games should be like.

 

I never knew just how beautiful the changes to the park were until I walked in. Absolutely the best baseball park including colleges in our area and the atmosphere is just great. Folks will need to pay attention to the Eagles this year, but they just might be onto something for the next 2 years with the underclass players they have on the roster.

 

Eagles and Knights

As usual, Braves description of last night hits the nail on the head. The Knights and Coach Bagwell had the right answers at the right times, as one would expect from one of the best teams in the state. At the same time, everything about that game screamed that East Mecklenburg is again a team to be reckoned with. Coach Greeson and Coach Koppe have these young "Eaglets" competing from the opening pitch until the final out. They're scratching and clawing their way towards a spot in the state playoffs, playing in the always tough SW4A. If they make it, you don't want to find them in your neck of the bracket.
And next year . . .