OWLS NOTEBOOK: 50th anniversary celebration in store for doubleheader

The Statesville Owls will celebrate their historic past before Saturday’s Southern Collegiate Baseball League doubleheader at Statesville High against the Spartanburg Spartans.
Members of the 1961 Statesville Owls minor league baseball team will be honored at Fanfest, a family friendly tailgate festival to be held from 3-5 p.m. in the school parking lot next to the ballfield entrance. Several former Owls will be on hand for the 50th anniversary celebration.
The 1961 Owls were one of two minor league affiliates the Angels had their inaugural season in Major League Baseball. Statesville was Class D, a rough equivalent to today’s low Class A. The Angels’ other affiliate was the Triple-A Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers.
Former Owls minor leaguers include Statesville residents “Squirrel” Thomas and Jerry Fox, who threw out the honorary opening pitches for the Owls’ SCBL season opener June 6.
Tickets to Saturday’s doubleheader are $5 for adults and $4 for students and seniors. Children 12 and under will be admitted free. Fans who can’t make the game can follow the team’s progress through live remotes by 92.9 WAME-FM.
JUGGLING ACT
Justin Roland started every game at shortstop this season for UNC Charlotte, which qualified for the NCAA Regionals.
Last summer, he was a staple at that position for the Owls, but he has shared time at his customary infield spot this season with Owls newcomer Bobby Gazzola (Hofstra University).
Gazzola started the first three games at shortstop. That included the opener of last Friday’s doubleheader against the Lake Norman Copperheads, Roland’s first game with the team since Charlotte’s season ended. Roland played second base.
“I asked him to play a little second (base) and Bobby to play a little third (base). We’ve got to try to figure out how to make everybody happy, but that’s why I get paid the big bucks, right?” Owls coach Frank Pait quipped. “My coaching philosophy is, I tell guys up front, ‘This is going to happen.’ Hopefully they’ll live with it.”
Hitting .400, Gazzola boasts the team’s second-highest batting average.
Roland (.111), one of the Owls’ leading hitters last season, has also been used in the lineup as a designated hitter.
NEXT UP
The Owls (4-2) are back in action today. They play a doubleheader in Clemson, S.C., against the Carolina Chaos (2-5).
It’s the teams’ first meeting since their season opener, which Statesville rallied to win in 10 innings, 5-4.
Rain washed out Wednesday’s game at the unbeaten Morganton Aggies. It has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader June 27 at Statesville High.

 

Please keep the rain away...I plan on being there!!!