Shelby Easter Tournament

shelby star

KM's Howell shuts down Knights
High School baseball
Tuesday, Mar 25 2008, 11:44 pm
Gabe Whisnant
Kings Mountain's Jeffry Howell struck out 14 in a complete game as the Mountaineers defeated Charlotte Christian, 3-0, to open the second day of play at the Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament Tuesday.

Records: Kings Mountain 5-4; Charlotte Christian 10-4
Next: The Mountaineers will face Crest at 7 p.m. today in a winner's bracket contest. The Knights will take on Shelby at 1 p.m.

On the mound: Howell yielded just three hits and walked none in seven innings as the righthander effectively mixed his pitches.

"My slider was working really well today. I think that was the biggest thing," said Howell, who worked the slider into his repertoire in the fall.

Leading the Mountaineers: Rai Robinson and Cody Austin finished with two hits each to pace Kings Mountain's nine-hit attack. Austin and Luke Proctor contributed one RBI each.

More from Howell: "We're playing as a team right now. We're hitting better overall and staying in the game," he said. "Team unity is really important for us."

For the Knights: Mason Brady also went the distance for Charlotte Christian as the righty gave up nine hits and three runs. Mason struck out four and walked none. Luke Bard, Trey Laney and Davis Martin posted one hit.

 

Championship Game

South Caldwell 3
Burns 0

Kings Mountain 11
Crest 5

Championship game tomorrow night at 7 between South Caldwell and Kings Mountain

 

shelby star

Mounties drop Crest, 11-5, to reach title game
High School baseball
Wednesday, Mar 26 2008, 9:51 pm
Alan Ford
Kings Mountain knew that Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament semifinal foe Crest is known as a solid hitting team.

The Mountaineers though can swing the bats as well.

Kings Mountain jumpedon the Chargers for five runs in the top of the first inning and didn't let up in an 11-5 victory that propels the Mounties into tonight's title game.

Records: Kings Mountain 6-4; Crest 7-4

Next: The Mountaineers face highly touted South Caldwell at 7 p.m. at Keeter Stadium at Veterans Field. Crest faces rival Burns in the 4 p.m. third-place contest.

Quick start: Two errors let Kings Mountain gets its first run on the board, then the Mountaineer bats did the rest.

Consecutive two-out hits by Jeffry Howell, Luke Proctor and Rai Robinson (a triple) built the 5-0 advantage.

Two more runs crossed against Crest starter Jacob Tisdale in the second inning for a 7-0 edge. Justin Heinbach singled home Robinson - who had three hits on the night for Kings Mountain - in the third inning for an 8-0 lead.

Fighting back: Crest cut the margin in half when it put an offensive flurry together against Mountaineer righthander Luke Proctor. Successive hits by Caleb Clark, Jordan Harris, Julian Ridings (bunt) and Jonathan Cooper drew Crest within 8-4.

Kings Mountan though went back to work with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to put the contest out of reach.

From the coach: "I like the way this group pulls for each other," Kings Mountain coach Eric King said of his team reaching the tournament finals for the first time. "It's the same group that went through everything we did last year. I think that's what has made them a lot closer and they were already a close group."

On the mound: Proctor went the distance, allowing eight hits. He struck out three.

"He was a little off," said King, "but he probably pitched his best-game ever against R-S. Crest is a good hitting team. But he's a senior and he knows how to pitch. He did a great job."

Clark and Ridings had two hits apiece for Crest.

 

shelby star

Spartans' Penny is money against Burns
High School baseball
Wednesday, Mar 26 2008, 7:54 pm
Gabe Whisnant
Behind the right arm of Cody Penny, South Caldwell advanced to the championship game of the Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament for the third-straight year as the Spartans defeated Burns, 3-0 Wednesday.

Today: South Caldwell (10-1) will be looking for its first title at the annual Easter tourney at 7 p.m. against Kings Mountain. The Bulldogs (6-4) take on Crest in a consolation game at 4 p.m.

Penny is money: Burns' Eric Shuford, who also turned in a strong effort on the mound, reached on a wild pitch after striking out to start the bottom of the first. From there, Penny retired the next 17 batters he faced and carried a no-hitter into the last inning.

Shuford reached on an infield single to start the seventh to break up the no-hit bid. Jacob Hamrick (fielder's choice) and Adam Izokovic (walk) also reached in the seventh, but Penny got out of the inning and preserved the shutout.

Penny had seven strikeouts and one walk in the complete-game effort.

Settling in: After giving up three runs in the first, Shuford yielded just one hit and three base runners over the last six innings. The senior righty fanned 10 and walked one as he also went the distance.

From the coach: "After the first inning, he pitched ahead and the defense made good plays behind him," Burns head coach Chris Emery said. "I thought both pitchers did a really great job today."

Early scoring: Brad Chavis' single to center scored Dom Dibernardi and Lucas Jackson to make it 2-0 in the top of the first. Tyler Dillard added a two-out RBI base hit later in the inning to complete the scoring. The Spartans stole four bases and benefitted from a wild pitch to aid the rally.

 

shelby star

Spartans top KM in title game
High School baseball
Thursday, Mar 27 2008, 10:18 pm
Gabe Whisnant
Denied in the last two Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament championship games, South Caldwell got over the hump Thursday night with good pitching, strong defense and timely hitting at Veterans Field and Keeter Stadium.

Keyed by the pitching of junior Cody Poarch and a big fourth inning at the plate, the Spartans defeated Kings Mountain, 6-1, I, the title contest.

Records: South Caldwell 11-1; Kings Mountain 6-5

More pitching: Poarch turned in the Spartans' third complete game in as many days, yielding one run on three hits with five strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters.

Kings Mountain's run, which came in the bottom of the fourth, proved to be the only run allowed by South Caldwell pitching at the tourney.

From the coach I: "We had two shutouts, including a one-hitter by Cody Penny, then we just gave up the one run tonight," Spartans' head coach Jeff Parham said. "Our pitching staff is working hard and getting better."

Scoring in bunches: South rallied for all six of its runs in the top of the fourth. Cody Prestwood posted a run-scoring double, while Tyler Dillard and Jimmy Messer provided RBI singles. Two costly Mountaineer throwing errors led to three more Spartans' runs.

For the Mounties: Brent Hunt was hit by a pitch in the fourth and came around to score on a double play with the bases loaded. Luke Proctor, Brent Hunt and Tyler Ross had KM's three hits, which were scattered in three different innings.

Starter Kyle Bell got the loss in 3.2 innings of work. Brantley Blalock and Cody Austin worked in relief for coach Eric King's squad.

From the coach II: "I'm very proud of how these kids came out and battled at the tournament," King said. "They came out and represented Kings Mountain well, and I couldn't ask for a better effort than what they gave."

Tourney awards: Best Hitter - Rai Robinson (KM); Best
Pitcher - Cody Penny (SC); Best Fielder - Dalton Hall (SC)

Next: The Mountaineers host Burns Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Southwestern 2A/3A play.

 

shelby star

Crest downs Burns in extra-inning struggle
High school baseball
Thursday, Mar 27 2008, 8:42 pm
Alan Ford

It may have been only a third-place consolation game. Yet when Burns and Crest meet in any athletic endeavor, neither side holds anything back.
That was the case in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel Thursday afternoon in the Shelby Savings Bank Easter Tournament. Burns righthander James Gold and Crest lefty Kyle Nanney didn't let the free-swinging lineups make solid contact much of the day.
Not until Crest bunched a couple of hits in the eighth inning did the Chargers break through to take a 5-2 win in the extra-inning contest.

Records: Crest 8-4, Burns 6-4
Next: Both sides get back into league action Tuesday. Crest has a Big South 3A/4A contest at South Point and Burns travels to play Kings Mountain in Southwestern Conference action.
Evening it up: A Charger throwing error and a double by Gold highlighted Burns' two-run opening at-bat. Crest pulled even in the top of the second with two unearned runs as the Bulldogs committed a pair of errors to go with singles by Caleb Clark and Jordan Harris.

Avoiding trouble: Nanney, who worked into the seventh, didn't have a 1-2-3 inning during the day but the sophomore worked out of difficulty several times. The Crest defense also turned a couple of double plays behind him.
Gold, after getting out of a jam with a double play in the third inning, didn't allow a hit until Crest's eighth-inning outburst.
Jordan Harris came to the mound for Crest in the seventh after a one-out double by Ethan Martin. Harris shut down Crest the rest of the way and got the pitching decision.

Winning rally: Kyle Kendrick led off with a single for Crest in the top of the eighth. He proceeded to steal second, then came around to score on Corey Cline's liner to right for a single.
Cline moved up on a sacrifice bunt, then swiped third base and came in to score on an errant throw. Adam McFarland, walked intentionally, eventually scored on a passed ball.
At the plate: Kendrick and Cline had two his apiece for the Chargers. Burns five hits were spread out among as many players.

From the coach: "The biggest thing about this tournament is that it helps us get ready for next week (in conference)," Crest's Steven Hodge said. "We had three games where we had live pitching and three games where we were in game situations.
"Kyle (Kendrick) getting on base (in the eighth inning) allows you to be aggressive. He knows when to go and when not to. With him on base, you don't always have to bunt him over and you get that from a good leadoff man."