Consider these some serious props for a new Web site/blog I’ve discovered over the past few days: localreplay.com and localreplay.com/blog. Gil Zino did a great job blogging about and covering the baseball and softball championships last weekend. He even has MLB draftees listed from North Carolina on his site now, too, and will be updating it all day today.
Great site; check it out.
Thanks to Charles Alston for sending this to me…
The Charlotte Coliseum was blown up recently, taking a big part of my heart with it. Nothing was more fun than my first NBA game there (Bulls vs. Hornets in 1991), my first ACC Tournament (in 1994) and the dozens of games I saw there. I loved that place. I was also at the final NBA playoff game there.
Sigh.
It’s no fun getting old.
You absolutely, positively have to watch this: Mississippi Braves manager Phil Wellman simply freaks out during a game at Chattanooga on Friday night.
My react: This is quite possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen! The bad thing, though, is that other managers/players/KIDS are going to see this and realize the best way to get attention is to freak out like this.
But the low-crawling to the pitcher’s mound and throwing the rosin bag like it was a grenade was FANTASTIC!
Check back here all day for the final day of State Games results in Kinston:
FINAL UPDATE 10 P.M.
Girls
14-and-under at Rochelle Middle School
Carolina Dream 59 (Destinee Adams 14, Jamie Cherry 9), Lady Swish 14 (Tyvi White 6) — Lady Swish eliminated
Championship — East Carolina Storm 68 (Rachel Thompson 16, Kristin King 9, Ansia Dial 9), Carolina Dream 20 (Jamie Cherry 11)
16-and-under at North Lenoir High School
Crystal Coast Wildfire 53 (Tracy Collins 18, Arneka Montford 11, Kimayh Flucart 11), East Carolina Storm 51 (Chelsen McGowan 10) — East Carolina Storm eliminated
Championship — Lady Cheetahs 57 (Danielle Butts 20, Equitta Vines 12, Amber Clark 11), Crystal Coast Wildfire 52 (Melissa Thomas 14, Tracy Collins 13)
18-and-under at North Lenoir High School
Wheat Swamp Hawks 60 (Helena Davis 19, Jordan Hudson 17, Timon Jones 10), Lady Devils 53 (Karissa Herring 18, Shae Gardner 16, Quitta Jones 11) — Lady Devils eliminated
Championship — Hightower Teamblazers 55 (Crystal Smith 14, Shaneece Pettaway 11), Wheat Swamp Hawks 32 (Helena Davis 12)
Boys
10-and-under at Fairfield Recreation Center
Greenville Grizzlies 54 (Kwami Smith 10, Jaetavion Edwards 10), Wayne County Blazers 20 (Joseph Baker 8 ) — Wayne County Blazers eliminated
Championship — Brinson Tar Heels 58 (Collin Jacobs 19, Daekwon Gaston 13), Greenville Grizzlies 48 (Salik Edwards 20, Tyrique Suggs 11)
12-and-under at Fairfield Recreation Center
Martin C. Freeman 68 (Jalen Jones 15, Creshawn Belcher 14), Salvation Army 64 (Kevin Cherry 18, Jordan Williams 15)
Carolina Dream 61 (Anthony Winkey 18, Jojo Grant 11), N.C. Wizards 51 (Corey Hatch 11)
Wilson Tar Heels 53 (Jordan Sharpe 10), Greenville Grizzlies 51 (John Simpson 16)
Martin C. Freeman 70 (Jalen Jones 15, Jaquan Brownridge 14), Carolina Dream 60 (Carl Huffman 18, Maurice McCaffity 12)
Wayne County Blazers 57 (Anthony Mundle 16, Quavius Hollowman 11), Wilson Tar Heels 45 (Bravon Davis 10)
Championship: Wayne County Blazers 48 (Javan Garden 14, Quavius Hollowman 13), Martin C. Freeman 47 (Jaquan Brownridge 13, Creshawn Belcher 10, Jalen Jones 10)
14-and-under at Holloway Recreation Center
Game 1 — N.C. Celtics 83 (Daquan Langston 25, Toby Hines 17, Rasheed Artis 11), Hightower Hoopsters 79 (J. Carlton 30, W. Richard 16, B. Harper 11) — Hightower Hoopsters eliminated
Game 2 — Fayetteville Warriors 63 (Sydney Henderson 24, Chris Carter 12), Wayne County Blazers 47 (Kelvin Boseman 14, T. Midgette 16)
Game 3 — N.C. Celtics 71 (Joshua Simmons 15, Toby Hines 13, Brandon Ward 11), N.C. Wizards 49 (Tarvis Hooker 13, Terrence Outlaw 7) — N.C. Wizards eliminated
Game 4 — Wayne County Blazers II 76 (Jonathan Midgette 31, Jamel Brodie 12), Fayetteville Warriors 57 (Sydney Henderson 13, Joseph Haskins 11) — Fayetteville Warriors eliminated
NO CHAMPIONSHIP
16-and-under at Kinston High School (KHS) and Martin C. Freeman (MCF) Recreation Center
L.A. Heat 84 (Cyshan Nixon 19, Demonte Lewis 14, Derrick Reese 12), Titans 44 (Salladin Muhammad 17)
Carolina Dream 65 (Trey Govette 18, Zack Sowell 11), Greene County 62 (Daniel May 25, Eric Johnson 14, Roy Webb 13)
Kinston Freeman 99 (Trey Harris 20, Donald Artis 10), Warriors 67 (F. Jackson 23, T. Ingram 18, L. Ballard 11)
Kinston 71 (Joshea Singleton 13, Willie Mills 12, Ricardo Davis 12), Cavaliers 65 (Jaquan Brown 20, Antwan Burns 14)
Blazers 95 (Jonathan Hart 19, Jeneri Tyrus 16, Melvin Deveuax 13), Heat 53 (Jamer Webb 24, Tyson Nixon 7)
N.C. Wizards 85 (Marquez Jones 23, Reggie Bullock 20, Carson Toney 15), Kinston Freeman 75 (Demarcus Quinerly 24, Bo Ingram 22, Jacquin Davis 12)
7:30 p.m.: Championship — Blazers xx, N.C. Wizards xx
18-and-under at Kinston High School
East Carolina Force 76 (Nathan Nelly 29, Forrest Warren 15, Tyler Hawkins 12), Coastal Cougars 72, OT (Donnell Matthews 15, Marquel Davis 15, Albert Barron 14) — Coastal Cougars eliminated
Championship — Kinston Freeman 86 (Curtis Hines 13, Jermaine Miller 11, Quinton Coples 11), East Carolina Force 48 (Nathan Nelly 13)
6:47 p.m.: FINAL SCORE — EAST RUTHERFORD 8, NORTH LENOIR 1
6:41 p.m.: End of the sixth inning — ER 8, NL 1 — Croom gets the first two outs of the inning; Matt Kennedy comes on, gives up a hit to Milam and gets the final out
6:32 p.m.: Middle of the sixth inning — ER 8, NL 1 — NL goes 1-2-3
6:26 p.m.: End of the fifth inning — ER 8, NL 1 — Guffey walks, Blanton singles but no one scores
6:16 p.m.: Middle of the fifth inning — ER 8, NL 1 — Josh Bass singles, but that’s it as he stranded at second
6:09 p.m.: End of the fourth inning — ER 8, NL 1 — NL commits two more errors, but they don’t cost the Hawks as Tyler Smith catches two Cavaliers stealing. Michael Milam picks up a hit in the frame, too
5:58 p.m.: Middle of the fourth inning — ER 8, NL 1 — Park gives up a single to Andrew Manning, but strikes out the other three Hawks
5:48 p.m.: End of the third inning — ER 8, NL 1 — A fielder’s choice by Jarrett Guffey scored Michael Milam for ER’s run. Milam started the inning with a double. Milam’s run was scored on a controversial play in which NL coach Jim Montague thought Milam was out.
5:41 p.m.: With one out in the bottom of the third and runners on first and third, Pope is relieved by C.C. Croom
5:33 p.m.: Middle of the third inning — ER 7, NL 1 — Park gets NL 1-2-3
5:28 p.m.: End of the second inning — ER 7, NL 1 — Baldwin’s three-run jack is the highlight of the inning, although Guffey had an RBI double and Blanton and Leach had RBI singles. Those ER bats are for real.
5:26 p.m.: Seth Baldwin has hit a three-run homer to give ER a 7-1 lead with still only one out in the bottom of the second.
5:18 p.m.: Alphin lifted after giving up a walk and two hits that has led to a 2-1 ER lead with one out. Dewitt Pope on to pitch with runners on second and third
5:07 p.m.: Middle of the second inning — NL 1, ER 1 — Taylor Ginn earns a one-out walk, but is stranded at first
5:02 p.m.: End of the first inning — NL 1, ER 1 — Another big error costs NL as RF C.C. Croom bobbles a single from Seth Baldwin. Baldwin scores on Michael Melton’s single to right, an unearned run against Alphin.
4:54 p.m.: Middle of the first inning — NL 1, ER coming to bat — Sutton scores on a sacrifice fly by Grady
4:51 p.m.: ER coach Bobby Dale Reynolds replaces starting pitcher Tyler Smith with Cullen Park; Sutton is on third
4:47 p.m.: Brandon Sutton lines a double to right field to start the game
4:40 p.m.: North Lenoir lost the coin toss and will be the visiting team. Here’s the starting lineup for the Hawks
Brandon Sutton, CF;
Sthil Sowers, DH; for 2B Cameron Beaman
Bryce Grady, SS;
Andrew Manning, LF;
Tyler Smith, C;
Taylor Ginn, 3B;
C.C. Croom, RF;
Josh Bass, 1B;
John Alphin, P
East Rutherford’s starting lineup:
Zeke Blanton, LF;
Ryan Leach, SS;
Seth Baldwin, RF;
Michael Melton, 3B;
Tyler Smith, P; (Yes, that’s right; Smith threw 101 pitches in the Game 2 but is starting Game 3)
Michael Milam, C;
Daniel Goodnight, 2B;
Brandon Friend, DH; for 1B Cullen Park
Jarrett Guffey, CF
4:17 p.m.: The NCHSAA is clearing out the stands now and Game 3 is set to begin at 4:45 p.m.
4:08 p.m.: FINAL SCORE — EAST RUTHERFORD 3, NORTH LENOIR 1 — Carter Capps earns a one-out walk, but pinch-runner Corey Johnson is stranded on first. Smith exits the game after the walk, Park gets Alphin out in a righty-righty matchup and Smith re-enters to get Sutton out. Final line for pitchers: Tyler Smith earns the win for ER by going 6 2/3 innings, striking out seven, walking four and giving up four hits. The one run he gave up was earned. Brandon Sutton gets the loss, giving up nine hits, striking out seven, walking none and hitting one. Only one of the three runs he gave up was earned. Tyler Smith was 2-for-3 for ER, while no NL batter had more than one hit. Game 3 will begin at approximately 4:45 p.m.
3:55 p.m.: End of the sixth — ER 3, NL 1 — ER’s Zeke Blanton doubles home Michael Milam for the two-run lead as the Cavaliers pick up three hits in the frame.
3:40 p.m.: Middle of the sixth — ER 2, NL 1 — For the second straight inning, the Hawks waste a leadoff walk as Grady is stranded at first. A controversial call by the first base umpire, though, as he calls Manning out for interference for the first out of the inning. ER’s Smith up to seven Ks in the game
3:29 p.m.: End of the fifth — ER 2, NL 1 — Smith hits a two-out single, but is left at first. Sutton strikes out the first two batters of the inning, both looking. Sutton has six strikeouts.
3:21 p.m.: Middle of the fifth — ER 2, NL 1 — Alphin leads off inning with a walk. Sutton grounds into a fielder’s choice, then is caught stealing. Sowers strikes out to end the inning. ER’s Smith now has six strikeouts in the game.
3:13 p.m.: End of the fourth — ER 2, NL 1 — Sutton allows two singles with one out, but NL 3B Taylor Ginn comes up with a spectacular stop of a screaming line drive to stop the Cavaliers.
3:06 p.m.: Middle of the fourth — ER 2, NL 1 — Smith retires NL in order, including the last two by strikeouts looking
3:00 p.m.: End of the third — ER 2, NL 1 — Leach and Smith single but are left stranded at first and second. Sutton strikes out Park swinging to end inning
2:48 p.m.: Middle of the third — ER 2, NL 1 — Sutton leads off inning with a single, advances to second on a groundout and scores on a double from Grady
2:41 p.m.: End of the second — ER 2, NL 0 — Cullen Park leads off inning with a double, but is eventually stranded at third base
2:31 p.m.: Middle of the second — ER 2, NL 0 — NL gets two outs quickly and tries to rally as C.C. Croom walked and Carter Capps singled. But a groundout to third ends the NL inning
2:21 p.m.: End of the first — ER 2, NL 0 — Two errors by NL (Ginn at 3B and Croom in RF) score two unearned runs for ER. Baldwin singles for ER’s lone hit while Melton gets a sacrifice fly
2:11 p.m.: Middle of the first — NL 0, ER coming to bat — Sthil Sowers doubles with one out but is stranded at second
2:04 p.m.: First pitch from Smith to Sutton, a ball
1:52 p.m.: Coaches, umpires meeting at home plate. Good crowd for both NL and ER at Doak
1:39 p.m.: Here are the starting lineups; North Lenoir is the visiting team and will bat first:
Brandon Sutton, P;
Sthil Sowers, DH; for Cameron Beaman, 2B
Bryce Grady, SS
Andrew Manning, LF
Tyler Smith, C
Taylor Ginn, 3B
C.C. Croom, RF
Carter Capps, 1B
John Alphin, CF
East Rutherford is the home team:
Zeke Blanton, LF
Ryan Leach, SS
Seth Baldwin, RF
Michael Melton, 3B
Tyler Smith, P
Cullen Park, 1B
Michael Milam, C
Tyler Deaton, DH; for Daniel Goodnight, 2B
Jarrett Guffey, CF
1:23 p.m.: Here at Doak Field and C.B. Aycock has wrapped up the 3A title with a 10-2 win against SE Guilford. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me last night — I appreciate you guys and gals for checking with the ol’ blog here! It’s overcast and 81 degrees and the teams are warming up on the field. Starting lineups coming up shortly and the game should start at 2 p.m. as scheduled.
Check back here all day for results; Special thanks to Tim Knobeloch, Rhondra Fleming, Howard Wooley, Tine Perry and Scott Alston for their assistance in these updates.
10:36 P.M. — FINAL UPDATE FOR SATURDAY — CHECK BACK SUNDAY FOR MORE RESULTS
Girls
14-and-under at Rochelle Middle School
East Carolina Storm 60 (Lindsey Corbett 15, Jasmine Canady 11, Cookie Wingfield 10), Carolina Dream 16 (Jamie Cherry 6, Kristin Moss 6)
Carolina Dream 49 (Joetecia Jones 20, Destinee McDougle 12), Lady Swish 15 (Dayana Gonzalez 5)
East Carolina Storm 64 (Lindsey Corbett 20, Danielle Askew 11, Rachel Thompson 10), Lady Swish 7 (Tyvi Wright 3)
16-and-under at North Lenoir High School
Game 1: East Carolina Storm 46 (Molly Lewis 14, Chelsea McGowen 14), Lady Panthers 34 (Alexis Blow 21)
Game 2: Crystal Coast Wildfire 62 (Shiyana Houser 14, Tysheia Robison 12, Morgan King 11), Lady Warriors 49 (Melissa Thomas 17, Marissa McCaffity 12, Arneka Montford 10)
Game 3: Lady Cheetahs 58 (Danielle Butts 20, Devona Bond 10), East Carolina Storm 51 (Karissa Herring 10)
Game 4: Lady Panthers 65 (Alexis Blow 24, Teera Clark 12), Lady Warriors 55 (Shayana Houser 15, Morgan King 12) — Lady Warriors eliminated
Game 5: Lady Cheetahs 71 (Danielle Butts 33, Equali Vines 18 ), Crystal Coast Wildfire 54 (Arneka Montford 14, Tracy Collins 14)
Game 6: East Carolina Storm 54 (Addrienne Lewis 11, Karissa Herring 14, Quiesha Miller 12), Lady Panthers 48 (Alexis Blow 15, Shakira Brown 10) — Lady Panthers eliminated
18-and-under at North Lenoir High School
Hightower Teamblazers 69 (Emoni Jones 20, Shaneece Pettiway 10), Wheat Swamp Hawks 41 (Marissa Lanier 13, Helena Davis 10)
Hightower Teamblazers 69 (Tyler K. 19, Shaneece Pettiway 19), Lady Devils 43 (Karissa Herring 16, Shae Gardner 14)
Wheat Swamp Hawks 50 (Marissa Lanier 19, Helena Davis 11), Lady Devils 23 (Kaylan Melvin 11)
Boys
10-and-under at Fairfield Recreation Center
Game 1: Greenville Grizzlies 51 (William Brechtelbauer 12, Tyrique Suggs 10), Wayne County Blazers 21 (Malik Winbush 7)
Game 2: Brinson Tar Heels 45 (Daekwon Gaston 10), Heat 26 (Taji Moore 4)
Game 3: Brinson Tar Heels 53 (Daekwon Gaston 25), Greenville Grizzlies 43 (Tyrique Suggs 12, Salik Edwards 8 )
Game 4: Wayne County Blazers 39 (Tyrate McClain 6), Heat 38 (Myhall Hart 10) — Heat eliminated
12-and-under at Fairfield Recreation Center
Pool A: N.C. Wizards, Carolina Dream, Wilson Tar Heels and Greenville Grizzlies
Pool B: Martin C. Freeman, Wayne County Blazers and Salvation Army
Wayne County Blazers 52 (Koran Howell 14, Quavius Holloman 14), Martin C. Freeman 36 (Jaquan Brownridge 11, Jalen Jones 8 )
Carolina Dream 57 (Maurice McCaffity 18, Ashley Williams 16), Wilson Tar Heels 46 (Jordan Sharpe 13, Gary Phillips 9)
Greenville Grizzlies 66 (Kevin Randolph 14, Alex Sapiuski 14, Deandre Suggs 12), N.C. Wizards 36 (Saequan Wooten 8 )
Wayne County Blazers 65 (Javon Darven 18, Anthony Mundle 18 ), Salvation Army 44 (Denzel Keys 14, Freddie Rambert 9)
Carolina Dream 53 (Maurice Morris 14), Greenville Grizzlies 51 (John Simpson 16, Kwani Suggs 14)
Wilson Tar Heels 56 (Jordan Sharpe 11), N.C. Wizards 33 (Andrew Lopez 7, Marquan Graham 10)
14-and-under at Rochelle Middle School (RMS) and Holloway Recreation Center (HRC)
Pool A: Wayne County Blazers II, Crystal Coast Wildfire and N.C. Wizards
Pool B: N.C. Celtics, Jones Express and Fayetteville Warriors
Pool C: N.C. Wizards Elite, Hightower Hoopsters and Wayne County Blazers I
N.C. Wizards 61 (Antoine Miller 12, Kortez Hill 11, Taiheen Mills 10), Wayne County Blazers II 55 (Tim Midgette 26)
N.C. Celtics 90 (Josh Sessoms 15, Major Kennedy 10, Bfandon Ward 11), Jones Express 34 (J. Huntley 10, J. Kittrell 8 )
Hightower Hoopsters 75 (Wyatt Richard 20, Shaquille Streeter 16, Johntay Hopper 13), N.C. Wizards Elite 73 (Sitera Brewer 15, Quinn Simmons 12, Jarel Armstrong 14)
N.C. Wizards 55 (Traheem Mills 13, Corey Barnes 11, Terrance Outlaw 10), Crystal Coast Wildfire 54 (Tauris McConner 12, William Bryant 13)
Fayetteville Warriors 80 (Willie Gilmore 23, Sidney Henderson 19, Rhasaan Britton 10), Jones Express 36 (Adrian Dudley 11, Rashad Yelverton 10)
Wayne County Blazers I 59 (Jim Midgette 32, Jim Brody 12), Hightower Hoopsters 56 (James Carlton 15)
Wayne County Blazers II 50 (Tim Midgette 18 ), Crystal Coast Wildfire 48 (William Bryant 15, Rashad Benjamin 15)
N.C. Celtics 63 (Koby Hines 17, Duangena Lansha 14), Fayetteville Warriors 61 (Bill Rhasan 17, Willie Gilmore 12)
Wayne County Blazers I 69 (Jonathan Midgette 34, Jamal Brody 13) N.C. Wizards Elite 62 (Malcolm Dawson 25, Quinn Simmons 12)
16-and-under at Martin C. Freeman (MCF) and Kinston High School (KHS)
Pool A: N.C. Wizards, Carolina Dream and Greene County
Pool B: Kinston, Wayne County Blazers and Cavaliers
Pool C: Titans, Crystal Coast Wildfire and L.A. Heat
Pool D: Kinston Freeman, N.C. Celtics and Warriors
N.C. Wizards 80 (Mike Tucker 12, Reggie Bullock 10), Carolina Dream 25 (Jack Sowell 11, Brandon Fullforth 8 )
L.A. Heat 63 (Jamar Webb 17, Demonta Lemon 16), Crystal Coast Wildfire 53 (Josh Moore 14, Demarcus Howell 8 )
Wayne County Blazers 74 (Jonathan Hart 15, Dwight Smith 15), Cavaliers 50 (Jaquan Brown 13, Mark Ross 10)
N.C. Celtics 76 (Jamel Creech 32, Daquon Langston 9), Warriors 74 (Freddie Jackson 19, Lawrence Ballard 16, Terrell Ingram 13, Jean Boston 13)
18-and-under at Kinston High School
Game 1: Coastal Cougars 76 (Victor Holloway 14, Chevalier Howell 16, Donnell Mattthews 13), East Carolina Force 41 (Nathan Healy 13, Forrest Warren 12)
Game 2: Kinston Freeman 68 (Quinton Coples 10, Bo Ingram 9, Marcus Hemby 8 ), Runnin’ Rebels 53 (Tyron Laughinghouse 23, Terrick Edwards 18)
Game 3: Kinston Freeman 89 (Quinton Coples 22, Curtis Hines 19, Bo Ingram 13), Coastal Cougars 73 (Marquel Davis 18, Darnell Matthews 12, Chevalier Howell 10)
Game 4: East Carolina Force 55 (Nathan Healy 11, Ty Pack 11), Runnin’ Rebels 52 (Tyron Laughinghouse 21, Terrick Edwards 9, Patrick Taylor 9) — Runnin’ Rebels eliminated
9:57 p.m.: FINAL SCORE — NORTH LENOIR 4, EAST RUTHERFORD 0 — Sowers earns the complete-game win by striking out eight, walking two and only giving up three hits. Leach picks up the loss by giving up three hits, four walks, four runs (three earned) and striking out six. No batter on either team had more than a hit, but none was bigger than Sthil’s two-run blast in the first. Congratulations Hawks!
9:47 p.m.: End of the sixth inning — NL 4, ER 0 — Grady leads inning off by being walked, steals second and scores on an RBI single by Andrew Manning. Inning ends with a double play
9:37 p.m.: Middle of the sixth inning — NL 3, ER 0 — Sowers escapes trouble again after allowing the first two Cavaliers on base. But he gets a fielder’s choice, a flyout to Andrew Manning (who froze Blanton on third) and struck out Smith to end the inning
9:24 p.m.: End of the fifth inning — NL 3, ER 0 — Alphin begins the inning by reaching on an error. However, Sutton grounds out to pitcher, Alphin is thrown out while trying to steal third and Sowers strikes out
9:14 p.m.: Middle of the fifth inning — NL 3, ER 0 — Sthil gives up his first two hits of the game to Park and Goodnight, but escapes trouble by striking out Guffey looking
9:02 p.m.: End of the fourth inning — NL 3, ER 0 — NL goes down in order to Leach, including one strikeout
8:58 p.m.: Middle of the fourth inning — NL 3, ER 0 — Sthil retires ER in order on 11 pitches, including a strikeout. He’s now retired 10 in a row
8:51 p.m.: End of the third inning — NL 3, ER 0 — Sutton reaches on a passed ball third strike, then scores on an RBI single by Grady
8:37 p.m.: Middle of the third inning — NL 2, ER 0 — Sthil retires ER in order on seven pitches, including a fantastic defensive play by Grady
8:32 p.m.: End of the second inning — NL 2, ER 0 — NL goes down in order to Leach, including two strikeouts
8:26 p.m.: Middle of the second inning — NL 2, ER 0 — Sthil retires ER in order, including a strikeout and two groundballs to short
8:20 p.m.: End of the first inning — NL 2, ER 0 — Grady, Manning and Smith fly out in order to right field to end the inning
8:17 p.m.: NL 2, ER 0, no outs in the bottom of the first — Sthil hits a two-run HR that scores himself and Sutton (who walked)
8:11 p.m.: Middle of the first inning — ER 0, NL coming to bat — Sthil retires Blanton and Leach on ground balls, then Baldwin reaches on a Grady error. Baldwin makes it to second on a wild pitch, but Melton grounds out to end the inning
8:03 p.m.: First pitch, a ball to Zeke Blanton from Sthil
7:45 p.m.: Here’s a good omen — Princeton beat East Surry, 7-3, meaning the East teams are 2-0 so far in Day 1 of the championships
7:25 p.m.: Here are the starting lineups for each team:
East Rutherford is the away team and will bat first —
Zeke Blanton, LF
Ryan Leach, P
Seth Baldwin, RF
Michael Melton, 3B
Tyler Smith, 1B
Cullen Park, SS
Michael Milam, C
Daniel Goodnight, 2B
Jarrett Guffey, CF
North Lenoir is the home team
Brandon Sutton, CF
Sthil Sowers, P
Bryce Grady, SS
Andrew Manning, LF
Tyler Smith, C
Taylor Ginn, 3B
C.C. Croom, RF
Josh Bass, 1B
John Alphin DH for Cameron Beaman 2B
7:10 p.m.: It’s a final — C.B. Aycock 9, SE Guilford 3. Both teams are warming up on the field. And it’s going to be quite a matchup on the mounds with Sthil (ECU) going for NL and Ryan Leach (UNC) going for ER.
6:45 p.m.: C.B. Aycock is leading 7-1 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. At this rate, the NL-East Rutherford game should start on time. Stay tuned here for all the updates.
Check back here Friday night, Saturday and Sunday for State Games results. The Eastern N.C. qualifying games are taking place in Kinston this weekend and you’ll be able to get all your scores here.
Here are Friday’s scores (thanks to Chip Medlin for compiling these):
Friday night games 16U boys division
Site: Kinston H.S.
7 pm Crystal Coast Wildfire 46 v Titans 25
Top scorers: CCW- Dustin Mason 10, Kenneth Williams 10
Titans- Asael Muhammed 8 Saladin Muhammed 8
8 pm Kinston Freeman I 84 v NC Celtics 72
top scorers: KF- Jacquin Davis 16, Donovan Ingram 10
NCC- Travis Morgan 21, Jamel Creech 14
Site: Martin C. Freeman
7 pm NC Wizards 98 v Greene County 53
top scorers: NCW- Jawan’ Hargett 14,Reggie Bullock 12,
Mister Height (not kidding)12
Greene Co- (no one listed)
8 pm Wayne County Blazers 77 v Kinston Freeman II 68
top scorers:WCB- Jonathan Hart 18, Jenieri Cyrus 14,
Desmond Rayford 14
KF II- Jamel Gardner 18, Joshea Singleton 11
Come back Saturday and Sunday for all the results.
Blogging with Bryan C. Hanks 