Steamers
Feel the wind - Team tries for second half run
get your fix
EDENTON - A true junkie
loves more than just the sport
itself. The true junkie loves
more than just watching a
game being played. A true
junkie is driven by more than
the sportsman-like statement;
“you played a good game.”
The win loss column drives a
junkie with a competitive
jones. The junkie needs
competition - the threat of
the loss or the lure and
temptation of the victory
The junkie looks for the next
playing field as he chases his
next fix.
i round my next nx. But it
is not on a field at all. In fact
there are no wood floors,
grass, or nets involved in this
battlefield. I have found a fix
for my competitive jones on
the water...racing sailboats.
There is something amaz
ing about being out on the
water with a team and
working for one ultimate
goal. Just being in the
cockpit of a boat before the
race, feeling the wind, and
waiting to go was like
holding back wild horses.
When you are counting on
your teammates, you are
pushing your body to its
physical limits, and you are
taxing your navigational
know' how to push you to a
victory. Like any team sport, .
sailboat racing is just flat out
exhilarating.
Sailboat racing has just
about everything that makes
team sports great. First and
foremost, competitive
sailboat racing has wins and
losses. There is nothing
worse than a so-called sport
being decided on the opinion
of a judge. Its simple and
exciting, the first boat to
fmish the racing
course...wins.
The second great element
of sailboat racing is team
work. It takes a team to
really sail a large sailboat.
Each person on the crew is
counting on every other
person to do his or her job. A
successful team requires
The
Sports
Junkie
JAMES
BELL
everyone on the boat to
perform. Be it the captain or
the grinder, whatever your
job is on that boat, your
performance can mean the
difference between a win or a
loss at the end of the day.
And lastly, like all great
team sports, sailboat racing
has speed. When you get the
sails trimmed and the wind is
blowing the boat, like an
airplane, lifts and sails at
speeds that boggle the mind
if you have never been on a
boat built to fly.
Kecenuy, in tne last tew
weeks I have begun to
respect, enjoy, and jones for
the sport of sailboat racing. I
have had the opportunity to
be part of a crew on a boat
that sets it sails to win every
race. I have sailed in two
races on that boat. And in
both races the crew of the
Cape Crusader has finished
in the top five.
I’m from the deserts of the
southwest. I'm used to the
arid land and cacti. I’m used
to endless dunes and moun
tains that water forgot. But
now I live near the water. It
was only a natural progres
sion to learn how to sail.
But for me it was more
than just sailing. It was
competing. Sailing is an
outlet. A way to compete in a
team sport.
Since I have been on the
Cape Crusader, we haven’t
won yet. But yet is key We
will.
Sailing is another fix in my
life of competitive desires.
For the sports junkie, it
satisfied, for now, another
jones to not only compete -
but to win.
BY JAMES BELL
Sports Writer
EDENTON-The Edenton
Steamers, after a first half
that fizzled and sputtered,
have shown signs of turn
ing things around in the
second half. They got four
wins in two months during
the first half of the season.
But they have already sur
passed that win total with
five wins in only eight
games into the second half.
“A lot of our guys are get
ting better,” Steamer Man
ager Todd Hunter said of
the apparent turn around.
“Many of the players just
needed some time to adjust
to the game at this level and
some confidence in them
selves and their team
mates.”
The Steamers finished
the first half of the season
in last place of the Coastal
Plain League, Northern Di
vision. But what made it
much worse was the way
they did it. They tallied
only four total wins while
being outscored 110 runs to
41.
Individually the players
also struggled. On offense
the Steamers had troubles
getting on base and making
the big plays. The team
only totaled 210 hits in the
first half and through the
months of May, June, and
July, the Steamers only to
taled 8 home runs and aver
aged a mere .208 batting av
erage.
The Steamers struggled
just as much in the field as
they did on the plate. The
defense only turned 13
double plays in 50 games.
Pitching, as a team, fur
thered the problems of the
Steamers. The Steamer’s
pitching staff walked a
staggering 135 batters in
the first half. Arid with a
4.64 Earned Run Average
(ERA) the Steamers often
had to play from behind
early in the game.
But all that has changed
almost over night. Since
July 4th Steamers have
compiled a record of 5-3 and
have outscored their oppo
nents 35-30.
“The team is just starting
to play really well,” assis
tant coach Rick Matsko
said. “We are putting it all
together right now.”
Putting it all together is
exactly what the Steamers
have done so far in the sec
ond half.
The bats have come off
the shoulders and the hit
ters are making big hits
common place at Historic
Hicks field. And the de
fense has started to make
spectacular plays look rou
tine.
Pitching is starting to
look like a strong point on
the team instead of a weak
ness. After a first half of
high' scoring losses, the
Steamers have pitched a
shutout and held their op
ponents to three runs or
less in three other games.
“Our pitchers have got
ten some innings and expe
rience,” Coach Matsko said
about the improved perfor
mance of his pitching staff.
“They are getting more and
more confident every
game.”
The bottom line for the
Steamers is putting all ele
ments of the game together
■each and every night. Too
often, the Steamers were
hitting well but not fielding
well, or pitching great but
having trouble with their
bats.
“We can keep winning if
we put all aspects of base
ball together every time we
take the field,” Matsko said.
“We can make a run for the
second half Champion
ship.”
The Steamers are 6-3 now
and .are only a half game
out of first place. With
their rosters set and guys
starting to really step up a
second half championship
is not out of the question.
“Yeah I think we have a
real chance at winning the
second help,” Head Coach
Steve Hay said. “We (the
coaches) haven’t given up
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and neither have the play
ers.”
For the Steamers to make
the playoffs they most
likely will have to win the
second half championship.
At-large teams that make
the playoffs who didn’t win
either the first or second
half championships get in
based on their overall sea
son record. The Steamer’s
poor win/loss record in,the
first half will prevent them
from earning a playoff
birth if they do not win the
second half.
Doubleheader
mixed blessing
The Edenton Steamers
scored seven runs in the sec
ond inning and prevailed 8-3
Saturday night over the Pen
insula Pilots in the first
game of a Coastal Plain
League doubleheader.
Nick Shimer, Bray LaDow
and Kyle Pope each had two
hits in the opener. Shimer
and LaDow each drove in two
runs as Edenton improved its
second-half record to 5-2.
Former Perquimans stand
out Weston Curies pitched
the final two innings, allow
ing two hits and striking out
one.
Then, despite allowing
only three hits, the Steam
ers fell 7-2 to the Peninsula
Pilots in the second game of
Saturday night’s double
header.
The loss dropped Edenton
to 5-3 in the second half of
the Coastal Plain League
season.
Peninsula scored four
times in the fifth to break a
1-1 tie in the nightcap. The
Pilots did so with only one
hit, two errors, three walks
and a hit batsman.
Edenton’s Nick Shimer
collected two hits in the
game, just as he did in the
opener.
Todd Nicholas pitched the
first 4 1/3 innings, allowing
only two hits. But he walked
eight Peninsula batters.
Brandon Manuel pitched
the remainder of the seven
inning game, surrendering
one hit and one walk.
The Steamers game at the
Outer Banks was rained out
Monday night. The game
will be made up as part of a
doubleheader there on July
26, beginning at 6:05 p.m.
Watch Them Play!
HOME SCHEDULE (HICKS FIELD)
Date Visiting Team Game Time
May 31 • Petersburg Generals 7:00
June 2 - Wilmington Sharks 7:00
June 3 - Florence RedWolves 7:00
June 6 - Outer Banks Daredevils 7:00
June 11 - Petersburg Generals 7:00
June 13 - Peninsula Pilots 7:00
June 19 - Outer Banks Daredevils 4 7:00
June 21 - Peninsula Pilots 7:00
June 23 - Petersburg Generals 7:00
June 24 - Gastonia Grizzlies 7:00
June 26 - Peninsula Pilots 7:00
June 29 • Durham Americans 5:00
July 1 - Outer Banks Daredevils ' 7:00
July 4 - Petersburg Generals 3:00
July 5 - Outer Banks Daredevils 7:00
July 9 - Fayetteville SwampDogs 7:00
July 10 - Wilson Tobs 7:00
July 12 - Peninsula Pilots 7:00
July 12 - Peninsula Pilots DbIHdr- L
July 16 - Spartanburg Stingers 7:00
July 18 - Outer Banks Daredevils 7:00
July 25 - Petersburg Generals 7:00
July 28 - Thomasville Hi-Toms 7:00
July 31 - Petersburg Generals 7:00
August 1 - Peninsula Pilots 7:00
August 6 - Outer Banks Daredevils 7:00
m
Rain Out
L (13-3)
L (6-2)
L (15-5)
L(11-3
w(3-1) :
L(4-1) :
I- (8-4)
W (2-1)
W(2-1) .
W (7-6)
L(7-3) :
L (4-0)
Rain Out
W (6-5)
W (5-3)
N/A
W (3-0)
W (8-3)
(2-7)
♦Overall Record (9-23) *Second Half (7-3)
‘includes both home and away games played
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