A&T baseball falls
to Bethune-Cookman
r>
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
It was a heartbreaking,
disappointing and melan
choly ending in an otherwise
wonderful showing in the
2007 MEAC Baseball
Tournament at Norfolk
State's Marty L. Miller Field.
Bethune-Cookman scored
four runs in the bottom of the
eighth to rally and defeat
North Carolina A&T 6-4 in
the MEAC Baseball
Championship Game. The
win earned the Wildcats their
ninth MEAC Championship
in the last 10 seasons. They
will represent the MEAC in
the NCAA Regionals for the
seventh time in the last eight
seasons.
"Coming out of the
loser's bracket is taxing on
your pitching staff, but that's
what happens in a baseball
tournament," said N.C. A&T
head coach Keith Shumate.
"I'm proud of our guys, they
showed mental toughness, we
used guys "over and over
again and they pitched well.
But we just lost to a deserv
ing champion tonight."
The Aggies went to the
loser's bracket after losing to
Norfolk State last Friday.
They came back on Saturday
and defeated Delaware State
and Norfolk State. They then
took the first game on
Sunday against the Wildcats
to earn a chance at winning
their second championship in
three seasons.
Slugger Charlie Gamble
and pitcher John Primus
earned all-tournament honors
for the Aggies.
The Aggies held a 4-2
lead going into the bottom of
the eighth in Game No. 2.
Luis Gonzalez started the
Wildcats rally by singling
through the right side to score
Phi Ho by Charle? W*kins
A&.T head coach Keith Shumate talks strategy with Joe Mclntyre.
Patrick Jones. Angel Negron
tied the game at 4 with anoth
er single, and Chris Brown
gave the Wildcats their first
lead of the game when he sin
gled off of Aggies reliever
Ron Phelps.
After CJ. Beattv led off
the ninth with a walk, the
Wildcats brought in MEAC
Pitcher of the Year Francisco
Rodriguez to close things
out. He retired the next three
Aggies to seal the victory and
earn his first save of the sea
son. Francisco Gomez earned
the win (1-2), while Marquis
Frink ( I - 1 ) took the loss.
"It took a lot of determi
nation and effort to do what
we did in the tournament."
said Shumate. "I'm proud of
our players. They believed in
themselves, they gave a very
good team a very good fight.
But give Bethune credit, they
won the game, we didn't give
it to them."
Matters looked so posi
tive for the Aggeis in the first
game of the double-header.
Gonzalez gave the
Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the
second with a home run to
right field in the first game.
But Joe Mclntyre tied the
game for the Aggies with an
RBI single to center. Nelson
Santos' sacrifice fly to center
gave the Aggies a 2-1 lead.
Jeremy Jones' RBI single in
the fifth put the Aggies up by
twp and Mclntyre, who leads
the MEAC in RBI, earned
another RBI single as he
brought home Jones for a 4-1
lead.
Gamble hit his 300th hit
during a go-ahead home run
that led the Aggies to a 4-3
win over the Wildcats, forc
ing another championship
game because it was only the
Wildcats first loss of the dou
ble-elimination tournament.
Mayo
front pa/fe Bl
total points. Gabby
Mayo and S.E. Raleigh fol
lowed with 70 points.
Fayetteville E.E. Smith fin
ished third. They were fol
lowed by Southern Durham
(42), Raleigh Athens Drive
(36) and Charlotte Vance
(32). There were 48 schools
scoring points in the
women's championships.
East Forsyth's Dylan
Ferris impressed during the
meet, taking both the 800
meter and 1600-meter races.
He finished the 800 meter in
a time of 1:51 .48 . Ferris fin
ished the 1600-meter in
4:14.12. East Forsyth also
finished third in the 3,200
meter relay race with a time
of 7:59.95.
Reynolds senior track
star Charlton Rolle finished
the 110-hurdles in second
with a time of 13.53.
Teammate Korel Mack, fin
ished seventh place with a
time of 14.36.3. The pair
finished third and fourth in
the 300-meter hurdles.
Rolle finished with a time of
37. 72 while Mack finished
with a time of 38.64. Rolle
also finished fifth in the
long jump event. Reynolds
finished sixth in the 1600
meter relay race.
Reynolds' talented pole
vault specialist. Joanna
Wright, continued her domi
nance. She captured a state
championship in the pole
vault after clearing 11-6.
Bflooke Miller, of Watauga,
finished second after clear
ing 10-6. Mt. Tabor's very
talented freshman. Taylor
Dewberry, finished fourth in
the 400-meter race with a
time of 58.14. East
Forsyth's Amanda Jones
-..finished third in the state in
' the 800-meter race, with a
time of 2:17.35. Reynolds'
standout, Shanice Jones,
finished sixth in the 300
meter hurdles with a time of
47.31. North Forsyth's
Michaela McGriff finished
fifth in the state in the dis
cuss after clearing 108-11.
Reynolds 800-meter
relay girl's team finished
third with a time of 1 :42.87.
Mt. Tabor's 1600-meter
relay girl's team finished
eighth, with a time of
4:04.10. East Forsyth's
girl s finished sixth in the
3200-meter relay race. The
Lady Eagles finished in
9:49.47.
Despite respectable per
formances from manyjirea
athletes, all eyes wefe still
on West Charlotte's Trenton
Guy, Jr., and Gabby Mayo,
of S.E. Raleigh. Both had
tremendous meets to earn
Most Valuable Performer
honors.
Guy earned the Most
Valuable Performer award
for the men as he won the
100, finished second in the
200 and anchored both of
the state champion relay
teams in the 100 and 200.
Mayo captured MVP honors
for the women as she won
the 100, 200 and the 100
hurdles.
Charlton Rolle
NCCU sweeps regional track and field awards
CHRONICLE STAFF RI-POKI
North Carolina Central
University swept the men's
regional coach and athletes
of the year for the Division
II outdoor track and field
season as chosen by the
U.S. Track and Field and
Cross Country Coaches
Association.
NCCU freshman
Karjuan Williams Swas
selected as the USTFCCCA
Southeast Region Men's
Track Athlete of the Year,
while fellow NCCU fresh
man Mark Davis, a native of
Cape Coral, Fla., was
named the USTFCCCA
Southeast Region Men's
Field Athlete of the Year.
Williams won the 800
meter run and placed second
in the 400m dash at the
Williams
Central Intercollegiate
Athletic Association
(C1AA) Championship
meet. He enters this week's
NCAA Championships as
the second-seeded qualifier
in the X(K)m run (1:49 17)
and ranks fifth in the 400m
dash (46.64). Williams also
runs on NCCU's fifth-seed
ed 4x400m relay (3: 10.10).
Davis won the ClAA
championship in the high
jump with a 7-3 clearance.
He qualified for the NCAA
Championships in the high
jump and long jump (24-6).
NCCU head coach
Michael Lawson was picked
as the Southeast Region
Men's Coach of the Year
after guiding the Eagles to a
second place finish at the
CIAA Championships and
qualifying 10 student-ath
letes for this weekend's
NCAA Division II National
Championships in
Charlotte. ?
PrepChamps Elite to host combine on June 9
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE V
PrepChamps Elite Combines announced a
regional combine and scorning opportunity on
June 9 at the Dl Greenville Sports Training
Complex in Greenville, SC.
PrepChamps, Inc., headquartered near
Raleigh, and Elite Combines, located near
Nashville, TN. will conduct NFL style football
combines for the best-of-the-best from high
schools throughout the nation. At these
events, regional high school athletes will per
form a variety of core strength and agility
drills, and will also compete in position-specif
ic activities and scoring. All results will be
recorded, certified, and made available to
coaches and scouts looking for scholarship ath
letes.
"This Greenville combine will allow col
lege coaches to see how the top high school
athletes in South Carolina and the Southeast
region measure up." said PrepChamps CEO
Dean Bundchu. "And that's our goal with the
PrepChamps Elite Combines: to give athletes
around the country the opportunity to show
case their skills to collegiate-level coaches and
scouts."
The combines will lake place at Dl Sports
Training Complex of Greenville at 1334 Miller
Rd., Greenville, SC 29607 - where profession
al athletes from the NFL and MLB regularly
train and hone skills. Workouts will take place
from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
High school athletes attending the combine
will participate in the 40-yard dash. 185-pound
bench press, long jump, vertical leap, pro-agili
ty and L-cone drills. Each player will be
weighed and their height and reach measured.
After the combine, the companies will pro
duce individual combine videos for each ath
lete who will have a free player profde posted
on www.PrepChamps.com with their combine
video and highlight reel. This will allow all
athletes, coaches and fans from around the
country to view thevideos at no charge.
For athlete registration forms or more
information, contact Elite Combines Founder -
a former strength and conditioning coach for
collegiate powerhouses like Florida State and
Notre Dame - Kevin Fitzgerald at (615) 497
1563.
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