New Hanover Stops North
Brunswick In Seashell Finals
BY DOUG RUTTER
North Brunswick's surprise run in
the Seashell Invitational tame up a
little short as New Hanover rolled to
an 8-3 victory last Wednesday in the
championship game of the high
school baseball tournament.
Chris Moore and Fletcher Bates
each had a two-run single, and Trot
Nixon and Shawn Gallagher
knocked in one run apiece to lift the
Wildcats to a first-place finish in the
eight-team Easter tournament at
Wilmington's Hardee Field.
Despite the loss. Scorpion Coach
Wcs Coward was proud of his
team's two tournament wins and its
effort in the title game against a 4-A
New Hanover club ranked eighth in
the nation.
"1 feel like we made a good show
ing. We're barely a 2-A school en
rollment wise and we showed that
we can play with the big boys. I
think going into the confcrcnce it'll
give us a boost."
New Hanover freshman Eric
Faulk pitched into the seventh in
ning before being relieved by Nixon
for the final two outs. Faulk yielded
four hits and stmck out seven.
North pitcher Demetrius Bell
helped the Wildcats by issuing 10
walks. The senior left-hander was
effective when he got the ball over
the plate, giving up just four hits and
striking out seven.
"Except for those walks I feel like
"I feel like we
made a good
showing. We' re
barely a 2-A school
enrollment wise
and we showed
that we can play
with the big boys."
?Scorpion Coach
Wes Coward
it was a real close ball game," Co
ward said. "Thai's what hurt us to
night. We got behind early and
couldn't come back."
North Brunswick took a 1-0 lead
in the first inning. Jared McGcc
reached base on a fielder's choice,
stole second, moved to third on
Adrian Black's single and scored
when Gallagher bobblcd a grounder
to second base.
New Hanover struck for three
runs in the top of the sccond after
Bell issued two walks and hit a bat
ter to load the bases. With two outs.
Bell walked in one run and Bates
followed with a two-run single to
left.
The Wildcats added another run
in the fourth. With two outs, Bell
walked the bases loaded and
Gallagher scored from third on a
wild pitch. Curtis Martin was lagged
out at home when he tried to score
on another wild pitch.
In the fourth. New Hanover
scored four runs on a single by
Nixon, a two-run base hit by Moore
and an RBI double by Gallagher.
Trailing 8-1, North Brunswick
scored two runs in the bottom of the
seventh. A hit batsman, error and
single by Man Mini/, loaded the
bases for Jeff Clark.
Faulk walked Clark, allowing
Robert Hcwett to scorc from third.
Timmy Campbell scored the third
Scorpion run on a wild pitch before
Nixon was brought in to record the
final two outs.
New Hanover made it to the tour
nament finals by beating Marion,
S.C., 5-3 in the opening round and
West Brunswick 13-1 in the semifi
nals. North beat Jacksonville 7-0 in
the first round and Laney 4-1 in the
semifinals.
North Brunswick was scheduled
to resume Waccamaw 2-A Con
ference play Tuesday at South Robe
son before hosting Fairmont on Fri
day. The Scorps arc 2-0 in the con
ference and 4-3 overall.
Game Summary
New Han. 0 3 14 0 0 0?8 4 3
N. Bruns. 10 0 0 0 0 2?3 4 1
Cougars
Get First
Win Of
Season
South Brunswick's baseball team
picked up its first win of the season
last Tuesday in a 4-0 shutout of
Jacksonville in the Scashcll Invitat
ional tournament in Wilmington.
Brian Ricker was the winning
pitcher for the Cougars, scattering
six hits and sinking out eight
Cardinal baiters. South had lost its
first eight games of the season.
Mike Clcwis had two singles and
an RBI for South Brunswick and
Jason Bracey added a double. "We
played solid defense and had decent
pitching," Cougar Coach Jack
Brown said.
In tournament action last Wed
nesday, Hoggard scored five runs in
the first inning and cruised to a 7-1
win over South Brunswick.
Vikings Drew Mcintosh and
Duane Ross singled in the bottom of
the first and scored on Alan Cox's
base hit. Will Taylor also had a two
run single for Hoggard in the first.
The Cougars scored their only run
in the first when Eric McMahan sin
gled and scored on a passed ball.
McMahan also had a double and a
triple against Hoggard.
South Brunswick loaded the bases
in the fourth inning, but Hoggard
pitcher Brian Amra ended the threat
with a double play.
Lewis Vaught had a triple for
South Brunswick. Byron Bauson
pitched four innings for the Cougars,
and Rodney Willoughby pitched in
relief.
South Brunswick is 0-3 in the
Waccamaw 2-A Conference and 1-9
overall. The Cougars were scheduled
to play at Whitcvillc Tuesday before
hosting West Brunswick Friday.
SPORTINGSCENE
Country Boys Ploy Big
In Seashell Tournament
Brunswick County's three high school baseball teams proved last week
that country boys can play ball just as well as city boys.
Brunswick County schools were 5-4 in last week's Scashell Invitational
tournament in Wilmington. New Hanover County schools also were 5-4.
While the New Hanover Wildcats captured the tournament champi
onship. North Brunswick finished
second and West Brunswick was
third. As they say in Wilmington,
"Not a bad showing lor diem country
folk."
The Scorpions' run to the cham
pionship game surprised a lot of on
lookers. It shouldn't have. North
Brunswick has a solid club with three
good starting pitchers, a luxury for
most schools the size of North.
After missing out on the state playoffs last year. North Brunswick is in a
position to make a run at the Waccamaw Conference tide this season. The
Scorps believe they can do it, and rightfully so.
Of course, they'll have to contend with West Brunswick, among others.
The Trojans showed some guts last week, winning two games in extra in
nings and rebounding from a humiliating 13-1 loss to New Hanover to place
third.
There was a lot of good baseball played during the tournament. And 1
do mean A LOT of baseball. Four of the 11 games went into extra innings,
including a 14-inning thriller in which Marion, SC., defeated Hoggard 4-3.
The Scashell definitely had its tense moments. Not the least of which
was North Coach Wes Coward and West Coach Mike Aldcrson both getting
ejected in their games against Laney.
Coward was shown the exit in the eighth inning with the Scorpions and
Buccaneers tied at 1-1. North Brunswick went on to win the game 4-1 in
nine innings.
Alderson was tossed in the sixth inning with West trailing 3-2. With the
coach looking on from the Hardee Field parking lot, the Trojans tied the
game in the seventh and won it in the 10th.
What are the odds of that happening? Two Brunswick County coaches
get ejected in extra-inning games against the same team on consecutive
nights and the local teams win both games.
Maybe the strangest thing 1 saw at the Scashell was West Bninswick
right fielder Wayne Branch getting bcaned in three consecutive trips to the
plate against Laney.
Branch was hit in the third, fifth and seventh innings. He wasn't hurt.
He just shook off the beanballs and scored twice, including the game-tying
run in the seventh inning.
Of course. Branch's beanballs weren't any stranger than Bryan
riciimig > id11 ball that naS changcd tc u fcul bul! after an umpires confer
ence in West Brunswick's opening game against Hoggard.
Then there was West Brunswick's activity bus that didn't quite make it
to Wilmington for the Laney game. The bus broke down in front of Aaron
Buder's house, so the players piled in a van and kept on trucking.
On the way, they passed a car thai had caught fire on Highway 17 and
then got held up at the bridge going into Wilmington.
Just another lazy day at the ballpark.
gW* V'
:,t >v.
STAff PHOTOS BY DO DC *um?
ADRIAN MACK dives back to first base during North Brunswick's 4-1 win over Ixiney in last week's
Seashell Invitational. Covering first is Chris Lewis.
McGee Leads North Past
Laney
BY DOUG RUTTER
Jarcd McGcc struck out 14 batters
and went 4-for-5 at the plate to lead
North Brunswick to a 4-1, extra-in
ning win over Lancy last Tuesday in
the Seashell Invitational semifinals.
The Scorps broke a 1-1 tic in the
ninth with an RBI single by Dem
etrius Bell. McGee followed with a
key, two-run single to give himself a
comfortable lead going into the bot
tom of the ninth.
"1 felt tired in the late innings,"
McGee said as North Coach Wes
Coward taped an ice bag to his
aching right shoulder. "I had to get
that hit to get some more runs."
McGee had reason to be tired af
ter carrying his team on the mound
and at the plate. The senior fanned
nine Lancy batters in the first four
innings and five batters the rest of
the way.
The Buccaneers took a 1-0 lead in
the second inning on second base
man David MacCallam's RBI sin
gle. Clay Johnson scored after
reaching base on a fielder's choice.
North Brunswick tied the score in
the third when third baseman Mail
Mint/ drew a leadolf walk and later
scored on Timmy Campbell's base
hit.
The score remained knotted at 1-1
until the ninth inning, when the
Scorpions scored three rnns on two
hits and an error.
Matt Mint/ reached base on
MacCal lam's error and scored from
third on Bell's ground single to right
field. With two outs, McGee added
two insurance runs with a line single
to right, scoring Campbell and Bell.
Lancy got two hits in the bottom
of the ninth, but McGcc ended the
game with a pop up. Laney, which
got a fine pitching performance
from Tony Pigott, stranded 14 base
runners.
Pigott struck out eight Scorpion
baiters before being relieved by Jae
Lanier in the ninth. MacCallam led
the Bucs' offense with three hits.
"I'm ecstatic. I really am," Co
ward said following his team's
fourth straight win. "For these kids
to come over here and compete like
this is beyond my wildest uiuuus."
Coward was ejected from the
game in the eighth inning after argu
ing a controversial call. The Scor
pions had the bases loaded with two
outs and Paul Mintz at the plate.
Mint/, swung at an 0-1 pitch in the
V
?V.,r
JARED MCGEE struck out 14 batters and had four hits in North
Brunswick's semifinal victory over iMney.
din that got away from Laney catch
er Clay Johnson. McGce scooted
home for the apparent go-ahead run,
but the home plate umpire said
Mintz had tipped the ball foul.
Coward argued that his left fielder
hadn't made contact with the pitch.
However, the runners were sent
back to their bases and Mintz later
struck out.
"I lost my composure as well 1
think I should have," Coward said.
"It was a blatantly bad call. If the
ball hit anything it hit the catcher's
shin guards."
North Brunswick had advanced to
the tournament semifinals with a 7
0, first-round win over Jacksonville.
Lancy was a 16-1 winner over South
Brunswick in its opening game.
Game Summary
N. Bruns.0 0 1 0 0000 3?4 10 1
Lancy 0 1 0 0 00000?1102
Haggar. A Feel For Fun.
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