Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / July 30, 1992, edition 1 / Page 7
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orT——— Se——— a men rn i rn SET RE EET i] ol ! i sna A RITTER RL a a Tm Most fans would agree that the recently-completed American Legion baseball season was excep- tional. But it's the kind of year Kings Mountain people have come to expect from Coach Bruce Clark and his young men. Clark took over the local high school program four years ago and immediately turned it into a big winner. Since 1989, the Mountaineers have won two Southwestern 3-A Conference and one state championship and has not finished lower than second place. In 1990, American Legion Post 155, under the very capable leader- ship of athletic director Jimmy Littlejohn, reorganized its baseball program amid speculation of rival programs that it was doing so just to take advantage of the talent from that '89 state championship team and predictions that the team would fold after one year. However, the legion baseball of- ficials said at the time -- and have continued to say to this day -- that their goal was to work hand-in- hand with Coach Clark's high school program to give local fans some of the best baseball in North Carolina. Looking back, fans now see that goal materializing. In just three short legion cam- paigns, Kings Mountain has al- ready established itself as one of the top programs in the state. In 1990, Post 155 compiled a 17-10 record and advanced to the Area IV Western Division championship series before being eliminated by the eventual state champion, Caldwell County. This summer, Post 155 won its first-ever division crown (the Central Division) and advanced to the Area IV championship series for only the second time in history. ~ Kings Mountain lost that series to Taylorsville but finished with 21 victories, an all-time Rings Mountain legion record. Coach Clark and his able assis- tant, Ronny Funderburke, were able to accomplish that record while drawing from just one high school while most of their competi- tors draw from at least three schools. "This has been a great year for us,” says Clark, whose players compiled an overall record of 42- "17 in high school and legion play. "We hope that the legion success this summer will carry over into next year's high school season. I think everybody's expecting us to be extremely good next year, and that feeling not only comes from the community but from the coach- ing staff as well." ‘While most legion teams depend on several players from many dif- ferent schools, Clark isn't com- plaining that he only gets players from Kings Mountain. In fact, he feels it's an asset because the play- ers are used to playing together and they get along well. "The legion program has been a tremendous help to our high school program, and that was the intention of the legion program from the very beginning,” he said. "A lot of the credit has to go to the legion- naires, especially Jimmy Littlejohn and his efforts as athletic director to bring legion baseball back to _ Kings Mountain. They have been quite supportive and I think it's a tribute to this community to have that particular organization inter- ested in high school athletics. I'd also like to thank Coach Funderburke for all of his efforts and time and hard work; and all the legionnaires who worked in differ- ent capacities, whether it be an- nouncing games or taking up tick- Tr rid inant ET A A Sr RAI a el i Ga Tl CL si Coach Bruce Clark gives pitching tips to Robert Wingo. ets or working in the concession stand; Kings Mountain High School and Principal Jackie Lavender for allowing us to use the high school facilities; and the Kings Mountain Herald and their continued coverage and support of both high school and legion base- ball. It's been a total effort by a lot of good people, and I think that those type efforts will continue if we as coaches continue to get the quality people that we've been able to get during the past four years." Clark used this legion season to experiment with several players at different positions and he feels it will pay great dividends in high school ball next year. He devel- oped some outstanding pitching talent and his hitters got some valuable experience batting against some of the top pitchers in the area. "It has given us increased hope about next year," he said. "People like Rick Marr came on strong as pitchers and Robert Wingo and Kevin Melton, both ninth graders, got some unbelievable experience and they will definitely be a posi- tive factor for us next year in high school. The regulars just continued to get a tremendous amount of ex- perience. When you've got people getting in over 100 at-bats against the type pitching we faced you can't help but think that high school ball will be much better. "We were very impressed with our pitching staff," he added. "It was great to see Tommy Payne and Donald Bell end their legion ca- reers with such a successful sea- son. Both have aspirations to play at the collegiate level next year, Payne at Western Carolina and Bell is at the present looking for a place to play. Shane Webb and David R. Jenkins, both due to age, will not be playing legion ball next year but they gained valuable experience for themselves for next year's high school season. : "As for hitting, we found our best 1-2 combination that we've had since Coach Funderburke and I ook over the program in Mike TT rrr 2s Sadana Final Post 155 averages Player Mike Smith Caja Ormand David R. Jenkins Kevin Melton Rick Marr Donald Bell Chris Rider Doran Moore Todd Ware Robert Wingo TeeGee Goforth Tommy Payne Stephen Fisher David C. Jenkins Robbie Ruff Shane Webb Johnny Bunch Benji Ingle Pitcher 3 i Stephen Fisher Rick Marr David C. Jenkins Shane Webb Tommy Payne Robert Wingo Donald Bell David R. Jenkins Benji Ingle OO = NW LO —_—O WN ON AB H HR AVG. 128 47 0 .367 124 44 4 355 103 35 3 .339 48 16 1 333 96 30 2 313 47 13 3 297 69 19 0 275 72 19 1 264 127 32 Hiei) 252 20 5 0 250 43 10 0 233 96 22 6 229 109 25 1 229 9 2 0 222 8 1 0 125 10 1 0 .100 3 0 0 .000 2 0 0 .000 iP Saves Games Starts 81.0 2 12 9 517.2 1 12 8 27.1 1 10 2 19.2 1 11 1 34.1 1 7 5 37.2 3 12 4 19.2 0 9 0 17.2 1 5 3 4.1 0 1 1 All Inventory Greatly Reduced 50% OFF 4 Days Only - July 29 thru Aug. 1 Cash ¢ Check « MC ¢ Visa ¢ Discover Selected Items ERS g iE BK 3 0000090000000 0900606 : Prices Good Only At Abbey Plaza Store Only Exit 1-85 at Belmont - Mt. Holly Exit Smith and Todd Ware. We'll start off next year with those two Icad- ing off and batting sccond. Caja Ormand moved up to the three spo: in the lincup and that seemed to help us tremendously because we could then put David R. Jenkins and the four spot, and really a lot of possibilitics are created after the fourth spot since Caja has been able to increase his Icvel of play." Smith led the club in hitting with a .367 average, followed closely by Ormand at .355, David R. Jenkins .339, Mclion .333 and Marr 313. Stephen Fisher led the mound staff with a 6-2 record and 81 innings pitched and Marr was close behind with a 5-2 mark and 57 2/3 innings or Work. Post 155 began its legion scason two nights after, the high school team cnded the state playoffs, and won the Central Division with a 12-6 record. They defeated Forest City, Shelby and Pineville in the first three rounds of the playoffs to advance to thc Arca IV finals against Western Division Chomp Taylorsville. "I don't think anybody give us a chance to finish fifth in the state while drawing from just onc school," Ciark said. "But we fecl like this program is onc of the best in the state and we feel like this scason is indicative of just how strong our program is becoming. The fear after this much success is that sometimes it's got to end, but % Jewelry ¥n,,, a atiy sna Thursday, July 30, 1992 THE KINGS MOUNTAII 7 RALD-Page 7A A legion baseball season to remember our clforts as coaches will be to continue to look for the kids that will provide the character and suc- cess that we've seen over the last four ycars. Some people and coaches today say that all the good ids are gone, but we be’ ve very wongly that there arc si... great deal of good people whe can play sports and can contribute wo a pro- gram that we've tried very hard to build." Clark said a big key to the suc- cess of legion and high school ball in Kings Mountain in recent years has been a well-rounded summer bascball program in the City Recreation Department. "We've been told that this year there were morc young kids participating in recreation baseball than cver be- fore. So you've got 10 think that the tradition will continue." Clark said, in the cnd, Post 155 just "ran out of steam” after play- ing almost nightly since the end of the high school season. "If we could have had four or five days off just to get away from the game for awhile and get some rest, there's no doubt in my mind that we were as good or better than Taylorsville," he said. "If they had an edge it was in pitching, but we normally played great defense, and didn't in that series, and w¢ nor- mally came through with clutch hits, but didn't. We really belicve that was a result of fatigue and not a lack of interest or effort." ah Cash oLoans *Buy eSell Clark said many people have tricd to compare this ycar's team with the 1989-90 players who won the state championship and clubbed a state record 55 home - runs during the '89 high school campaign. "We knew that this team would- n't be a home run hitting team,” he said, "but that it would be a good basc-hitting, defensive team that would be more of a traditional baseball tcam. That has been the case. In legion ball we had 21 home runs in 33 games. We feel the home run category will in- crease next year because our kids will be a year older and a year stronger, and a lot of our players are just on the verge of being home run hitters. But we will not go into the high school season counting on the home run to win games. We will continue to work on great de- fense and clutch hitting. "If you base your future on pitching -- which nearly everybody docs -- our team next year should be as good as any team that has come through Kings Mountain," he added. "We'll have five very good pitchers and three others who can come in and spot pitch. Most peo- ple can't say that." With all 19 players returning off his high school team, which com- piled a 21-5 record and went three rounds in the state playoffs, and 17 of 21 returning in legion ball, Clark can look forward to another big year in 1993. (704) 824-9656 - 4633 Wilkinson Blvd, L Lovwall NC (Beside BB&T) New Car Stereos (Major Brands) Quick Cash Loans Jewelry Design and Repair We Buy Gold We Have Convertibles 1992 Chrysler Lebaron Convertibles 3 Litre V6, automatic, air conditioning, AM/FM stereo, tilt steering, power windows, driver's side air bag, cruise control, remainder of 7/70 warranty available, much more. great. 1987 Chevy Cavalier RS Convertible 2.8 Litre V6, air conditioning, AM/FM cassette, power windows, tilt steering, cruise control. Runs BLANTON CHRYSLER [ana re enc "GATEWAY TO THE BEST" Cr W. Dixon Blvd., Shelby, N. C ish la Bl.N BLANTON JIMMY BLANTON ETE {RES B08 [017 DORSEY A vr
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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July 30, 1992, edition 1
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