A local high school student received a big honor this week. Watauga High School's Shelby Drummonds was selected to the 4A All State team by the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association. Shelby led the team in batting with a .338 average, .400 on base percentage, .592 slugging percentage, 6 doubles, and 3 triples. She also scored 18 runs, had 14 RBI's, 4 stolen bases, and hit 2 home runs, which ranked second on the team. Congratulations Shelby!
June 2010 Archives
ASU volleyball will be hosting a preseason team clinic for interested high school squads coming soon. The clinic will be held on Saturday, August 14, and is limited to just ten teams. The clinic costs $100 per team, with varsity and junior varsity squads counting as two separate teams. The ASU volleyball staff will work to meet each squad's needs and base instruction and drills around what each team is interested in working on. As an added perk, the teams participating in the clinic will also get the opportunity to watch the Mountaineers practice from 9-12:30pm that day in Varsity Gym. After the practice, lunch will be provided, and after the lunch the clinic will start at 2pm and last until 5pm. For more information, please contact assistant volleyball coach Kolby O'Donnell at odonnellkc@appstate.edu, or go to www.GoASU.com and click on volleyball's homepage.
The Hickory Crawdads put a five-spot up on the board in the second inning, but it wasn't enough as the 'Dads fell to the Lexington Legends 6-5 on Tuesday night. Lexington got on the board early in the first against starter RHP Neil Ramirez. The first three batters reached base on hits, including an RBI double by RF J.D. Martinez. After LF Jacob Goebbert struck out, DH Kody Hinze blooped a two-RBI single to right to put the Legends up 3-0.
After Lexington added another run in the top of the second inning, Hickory (3-3, 43-33) rallied for five runs against starter RHP Robby Donovan. With the bases loaded and one out, 2B Travis Adairhit an RBI single to right. DH Cody Podraza scored on the play, but SS/RF Joe Bonadonna was gunned down at the plate trying to score from second for the second out of the frame. After 3B Matt West walked to re-load the bases, CF Miguel Velazquez drove in two runs on a sharp line drive to left that wound up in the Crawdads bullpen for a ground rule double. SS Edwin Garcia then came on to pinch hit for 1B Mike Ortiz and drove in two more runs on a single to center, putting the 'Dads ahead, 5-4.
The Legends came right back, tying the game at 5 in the fourth when CF Grant Hogue came in from third on a missed catch by Ed Koncel at first on a pickoff throw from Ramirez. Lexington then reclaimed the lead when Goebbert hit a ball to Koncel, who was playing third base at the time, and Koncel threw wildly to first, allowing 1B Aaron Bray to race all the way from first base and score the go-ahead run.
RHP Sam Brown (0-1, 0.00 ERA) made his first appearance for the Crawdads, allowing one unearned run on one hit with four strikeouts in two innings in relief of Ramirez, as he was saddled with the tough luck loss. RHP Johan Yan also made his Hickory debut, dealing two scoreless innings following Brown. RHP Zachary Grimmett (2-0, 2.30 ERA) picked up the win for Lexington, pitching four scoreless innings of relief, surrendering two hits and a walk with five strikeouts, while RHP Kirk Clark earned his 14th save with a scoreless ninth.
Now that school is out for kids around the High Country, baseball is in full swing. Monday night saw plenty of baseball as the 9 and 10 year-old boys baseball group competed for a chance to earn a trip to the Little League World Series at the Sherrill Rominger Field at the Avery Parks and Recreation in Newland. Watauga County advanced with a 16-5 win over Ashe County while Wilkes County beat Avery County 14-1 in what they call the "All-Star Game." All the teams involved are in Region seven of the Little League World Series, as all these boys try to repeat what Morganton did just a few years ago. In this same region a few years back, Morganton advanced to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which is every young baseball players dream. Whoever wins the Region seven will compete for state in the double-elimination tournament. Watauga and Wilkes are both off to good starts with each getting a win, and for Wilkes it was their second win of the tournament having already beaten Catawba County. Congratulations and good luck to each team! Hopefully we will see one of them repeat what Morganton did a few years ago!
The gifts keep on coming for former ASU baseball players after David Towarnicky earned a prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship this week. Towarnicky is one of only 29 men's spring sports student-athletes nationwide to receive the ultra-competitive award this year. Towarnicky, who also became the first ASU student-athlete in 18 years to earn first-team Academic All-America recognition this spring, carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a double-major in banking and finance and risk insurance management with a minor in international business. He was one of 10 finalists for this year's college baseball Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which honors Division I senior student-athletes for notable achievements in four areas of excellence including classroom, character, community and competition. On the diamond, Towarnicky hit .303 with nine home runs and 50 RBI as a senior in 2010. He finished his career with a .304 batting average, 39 doubles, 22 home runs and 154 RBI (good for fourth in ASU history). He made 195 career starts, including a string of 121-straight to close out his career, and sported a .992 career fielding percentage with only 15 errors in 1,806 chances as a four-year starter at first base. Academically, he was honored this spring by ASU's Walker College of Business as the college's top overall student and top banking and finance major, as well as earning an academic achievement award from the Wall Street Journal. Towarnicky is also a member of ASU's Chancellor's List, Dean's List, Walker College of Business honors program, Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, and he is the recipient of the Southern Conference's Camp Champs graduate scholarship. Currently, Towarnicky is studying in Germany to fulfill degree requirements and will graduate from ASU in December.
This week also saw a longtime ASU assistant coach get hired. Matt Boykin
has been named the head baseball coach at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C. Boykin served for six years on head coach Chris Pollard's staff at ASU. He helped Pollard engineer a turnaround from eight-straight losing seasons before their arrival to the Mountaineers' current string of four-consecutive 30-win campaigns, including this year's 38 victories, which was the second-most in program history. Boykin was especially instrumental in Appalachian's recruiting efforts, which have consistently netted ASU top-ranked classes since the staff's arrival prior to the 2005 season. A 2003 graduate of Barton College, where he was an infielder, outfielder and pitcher for the Bulldogs' baseball team, Boykin came to ASU after spending one season as an assistant coach at his alma mater. St. Andrews is a member of the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, and last season the Knights finished 11-36-1.
After nine scoreless innings from RHP Joe Wieland on Friday and six no-hit frames from South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week LHP Robbie Erlin on Sunday, RHP Matt Thompson decided to join the fun with eight scoreless innings against the Hagerstown Suns on Monday, guiding Hickory to a 2-0, series clinching, win. Thompson (6-4, 3.48 ERA) scattered seven hits across eight innings while striking out nine to pick up the victory in his longest outing of the season. The Hickory offense meanwhile, did just enough to get the win. The Crawdads picked up their first run of the ballgame in the sixth inning against Suns starter LHP Daniel Rosenbaum (1-4, 2.14 ERA). LF Joe Bonadonna led off with a triple to left field, his second of the ballgame. Then, with 3B Matt West at the plate, Rosenbaum uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Bonadonna to race home and put the 'Dads up 1-0. The Crawdads added to their lead in the seventh on a pair of doubles by 2B Travis Adair and SS Edwin Garcia. Adair led the inning off with a double to right. Two outs later, Garcia laced a double to right-center field to plate Adair and push the Hickory advantage to the final 2-0 score. Hagerstown had their opportunities in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings, but Thompson prevented them from bringing home runners in scoring position each time. RHP Trevor Hurley came on in the ninth for a quick, 1-2-3, inning to get his ninth save. Rosenbaum surrendered one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings to take the tough luck loss.
Something we like to do here at MTN is keep track of all the former athletes that use to play here in the High Country. One of those former athletes played his college ball in Boone. Former ASU closer Zack Quate is tearing it up with the minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander, who set a school record with 11 saves last year at ASU only to see it broken by Chris Patterson with 13 this season, is shredding through hitters in the advanced Class A Florida State League. Playing for the Charlotte (Fla.) Stone Crabs, Quate is 0-1 with a minuscule 0.52 earned-run-average with 49 strikeouts and 13 saves in 34 2/3 innings of work. In his two professional seasons of baseball, Quate, who was selected by the Rays in the 14th round, has been dominant. In 42 games, he has given up just three earned runs in 60 2/3 innings of work with 73 strikeouts, 10 walks, 26 saves and a magnificent 0.45 ERA.
The Hickory Crawdads used impressive pitching to carry them to a 4-1 win over the Hagerstown Suns on Sunday. Robbie Erlin no-hit the Suns for six innings, fanning seven Suns in a row at one point, before hitting Hagerstown's Brett Newsome in the bottom of the sixth. Erlin pitched six innings, allowing just the one base-runner and striking out eight to pick up the win. The Hickory offense meanwhile, got on the board quick against Hagerstown starter Josh Smoker. With one out in the top of the first, Mike Ortiz singled home Matt West to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and putting the 'Dads up, 1-0. The 'Dads put two more runs on in the second when West drew a bases-loaded walk and Miguel Velazquez hit a sac fly to make it 3-0 Hickory. The Crawdads added an insurance run in the third inning when Leury Garcia hit an RBI single to put Hickory up 4-0. The Suns got their first hit and run of the ballgame in the seventh against Crawdads reliever LHP Joseph Ortiz. After picking up a quick first out, 3B Steven Souza tripled down the left field line. Ortiz then struck out DH Justin Bloxom for the second out, before RF Destin Hood slapped an RBI single to left, scoring Souza and putting Hagerstown on the board, 4-1. Ortiz dealt 1.2 innings of relief, allowing just the one run and two hits while fanning three. RHP Trevor Hurley followed Ortiz with the final 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out three and walking one to record his eighth save for Hickory. Smoker allowed four runs on four hits and six walks while striking out two in three innings, getting saddled with the loss. With the win, the 'Dads improve to 2-2 to begin the second half of the season.
After his impressive performance on Sunday, the South Atlantic League announced that LHP Robbie Erlin has been named the SAL Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 21 - 27. The 19-year-old Erlin went 1-0 in his lone start during the week, pitching six hitless innings with eight strikeouts against the Hagerstown Suns on Sunday afternoon. Erlin previously threw five perfect frames in his first start of the season on May 18 in Kannapolis before being relieved. On the season, he is 3-1 and owns the second-best ERA in the SAL at 1.34. Last Tuesday, Erlin pitched a scoreless third inning of relief in the 2010 South Atlantic League All-Star Game in Greenville, South Carolina. The native of Santa Cruz, California is in his first full season of professional baseball, after being selected in the third round of the 2009 June draft by the Texas Rangers out of Scotts Valley High School. In three games with the Arizona League Rangers last season, Erlin went 0-0 with a 2.25 ERA through four innings. He becomes the third Crawdad this season to earn an SAL Weekly Award, joining CF Miguel Velazquez (Player of the Week, May 3 - 9) and 1B Mike Ortiz (Player of the Week, April 26 - May 2).
Amidst hosting various other SoCon championships, ASU tacked on another one, as Appalachian will host the 2010 Southern Conference Volleyball Championship. The 2010 SoCon Volleyball Championship was originally scheduled to be played at College of Charleston's Carolina First Arena, but conflicts with the annual Charleston Classic men's basketball tournament prompted the league's athletics directors to move the volleyball championship to Boone. The volleyball tournament will return to an eight-team format in 2010. The top four teams in each of the conference's two divisions will compete for the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth during the three-day affair at the Holmes Center. The tournament will be held Nov. 19-21 at ASU's Holmes Center. With the addition of the SoCon volleyball tournament, Appalachian will now host five SoCon championships over the next two academic years. ASU will also host the SoCon Cross Country Championships this fall, and in 2011-12, the conference's men's soccer and softball tournaments will come to Boone.
Coming back from a short all-star break, the Hickory Crawdads rallied against the Hagerstown Suns, but couldn't muster enough for the win, as the Suns walked off with a 4-3 win in the bottom of the 10th inning on Thursday night. With Hickory (40-31) trailing, 3-1, heading to the ninth inning, 3B Matt West hit a one-out double before Mike Ortiz stepped up to the plate with two outs and delivered a game-tying two-run blast down the right field line to tie the game at three. Hagerstown made the comeback though with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning. With Francisco Soriano at first, 1B Justin Bloxom struck out swinging, but a passed ball by C Leonel De Los Santos allowed Bloxom to reach first and extend the inning. LF J.P. Ramirez capitalized on the extra chance, following with a walk-off single to left, scoring Soriano from second, for the 4-3 victory. Hickory starter Neil Ramirez surrendered three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings and finished with a no decision. RHP Braden Tullis followed with three perfect innings of relief, and RHP Tyler Tufts (0-4, 8.00 ERA) took the loss for Hickory, allowing an unearned run on one hit and a walk while fanning two in 1.2 innings. RHP Rob Wort (2-0, 3.68 ERA) picked up the win for Hagerstown with a perfect 10th inning of relief.
After being named to various honors, completing successful senior seasons, and getting drafted, Wes Hobson and Chris Patterson have something else to add to their list of accolades. Hobson and Patterson were both named to the second-team ABCA/Rawlings all-Atlantic Region recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). The ABCA's Atlantic Region includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Appalachian was one of only five schools with multiple all-Atlantic Region selections, joining national powers Georgia Tech, Virginia, Coastal Carolina and Miami (Fla.).
Hobson had a record-breaking year in every way imaginable, winning the Southern Conference batting title with a .404 average, recording 95 hits, a school-record 69 runs scored, 22 doubles, 11 home runs, 54 RBI, a .655 slugging percentage, .474 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases en route to third-team all-America and first-team all-state and all-conference accolades. In 206 career games, Hobson hit .362 and set ASU all-time records with 318 hits, 879 at-bats, 223 runs, 78 doubles and 504 total bases. He was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 40th round of this month's MLB Draft and began his professional career earlier this week with the Arizona Giants of the rookie-level Arizona League.
After setting up for all-American Zach Quate last season, Patterson established himself as the SoCon's premier closer this year. His SoCon-best 13 saves broke his predecessor's year-old school record of 11 and led the nation for much of the season. He finished his senior campaign with a 4-4 record, 1.67 ERA, .213 opponents' batting average and 60 strikeouts in 29 appearances. He surrendered just eight earned runs on 34 hits and walked only 13 over 43 innings of work. Patterson was especially impressive in 26 regular-season appearances, going 3-2 with a 0.96 ERA, .182 opponents' batting average and 55 strikeouts. He allowed just 25 hits and four earned runs and issued only nine walks in 37.1 innings en route to first-team all-conference recognition. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 26th round of the MLB Draft and has begun his professional career with the nearby Johnson City Cardinals of the rookie-level Appalachian League.
Congratulations to both Wes Hobson and Chris Patterson on the all-region honors and good luck to both of them in their professional careers, we all will be watching for them!
Recognize this guy? Yeah, Coach Capel, amidst hosting camp, beginning the July recruiting period, oh yeah, and just trying to get acclimated to being the head coach, sat down with ESPN's Dana O'Neil. The article, which discusses his first two months on the job as well as his family ties to the coaching business, was posted on ESPN's home page for a while and is a good read. Here's the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=5316101.
The 2010 South Atlantic League All-Star game lived up to the billing of a hard-fought grudge match, but unfortunately no one came out a winner. After 10 innings, the All-Star game ended in a 5-5 tie on Tuesday night. Before the game, Crawdads CF Miguel Velazquez belted his way into the Home Run Derby finals with eight taters in the preliminary round. He later fell to the derby winner Augusta 3B Chris Dominguez in the final round, but made up for it, also helping the Northern squad get on the board first in the top of the first against Southern starter LHP Chris Masters. Velazquez smacked a one-out single inside the third base line and trotted home on a two-run shot by Greensboro C Kyle Skipworth, making it 2-0 early. Hickory LHP Robbie Ross started the game for the Northern team and struck out the side in the first inning, his only frame of work. All four Crawdads pitchers dazzled, throwing a scoreless inning in the game, including LHP Robbie Erlin in the third, RHP Matt Thompson in the sixth and RHP Trevor Hurley in the seventh. After the Southern squad struck for four in the second, the Northern team came back with two in the third to tie it at 4-4. Both teams then exchanged a run in the fifth, before holding each other scoreless the rest of the way. The game went to one scoreless frame of extra innings before ending in the 5-5 tie. The Crawdads will return to action on Thursday night when they open a set at the Hagerstown Suns.
I know many sports fans are hungry for football season to get started back up, so here's a little something to tide you over until training and summer camps get started. Mark LeGree has brought ASU some more recognition. The Mountaineer defensive back was named as one of the 74 players tabbed on the official Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). It was the second-straight year Legree received the recognition, and he was the only NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) representative on the list. LeGree has recorded all of his 17 career interceptions over the past two seasons, including an ASU-record and FCS-leading 10 as a sophomore in 2008 and seven as a junior last year. He has led the Southern Conference in interceptions the last two years and is a two-time All-American and Buck Buchanan Award (nation's top FCS defensive player) finalist. His 17 picks currently rank 5th in ASU history. And in case you were wondering, Appalachian begins its preparations to repeat as SoCon champs, and hopefully much more, on Aug. 6 when it opens fall camp. The Mountaineers open the season on Sept. 4 at SoCon-rival Chattanooga.
Just a little bit short. That's what the Hickory Crawdads are saying after finishing in second place in the Northern Division in the South Atlantic League for the first half, just two games back of the Lakewood BlueClaws. The 'Dads can just rest and enjoy the All-Star break though, and feel confident sitting at 40-30 on the season thus far. Hickory heads into the All-Star break with five of their players and their coaching staff headed to Greenville, SC to represent the team. RHP Trevor Hurley, LHP Robbie Erlin, CF Miguel Velazquez, LHP Robbie Ross, and RHP Matt Thompson are the player representatives. Manager Bill Richardson, Pitching Coach Brad Holman, Hitting Coach Jason Hart, and Athletic Trainer Jeff Bodenhamer will man the Northern Division squad. Hickory Crawdads All-Star CF Miguel Velazquez will also participate in the 2010 South Atlantic League All-Star Game Home Run Derby. The opening round of the Home Run Derby will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Fluor Field, with the final round being held following the second inning of the All-Star Game, which is set to begin at 7:15 p.m. After the All-Star festivities, the Crawdads get down to business on Thursday as they travel to Hagerstown for a rare five-game set.
The Hickory Crawdads got a big boost from starting pitcher Joe Wieland and reliever Kyle Ocampo, and the 'Dads beat the Greenville Drive 4-0 on Thursday night. Hickory began the scoring in the bottom of the fourth off Greenville starter Ryan Pressley. After Jared Prince singled and Mike Ortiz walked, Cristian Santana mashed a three-run home run to left field to put Hickory up 3-0. The 'Dads tacked on another run in the fifth when Prince hit an RBI single to put Hickory up 4-0, which turned out to be the final score. The Drive made an attempt at a rally in the ninth, putting runners at the corners with two outs, but Ocampo induced a fly-out to get the save and preserve the shutout. Wieland (6-4, 3.71 ERA) hurled six scoreless innings, surrendering just five hits, a walk, and six strikeouts for the win. Ocampo pitched the final three innings, allowing three hits and fanning five. Meanwhile, Pressley was dealt the loss for Greenville, relinquishing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three in four innings. Despite winning three of their last four games, Hickory still remains just one game behind the Lakewood BlueClaws for 1st in the Northern Division with three games remaining in the half.
After dealing with a boring year of playoff basketball, the NBA finally and its fans finally had what they wanted; two powerhouses, with a bitter past, and of course, a game seven. Well, game seven lived every bit up to the billing, as the LA Lakers came back from down by 13 in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 and win their 16th NBA title. It was a gritty, and at times ugly game because of the lack of offense, but the Lakers made a run at precisely the right time and held off a late Boston rally to secure the win. The final two minutes were everything that could have been asked for as the teams traded baskets with Boston cutting the deficit down to one possession multiple times. But LA had an answer almost every time down the floor, and after some struggles from the line early, the Lakers iced the game at the charity stripe with Kobe Bryant and Sasha Vujacic each knocking down two clutch free throws to give the Lakers the two possession lead. Boston had a good look near the end of the game, but Rajon Rondo's three came up short and Pau Gasol grabbed the rebound who tossed it to Lamar Odom who tossed it to across the court to Kobe Bryant has the clock ran out and the Lakers ran away with the NBA Championship. It was a fitting way to end the season for the Lakers as they are now back-to-back champs. Kobe Bryant, even with a 6-for-24 shooting performance, had 23 points and 15 boards to lead all scorers and capture the Finals MVP, the second of his prestigious career.
They don't call them the West Virginia Power for nothing. West Virginia showed their muscle clubbing three home runs and, powering, pun intended, their way past the Hickory Crawdads 5-3 on Wednesday night. West Virginia got on the scoreboard first in the third inning against Hickory starter Neil Ramirez. Kyle Morgan jacked a solo shot for the first run before David Rubinstein hit an RBI double. Jack Cunningham followed that with a single to bring Rubinstein home and give the Power a 3-0 lead. The 'Dads answered right back with three runs in the bottom of the third against West Virginia starter Kyle McPherson. Jared Prince smacked a a bases-clearing double to right field to tie the game at three a piece. But the Power lived up to their name in the fourth, hitting two home runs. Jose Hernandez led off the inning with a solo blast down the left field line and Morgan followed that with his second round-tripper of the night to give West Virginia the 5-3 lead and ultimately the win. Ramirez was tagged with the loss, surrendering five runs on eight hits with three strikeouts through five innings. LHP Joseph Ortiz, RHP Danny Gutierrez, RHP Tyler Tufts, and All-Star RHP Trevor Hurely each pitched one scoreless inning of relief. McPherson allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out nine in seven innings to pick up the win for the Power. Former Crawdad RHP Duke Welker registered the save for West Virginia. Despite the loss, Hickory still remains just one game behind the Lakewood BlueClaws for 1st in the Northern Division with four games remaining in the half.
The Crawdads did receive some good news on Thursday as the South Atlantic League announced that Hickory Crawdads All-Star CF Miguel Velazquez will participate in the 2010 South Atlantic League All-Star Game Home Run Derby. The opening round of the Home Run Derby will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC, with the final round being held following the second inning of the All-Star Game, which is set to begin at 7:15 p.m. Each Home Run Derby participant will be paired up with a fan, and the lucky fan paired up with the winner of the derby will win $25,000, courtesy of BB&T. Velazquez leads the 'Dads in homers (10), RBIs (48), and runs scored (42). Those numbers also rank among the top-10 in the SAL. He will be joined on the field during the All-Star Game with teammates LHP Robbie Ross, RHP Trevor Hurley, LHP Robbie Erlin, and RHP Matt Thompson. Crawdads Manager Bill Richardson, Pitching Coach Brad Holman, Hitting Coach Jason Hart, and Athletic Trainer Jeff Bodenhamer will also represent Hickory, manning the dugout of the Northern Division team.
The Western Highlands 1A/2A All-Conference Teams have been released this week, and the Avery County Vikings cleaned up. The Spring Sport all-conference members include Chase Watson in golf, Elyse Perry, Melinda Eggers, Mary Chesnut-Smith, Emily Banner, Hayden Blackburn, Mercedes Bentley, and Katelyn Eudy in soccer, Kaylea Davis in softball, and Alex Villanueva in boy's track and field. Congratulations to all the all-conference nominees!
The Crawdads are out of their little slump. After scoring 10 runs on Monday night, the "dads scored seven runs on 10 hits in a 7-5 win over the West Virginia Power on Tuesday night. West Virginia actually got on the board first against Hickory starter Matt Thompson on a two-out two-run double in the first inning, making it 2-0, Power. The 'Dads answered with four runs in the second on a Mike Ortiz RBI single, and a three-run moonshot by Leury Garcia to make it 4-2, Hickory. The Power went back to work in the third, scoring on an RBI single to make it 4-3. The Crawdads responded though, with three runs in the seventh. Ortiz scored on a wild pitch and Miguel Velazquez singled home Leury Garcia and Jared Prince to make it 7-3. The Power added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, before the rain began to fell and the game entered a delay. After a 40 minute rain delay in the middle of the sixth, the umpires called the game due to inclement weather and the Crawdads walked away with a 7-5 win. Thompson allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks while striking out nine in five innings to pick up the win for the Crawdads. Ramos surrendered four runs on seven hits while fanning one through three innings to get saddled with the loss for the Power in his first start of the season. With the win, the 'Dads secured the series against West Virginia with one game remaining Wednesday night, and remain one game behind the Lakewood BlueClaws for 1st in the Northern Division with five games remaining in the half.
Did you miss the NBA Finals Game 6 last night? Well, if you did, you didn't miss much. The Los Angeles Lakers clobbered the Boston Celtics 89-67 on Tuesday night to even the series at three games apiece and send it to the decisive game seven. Kendrick Perkins may be out for Boston after injuring his knee, and the game was virtually over after the first. The one good thing out of the blowout, is that now we finally see a game seven in the NBA playoffs this year, and there's nothing quite as exciting as game seven in the championship round. And with these two teams, I have a feeling the final game will be a much closer one. Now, we turn to game seven, knowing that one team will come away with the hardware on Thursday night at the Staples Center in LA. It will either be the second championship for Boston in the last three years, or back-to-back championships and a possible dynasty again for the Lakers. Either way, we have a series and we have everything you could ask for in an NBA Finals Championship game. It will be the battle of rebounds and the first quarter. The team that has won those has won every game in the series. The game tips around 9pm on Thursday on ABC, should be a classic.
ASU baseball can continue to add to the trophy mantle after Ping!Baseball selected ASU third baseman Hector Crespo as a third-team freshman all-American. Crespo was expected to serve mainly in a reserve role as a true freshman but went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in ASU's second game of the season at USC Upstate and never looked back, starting at third base in 54 of the club's final 56 games. Crespo hit .335 as a rookie, batting mainly out of the lead off spot for the Mountaineers. He led all NCAA Division I freshman with 31 stolen bases, a figure that ranked second in the Southern Conference and 27th nationally overall and was good for second in Appalachian single-season history, just three shy of the school record of 34 swiped by future major-leaguer Mike Ramsey in 1974. Crespo also displayed a one of the SoCon's top gloves at third base, making several highlight-reel defensive plays throughout the season despite coming into his collegiate career touted mainly as a middle infielder. In addition to the freshman all-America accolades, Crespo was also a member of the SoCon's all-freshman and all-tournament teams, and he becomes the first player in Appalachian history to earn freshman all-America recognition.
Also included in the fun was ASU record-breaking second baseman Wes Hobson after he was named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) University Division all-state team. Hobson is the fourth Mountaineer in four years to earn NCCSIA all-state recognition, joining outfielder David Rubinstein in 2007, and relief pitcher Zach Quate and third baseman Isaac Harrow in 2009. Hobson, a third-team all-American and first-team all-conference honoree, was the SoCon's 2010 batting champion with a .404 average. He led Appalachian with 95 hits, a school-record 69 runs scored, 22 doubles, 54 RBI and .655 slugging and .474 on-base percentages while belting 11 home runs, good for a tie for 15th in school history. Along the way, he set ASU career records with 318 hits, 879 at-bats, 223 runs, 78 doubles and 504 total bases. The Winston-Salem native became the ninth Mountaineer in the past three years to be selected in the MLB Draft when the San Francisco Giants picked him in the 40th round of the 2010 MLB Draft last week. He will begin his professional career this month, either with the Arizona Giants of the rookie-level Arizona League or the Salem-Keizer (Ore.) Volcanoes of the class-A short-season Northwest League.
Hopefully showing signs of breaking out of a little slump, the Hickory Crawdads clobbered the West Virginia Power 10-2 on Monday night. The 'Dads got the offense going in the bottom of the second with a two-out three run homer deep to right field by 1B Mike Ortiz against Power starter RHP Brandon Holden (1-5, 6.47 ERA), staking an early, 3-0, lead. Hickory then pushed the pedal to the metal in the third scoring five runs. SS Leury Garcia led off with a walk and stole his league-leading 33rd base. RF Jared Prince followed that with an RBI single up the middle. After Prince moved to second on a wild pitch, All-Star CF Miguel Velazquez drove him in with another single up the middle. Two outs later, 3B Matt West blasted a homer to left to bring in two more runs. LF Ed Koncel followed with a double and scored on an RBI single by Ortiz, his fourth RBI of the game, to give the 'Dads the 8-0 lead. Hickory tacked on two more runs in the fifth on a two-run homer off the bat of Koncel, making it a 10-0 Crawdads lead. West Virginia (29-35) responded with single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but fell by the final score of 10-2 to the Crawdads. All-Star 'Dads starter LHP Robbie Erlin (2-1, 1.25 ERA) pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out four to pick up the win for Hickory. Holden allowed seven runs on four hits and three walks while fanning two over 2.2 innings to take the loss for the Power. LHP Chad Bell pitched two scoreless innings of relief for Hickory to finish the ballgame after RHP Hector Nelo dealt the sixth and seventh for the 'Dads.
I know it's not football season, but does anybody miss the pigskin? Well, ASU football hasn't hit the gridiron yet, but they are already getting some love with the polls. The College Sporting News released it's pre-season Football Championship Series Top 25 2010 Any Given Sunday Poll, and ASU, minus Armanti Edwards, is ranked third. Villanova, unsurprisingly, is ranked number one after defeating Montana in the national championship and garnering 81 first-place votes. Montana finished second in the poll after receiving seven first-place votes, and ASU received some high respect, collecting two first-place votes. Some notable SoCon foes round out the top 25 with Elon seventh and Furman coming in at number 20. Wofford, Chattanooga and Georgia Southern also received votes for the top 25. I don't think anyone really needs a refresher on what the Mountaineer football team has done, but the five-time Southern Conference champs open the season at Chattanooga on Saturday, September 4th at 6pm. Less than three months away!
After evening the series with Augusta on Friday with a 2-1 win, the Hickory Crawdads couldn't come away with a series win on Saturday night, falling to the Augusta GreenJackets 3-1. The GreenJackets got on the board first, plating a run against Hickory starter Robbie Ross in the bottom of the second, before adding two more in the bottom of the fifth. CF Evan Crawford started the fifth with a triple and finished rounding the bases when 2B Kyle Cavan hit a two-run blast to make it 3-0 in favor of Augusta. The 'Dads responded with a run in the top of the seventh when Matt West hit a two-out double and scored on a fielding errorby 1B Luke Anders, cutting the Hickory deficit to 3-1. Jorge Bucardo pitched a sterling 8.2 innings for the GreenJackets, surrendering just the one unearned run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts before being chased by a two-out single by West in the top of the ninth. With West on first and two outs, RHP Jose Casilla came in to face Zaneski. Zaneski grooved a pitch to deep right-center, but was robbed of a run-scoring extra-base hit by a diving catch from RF Nick Lollis, closing out the 3-1 win for Augusta. Ross lasted six innings for Hickory, getting saddled with the loss, while Bucardo registered the win and Casilla got the save for the GreenJackets. 3B Matt West led the offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, a single and the lone run scored for Hickory. The Crawdads now look to a three game home set against the West Virginia Power.
Not that ASU needs anything more to brag about with the success of nearly all their athletic programs and competitive academic standards, but now they can add national recognition to both of those categories. For each of the six years the NCAA Academic Progress Rate has been around, ASU's 20 varsity athletics teams continue to consistently rate at or above national and Southern Conference averages in APR, based on the latest data released by the NCAA. Each NCAA Division I team calculates its APR annually based on the eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes. Teams scoring below 925 out of 1,000 can face penalties, such as scholarship losses and restrictions on practice and competition. Appalachian, which has never had a team face penalties based on insufficient APR, boasts rates of 940 or higher for each of its 20 varsity programs. Thirteen of ASU's 20 programs have rates at or above the national average for all Division I teams in their respective sport and 16-of-20 have rates at or above the national average for Division I teams in their respective sport at public institutions. Additionally, Appalachian ranks at or above the Southern Conference average in 10-of-19 sports. Appalachian also has a perfect rate of 1,000 in field hockey, but unfortunately the SoCon does not sponsor field hockey.
It seems, at least for the moment, that the Hickory Crawdads may be slumping. Hickory dropped the series opener against the Augusta GreenJackets, 9-3, on Thursday night resulting in a tie with the Lakewood BlueClaws for first in the Northern Division with nine games left in the first half. After a 36-minute rain delay in the first inning, the GreenJackets (37-24) scored first against starter RHP Neil Ramirez in the third on an RBI double by RF Ryan Lollis. Hickory (35-26) responded with a run of their own to tie the game in the top of the fourth against Augusta starter RHP Kyle Vazquez with an RBI single by Matt West. But the GreenJackets came storming back, scoring six runs in the fourth inning, including three on a bases loaded double by CF Daniel Cook, to stake a 7-1 lead. The 'Dads rallied to load the bases with two outs in the fifth, pushing across a run when Santana was hit by a pitch from Vazquez, but reliever LHP Chris Gloor came in and struck out 1B Mike Ortiz to end the inning to keep the score at 7-2. Augusta tacked on single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings before the Crawdads added the final run of the game in the eighth on an RBI single by RF Jared Prince, accounting for the 9-3 final score in the Augusta win. Ramirez allowed six runs on four hits and two walks while fanning five to get saddled with the loss for Hickory, while Gloor picked up the win for the GreenJackets.
Wednesday was another big day for ASU baseball and Wes Hobson as the second baseman was named a third-team all-American by Ping!Baseball and just hours later he was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 40th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. Hobson is Appalachian's fourth all-American in the past four years and the ninth Mountaineer selected in the MLB Draft over the last three years. He joins Chris Patterson as the second ASU player drafted this year. Hobson finished his collegiate career as the most prolific hitter in Appalachian history. In 206 career games, he hit .362 and set ASU all-time records with 318 hits, 879 at-bats, 223 runs, 78 doubles and 504 total bases. He enjoyed his most productive season as a senior this spring, winning the Southern Conference batting title with a .404 average and ranking among the conference leaders with 95 hits, a school-record 69 runs scored, 22 doubles, 11 home runs, 54 RBI, a .655 slugging percentage, .474 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases. Wes capped his record-breaking season and career by leading the Mountaineers to three SoCon Tournament victories for the first time since 1991. He hit a tournament-best .600 (12-for-20) with three doubles, a triple, six walks, three stolen bases and four runs scored in five games. He also played in 206 games at ASU, including a string of 186-consecutive starts at second base to close out his career. The only games he didn't start at second base during his four-year collegiate career came when he missed 25 contests after suffering a wrist injury when hit by a pitch versus Elon as a freshman. Hobson is the 15th all-American in ASU history and joins former teammates David Rubinstein (third team, 2007), Zach Quate (third team, 2009) and Isaac Harrow (honorable mention, 2009) in earning all-America recognition over the past four seasons. He is the 27th Mountaineer ever selected in the MLB Draft.
Wes Hobson wasn't the only App taken in the draft on Wednesday, at least technically he wasn't. Lawrence Pardo became the second ASU baseball signee selected in the 2010 MLB Draft when the Houston Astros tabbed the left-handed pitcher/first baseman in the 46th round. Pardo was one of the top performers on one of the nation's top prep programs over the past two years. As a senior, he went 5-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 33 innings pitched, while also leading Columbus with 38 RBI in 27 games at the plate, en route to second-team all-Miami-Dade County honors from the Miami Herald. As a junior in 2009, he hit .400 and led his club in RBI, doubles, slugging percentage and fielding percentage. Pardo led his Columbus club to the Florida 6-A championship game in 2009 and fell one game short of returning to the state championship this spring. Pardo joins right-handed pitcher Austin Brice, who was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the ninth round on Tuesday, as Mountaineer signees that were selected in this year's MLB Draft. Both signed National Letters of Intent with Appalachian during last fall's early signing period and are scheduled to begin classes at ASU in the fall and embark on their collegiate playing careers as freshmen next spring. That is of course, if they don't sign with their new clubs. MLB rules state that both Brice and Pardo have until August 15 to decide if they will sign professional contracts or pursue a collegiate career at Appalachian. If either enrolls at ASU, they would not be eligible to re-enter the draft until 2013, following their junior seasons. Including the two signees, Appalachian has had 11 players drafted over the past three years. Prior to 2008, no Mountaineers had been selected in the MLB Draft since 1996.
Amidst Stephen Strasburg starting for the Washington Nationals, and Bryce Harper getting drafted by the Nationals, is the fact that the rest of the MLB Draft is still chugging along, and with it, some names connected to ASU. Right-handed pitcher Austin Brice, who signed a National Letter of Intent to attend ASU and play baseball for the Mountaineers beginning next spring, was selected in the ninth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (287th overall) by the Florida Marlins. Brice, a 6-3, 190-pounder from Northwood H.S. in Pittsboro, N.C., was rated as North Carolina's top high-school pitcher by Baseball America coming into the 2010 MLB Draft. He was named the Carolinas 9 1-A Conference Player of the Year this spring after leading Northwood to a conference championship as a pitcher and infielder. Brice signed a National Letter of Intent with Appalachian during last fall's early signing period. He is scheduled to begin classes at ASU in the fall and embark his collegiate playing career as a freshman next spring. According to MLB rules, Brice has until August 15 to decide if he will sign a professional contract with the Marlins or pursue a collegiate career at Appalachian. If he enrolls at ASU, he would not be eligible to re-enter the draft until 2013, following his junior season.
Joining Brice among the selected is one of Appalachian's own, relief pitcher Chris Patterson. Patterson becomes the eighth ASU player in the last three years to be selected in the MLB Draft when the St. Louis Cardinals picked the right-hander in the 29th round (889th overall). Patterson is the second-straight Appalachian closer to be drafted, following all-American Zach Quate, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round of the 2009 MLB Draft. After setting up for Quate as a junior, Patterson established himself as the Southern Conference's premier closer in 2010. His SoCon-best 13 saves broke his predecessor's year-old school record of 11 and led the nation for much of the season. He finished his senior campaign with a 4-4 record, 1.67 ERA, .213 opponents' batting average and 60 strikeouts in 29 appearances. He surrendered just eight earned runs on 34 hits and walked only 13 over 43 innings of work. Patterson is the third-consecutive ASU closer to be selected in the MLB Draft. In addition to Zach Quate, Garrett Sherrill was ASU's closer before he was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Patterson is the 26th player in Appalachian history to be selected in the MLB Draft but only the second taken by the 10-time World Series champion Cardinals. The only other App selected by the Cardinals was shortstop Mike Ramsey in the third round of the 1975 draft. Most recently, Mountaineers OF David Rubinstein, OF Jason Rook and RHP Garrett Sherrill were selected in the 2008 MLB Draft and Quate, OF Rand Smith, 3B Isaac Harrow and RHP Josh Dowdy gave Appalachian a school-record four draftees last year.
The Crawdads completed their series finale with the Lexington Legends, but not the way they intended, losing 12-4 on Tuesday afternoon. The 'Dads got on the board first, scoring a run in the first on an RBI single by Miguel Velazquez, and they added a run in the third on a run-scoring single by Ed Koncel to take a 2-0 lead after three innings. Lexington had another rally in them though, scoring three runs, including two on a home run in the sixth. The Legends then added four runs in the seventh to break the game open and take a 7-2 lead. Jared Prince added a lead-off home run in the bottom of the eight to make it 7-3, but Lexington answered back with five runs in the ninth to take a 12-3 advantage. Hickory had a rally going in the bottom of the ninth when Legends closer Arcenio Leon walked in a run with the bases loaded, but Leon settled in and had back-to-back strikeouts to end the game. Lexington starter Juan Minaya got the win, while Hickory starter Matt Thompson recorded the loss.
The Hickory Crawdads rallied late, but came up just short as they fell to the Lexington Legends 6-5 on Monday night. The 'Dads got on the board first, scoring two runs on a two-out, two-run base hit by Cristian Santana in the first. Hickory tacked on another run in fourth on a sac fly by Matt West that scored Mike Ortiz. The Legends made a furious comeback though, scoring a run in the fifth on an RBI single, two runs in the sixth, and three runs in the seventh against the Hickory bullpen to take a 6-3 lead. The Crawdads were resilient though, as West singled home Santana, and Travis Adair followed that up with a sacrifice fly that scored Ortiz, making it 6-5 in favor of the Legends. But with West on first and one out, Lexington reliever Kirk Clark induced a game-ending double play off the bat of Leonel De Los Santos. Hickory reliever Tyler Tufts, who pitched the seventh inning, was tagged with the loss for Hickory, while Lexington starter Robbie Donovan picked up the win and Clark registered the save for Lexington. With the loss, the Crawdads fall to 35-24 on the year.
Well, who would have thought we would be talking so much about the Washington Nationals? One day after drafting one of the most highly acclaimed and hyped prospects ever in Bryce Harper, the Nationals now bring in one of the most hyped pitching prospects ever in Stephen Strasburg to start tonight for the big league club against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's such a big deal in Washington that they have had official Stephen Strasburg countdowns since last year's draft for when he would join the big league club. On top of that, the game is a complete sellout, and some are even calling today "Strasmas" because they consider it a holiday. Either way, it's going to be a good couple of days for the Nationals, and depending on what Strasburg and Harper can do in the coming months and years, it may be a sign of what's to come for this struggling club.
There's nothing like a blowout win to make you feel good about yourself, and that's what the Hickory Crawdads got on Sunday. The 'Dads recorded season-highs in runs and hits as they defeated the Lexington Legends, 18-9, on Sunday evening.
Before the barn-burner, the Crawdads welcomed their 3,333,333rd fan in team history on Sunday. Allen Sigman was the lucky fan, winning 3 season tickets for the rest of the 2010 season, 3 outs spent on the Public Address, 3 outs spent on the radio broadcast, 3 autographed baseballs by the 2010 Crawdads, 3 Crawdads 6-Pack Coolers, 3 Packs of 2010 Crawdads Team Card Sets, and 3 Twelve-packs of Pepsi.
In the game, Hickory gave Sigman another treat by scoring at least two runs in the first five innings, tallying all 18 of their runs within the first five frames. The 'Dads scored two in the first on a two-run shot to left by LF Ed Koncel and five in the second, including four on back-to-back home runs by DH Christian Santana and 1B Mike Ortiz. The Hickory offense continued to wipe the floor with the Legends, when Jared Prince hit a two-run blast, the fourth of the game for the Crawdads in the third. Four runs scored in the fourth and another five in the fifth capped the 'Dads offensive display, posting an 18-0 lead through five. Crawdads starter LHP Robbie Ross (8-4, 1.92 ERA) hurled five scoreless innings before Lexington got on the board against him in the sixth, making it 18-1. Ross got out of the rest of the inning unscathed, just moments before the game was delayed 31-minutes for rain in the bottom of the sixth. After the delay, Lexington proceeded to notched six runs in the eighth and two in the ninth against the bullpen to account for the final score of 18-9 in the Crawdads win. The 18 runs scored top the previous high of 11, set twice this season, and with 20 hits, the team eclipsed their previous high of 18. The four home runs also set a single-game mark this season, while Prince set a single-game team high with five RBIs. Ross picked up his eighth win of the season, which is tied for best in the South Atlantic League, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk while striking out three in six innings. Lexington starter LHP David Duncan (3-2, 6.35 ERA) picked up the loss, surrendering seven runs on seven hits and two walks before being chased after just 1.2 innings. With the victory, the 'Dads increase their division lead back up to two games ahead of the Lakewood BlueClaws.
After a lack of competition for the better part of the NBA Playoffs, it seems we have a series in the NBA Finals. After the LA Lakers took game one in Los Angeles, the Boston Celtics responded on Sunday evening with a 103-94 win to tie the series at 1-1. Rajon Rondo was putting on a clinic with a triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds, while Ray Allen added 32 points on an NBA Finals record, 8-11 from three-point range. Kobe Bryant scored 21, Andrew Bynum added 21, and Pau Gasol added 25, but Ron Artest and Derek Fisher combined for 12 points on 3-18 shooting and the Lakers could not contain Rondo or Allen down the stretch. Game three starts at 9pm in Boston on Tuesday, as LA will be looking to regain home-court advantage, and Boston will be looking to try to take the critical game three.
The West Wilkes Blackhawks baseball team played for a state championship over the weekend. The Blackhawks were on the eastern side of the state in Zebulon taking on Dixon High School for the 1A state crown. The championship was a best-of-three series with game one Friday night. Game one was an interesting game, as the Dixon High Bulldogs got the win 8-3. Bulldog right-hander Rookie Davis pitched a no-hitter to get the victory, but walked 13 Blackhawks batters. West Wilkes pitcher, Scott Gambill, had a good night as well striking out 12 and only allowing four hits. But nine walks and three errors cost the Blackhawks the game, which put West one game from elimination.
So, with their backs against the wall West Wilkes had to come up with a win Saturday morning with game two starting at 11. Early it looked like the Blackhawks had run out of gas on their postseason run, as Dixon jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. But the Blackhawks clawed back with five runs of their own in the second inning, with the key hits being a bases-clearing triple by Scott Gambill and a two-run single by Ethan Church. The Blackhawks then took control in the fifth inning by plating four more runs thanks to a double by Tyler Stotler and a sac fly from Logan Hallock. West ended up winning the high-scoring affair 14-10. Stotler finished 4-5 with two RBI's and Grafton Church was 4-4 and scored three runs. The win tied the series up at one game a piece, and the third and final game would decide the state champion.
Game three which started Saturday evening saw the Blackhawks open an early 6-1 lead on the Bulldogs. West scored four in the first, three of those runs thanks to a bases-loaded double from Ethan Absher. West pushed a couple of more runs across home plate in the third on a single from Jacob Shepherd. But Dixon fought back to tie the game with a run in the fifth, and four more in the sixth to even the score at six a piece. Then in the bottom of the seventh, West loaded the bases with no outs, but failed to capitalize when Jacob Shepherd popped out and the game went to extra innings. It doesn't get more dramatic than this, extra innings in the final game for the state championship. After a scoreless eighth inning, Logan Hallock retired Dixon's batters in the top of the ninth to give West another chance to win it in the bottom half of the inning. A hit-batter and an intentional walk put two runners on the basepads for West, and up to the plate came Jacob Shepherd again looking for redemption. Jacob is a great story as he is a cancer survivor who battled lymphoma until February 2008. But Saturday night, the senior became a legend forever at West Wilkes when he delivered the championship-winning single in the bottom of the 9th. Shepherd, with two strikes on him, hit a curveball hard through the left side of the infield and Logah Hallock crossed the plate to cap the storybook season for the Blackhawks. The win marks the schools first state baseball title, which seemed improbable after the team lost eight of it's first 14 games. Congratulations to the Blackhawks for an amazing run through these playoffs, culminating in their first state championship.
ASU's spectacular baseball season may have come to a disappointing end, but their efforts are still being recognized. Appalachian second baseman Wes Hobson, third baseman Hector Crespo, and left fielder Chris Alessandria were all named to the all-tournament team following Sunday's championship game. Hobson led the Mountaineers to three SoCon Tournament wins for the first time since 1991 by hitting a tournament-best .600 (12-for-20) with three doubles, a triple, six walks, three stolen bases and four runs scored in five games. Despite not reaching the championship game, Hobson's 12 hits were the second-most in SoCon Tournament history, behind only Wofford's Brandon Waring who had 14 in 2007. Alessandria, hit .412 (7-for-17) with a home run, double and six RBI, and Crespo hit .409 (9-for-22) with five RBI, nine runs and several highlight-reel plays at third base. In addition to the all-tournament team nod, Wes Hobson was also ranked the 40th best prospect in North Carolina by Baseball America, in anticipation of next week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In 206 career games, Hobson hit .362 and set ASU all-time records with 318 hits, 879 at-bats, 223 runs, 78 doubles and 504 total bases. He hit .404 as a senior this season and is all but assured of becoming Appalachian's first SoCon batting champion since Mike Berrier in 1998. Hobson is one of five Mountaineers that may have his name called during the 2010 MLB Draft, which will be held June 7-9 in Secaucus, N.J. Relief pitcher Chris Patterson, catcher Jerod Faggart, starting pitcher Matt Andress, and first baseman David Towarnicky are Appalachian's other potential draftees. ASU had a record four players drafted last year, and they have had seven drafted over the past two years.
Well, the Hickory Crawdads were given a little dose of their own medicine, as the Charleston Riverdogs jumped out in front first and held on for a 6-2 win over the 'Dads on Thursday night. The Riverdogs struck first against Hickory starter Matt Thompson on an RBI single and an RBI fielder's choice to take a 2-0 lead in the first. Charleston tacked on another two runs in the second with an RBI single and a sac fly to take a 4-0 lead. The 'Dogs then added a run in the third and fourth to put Hickory in the hole 6-0. The Crawdads did try a bid at a comeback when Cristian Santana hit an RBI double to score Jared Prince from second in the sixth, and Travis Adair added a bases-loaded sac fly in the seventh to make it 6-2. But the"dads weren't able to muster any other offense as Jairo Heredia picked up the win for Charleston and Thompson took the loss for Hickory after allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks with a strikeout. Despite the loss, the 'Dads remain two games ahead of the Lakewood BlueClaws in the Northern Division.
Hickory will be welcoming the 3,333,333rd fan in team history through the gates before the 5 p.m. first pitch against the Lexington Legends. To celebrate the milestone, the Crawdads have crafted a prize package for lucky fan number 3,333,333. So, due to the seven digits in the momentous attendance figure, and the repeating number 3, the prize package will consist of seven different 3-packs, including: 3 season tickets for the rest of the 2010 season, 3 outs spent on the Public Address this Sunday, 3 outs spent on this Sunday's radio broadcast, 3 autographed baseballs by the 2010 Crawdads, 3 Crawdads 6-Pack Coolers, 3 Packs of 2010 Crawdads Team Card Sets, and finally, 3 Twelve-packs of Pepsi. In addition to the 3,333,333rd fan passing through the gates and entering Crawdads history, this Sunday's game will also be Faith and Family Day, with a pre-game service by Hulls Grove Baptist Church at 3:30 p.m. It is also Bark at the Park, when all fans are encouraged to attend the game with their dogs! For more information on the Crawdads 3,333,333rd fan prize package or any of the 'Dads upcoming games or promotions, you can visit Hickorycrawdads.com or call the Front Office at (828) 322-3000.
One day after ASU won their 30th Southern Conference Commissioner's Cup, the Mountaineer athletic program has even more exciting news. First, the ASU men's basketball team will be playing in the inaugural Governor's Cup in Cancun, Mexico on December 22-24. The eight-team field will consist of Ole Miss, Southern Mississippi, Colorado State, East Tennessee State, Northeastern, St. Louis, and Texas State. Secondly, Asheville will once again be hosting the Southern Conference Tournament from 2012-14. The games will be played at the newly renovated Asheville Civic Center and the soon-to-be unveiled UNC-Asheville on-campus facility. It's the first time since 1995 that Asheville has hosted the tournament where it was a mainstay there from 1984-1995. There were six cities in the running for the Southern Conference men's and women's basketball tournament. Chattanooga will be this year's host of the tournament. Finally, ASU will be the host of the SoCon men's soccer and softball tournaments. ASU will host the men's SoCon tournament in the fall of 2011, and ASU will host the SoCon softball tournament in the spring of 2012.
After battling in a see-saw game all night, the Hickory Crawdads came up just short, as the Charleston Riverdogs walked-off with a win in the 10th inning on Wednesday night, 5-4. Hickory once again got on the board first when Miguel Velazquez hit a sac-fly to right-center to score Leury Garcia. The Riverdogs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the third though when Kelvin Castro tripled home Hector Rabago, then Castro was singled home, and JR Murphy grounded out to score Ray Kruml to put Charleston up 3-1. The 'Dads tied it up the very next inning though, when Miguel Velazquez hit his 10th home run of the year and Zach Zaneski scored on a throwing error. Charleston made it 4-3 in the sixth with an RBI single. Hickory tied it back up in the seventh though when Jared Prince hit a sacrifice fly to score Travis Adair. Hickory had a chance to win in the ninth with runners at second and third and two outs, but Mike Ortiz grounded out to end the threat. The Riverdogs seized their opportunities in the bottom of the 10th when Hector Rambago walked to lead off the inning, was replaced by pinch runner Emerson Landoni, and Landoni advanced to third on a Kelvin Castro double. Kyle Ocampo then walked Ray Kruml, but Slade Heathcott smacked a walk-off single to center to score Landoni to win the game for Charleston. Ocampo took the loss for Hickory, allowing the winning run on two hits and two walks without recording an out in the 10th. Hickory remains in first in the Northern Division, with a two game lead over the Lakewood Blueclaws.
How good is, and was, Armanti Edwards? Well, apparently so good that even when he's not playing, even when he's not in college anymore, he can still win awards. Armanti Edwards is the SoCon's Bob Waters Male Athlete of the Year. He becomes the fourth App in the last six years and the seventh overall to earn the recognition. Edwards already became the first two-time winner of the Walter Payton Award in addition to being named the 2009 SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American and a finalist for the prestigious Sullivan Award, which is given annually to the nation's top amateur athlete. For his career, Edwards ranks second in FCS history behind only Steve McNair with 14,753 yards of total offense He became the first and only player in Division I history (FCS or FBS) with at least 9,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career and the only FCS player to reach the 8,000 passing/4,000 rushing plateau, finishing his terrific career with 10,392 passing yards and 4,361 rushing yards. He was responsible for 139 touchdowns, 74 passing, 65 rushing, highlighting his 64 ASU and 14 Southern Conference records. He is the only four-time all-American in Appalachian history, and compiled a 42-7 record as a starter and led the Mountaineers to back-to-back national championships, in 2006 and '07, and four-straight SoCon crowns. He is the only player in SoCon history to quarterback his team to four conference titles. Edwards graduated from ASU in December with a bachelor's degree in graphic arts and imaging technology, earning his degree in just three-and-half year as an honors student. In April, he was selected in the third round (89th selection overall) in the NFL Draft by the hometown Carolina Panthers.
Last night we mentioned that the Mountaineer wrestling team had added eight newcomers, but that should have been nine. We apologize to Aaron Scott, who was part of a class of nine new incomers. Scott, at 145 pounds, compiled a 129-17 record in four years at Ashe County High School. He also won four conference tournaments and was named the Mountain Valley Conference Wrestler of the Year. So, congratulations to Aaron Scott and the rest of the nine new Mountaineers on the wrestling team for the Fall.
Well, the Hickory Crawdads must love the number eight for some reason. the last three games the 'Dads have played in, the winning team has scored eight runs, which was the case Tuesday night when the Crawdads beat the Charleston Riverdogs 8-0. hickory received a dominating pitching performance from starter Robbie Ross who retired 23-straight after a lead off single. Ross pitched eight strong innings of one -hit ball, striking out four and picking up his league-tying seventh win of the year. Meanwhile, the Hickory offense went to work against Charleston starter Josh Romanski, who was making his pro debut. In the top of the first, the 'Dads scored a run on a wild pitch and got a two RBI double from Zach Zaneski to put them up 3-0. The Crawdads then added four more runs in the third when Miguel Velazquez lead off the inning with a solo blast, Crisitian Santana doubled in Zaneski, and Matt West added a two-run bomb to give Hickory the 7-0 lead. The 'Dads tacked on another run in the ninth when Santana singled home Jared Prince to bring the final score to 8-0. Hector Nelo sealed up the deal in the ninth for Hickory, giving up one hit and striking out one. The shutout was the second in the last four games and sixth overall this season for the Crawdads as they move to 33-20 on the year.
While, the ASU baseball team ended their season in heartbreaking fashion, the ASU wrestling team has already started planning for next year. Head Coach JohnMark Bentley has announced that the Mountaineer wrestling team has eight new arrivals that will join the ASU family in the fall. Russell Benner, Jacob Burke, Chris Johnson, Brandon Lietz, Dominic Parisi, Acton Pifer, Dominick Vetell and Marc Tyson all signed National Letters of Intent to join ASU this fall. Russell Benner at 149 pounds, was named to the all-state team in New Jersey. Jacob Burke a 157 pounder, earned all-state honors and National High School Coaches Association all-American accolades. Chris Johnson at 133 pounds, is a two-time North Carolina state champion and a four-time state-finalist. The 174 pound Brandon Lietz, won a North Carolina state championship this past season, and he's a four-time county champion and two-time team MVP. Dominic Parisi at 125 pounds, is a three-time North Carolina state champion, and four-time conference and region champion. Acton Pifer in the 133/141 pound weight class was a state champion as a senior and named NHSCA all-American. Dominick Vetell in the 157/165 pound weight class finished in second place in his way class as a junior and senior. Finally, Marc Tyson a 285 pounder, earned all-state honors as a senior with a fifth place finish, and he earned all-area first-team honors and was a regional champion.
You had to figure that the winning was going to come to an end eventually for the Hickory Crawdads, and their luck ran dry, when the conditions were wet. Hickory never had a chance for a comeback as they lost a rain-shortened game to the West Virginia Power 8-1 in five innings. The 'Dads lived up to their knack for scoring first by plating the game's first run in the third inning when Leury Garcia singled home Leonel De Los Santos, but that would be the only offense the Crawdads could muster. The Power responded with three runs in the bottom of the third with an RBI single and a two RBI double. West Virginia continued their assault the next inning adding two runs with a home run by Rogelios Noris and then made the score 5-1 with an RBI single. They followed that with three more runs in the fifth to round out the scoring. The Power added a run on an RBI double and then Noris responded again with his second home run of the game, this time a two-run shot. After a 33 minute rain delay following the end of the fifth inning, umpires decided to call it a game. Hickory starter Joe Wieland took the loss for the 'Dads giving up 8 runs and 11 hits while fanning four, while Power starter Jason Erickson picked up the win for the Power. With the loss, Hickory splits the series with West Virginia and still remain in firm control of the Northern Division.
