Area One Champs!

It has been since 1973 since Coleman Pitt Post 58 played for the State American Legion Championship. Thirty six years later they will try to win Post 58 their second title.

Down 4-2 in the bottom of the third Collins Cuthrell hit safely and X man(Xavier Macklin) tattooed a home run to tie. One out later Tyler Clark hit the first of his two home runs to give Post 58 the lead for the first time.

Brandon Denton Post 58 starting pitcher was knocked around with two home runs the first three innings which was worth three runs. The only other runs Cary Post 67 produced came at the expense of poor 58 defense allowing 67 to tie at 5 at the halfway point.

Bottom of the fifth Ben Fish reached on a 67 error and Tyler Clark stroked his second home run to give Post 58 the lead they would never give up at 7-5.

Denton struck out the first batter he face in the sixth but gave up a walk and a hit. Matt Bryan figuring that with the lead we needed to stomp out any fires that Post 67 might start brought in Bill Clark who struck out the next two batters to end the 6th inning threat.

Post 58 had a chance to add a run in the 7th inning when Collins Cuthrell laced a double in to the left field corner . The throw back to the infield rolled all the way almost to the fence pass first base. Matt Bryan sent Collins home where the home plate umpire who was there at third to make any call was in the way of Collins as he advance home. Having to avoid the umpire Cuthrell was caught in a run down and failed to score.

This is where the PA man (Me) lost my voice fussing with the umpire for not calling interference on himself and call Cuthrell to go back to third safely. Luckily for us that run was made up in the eighth when Dillon Cockrell laid down a safety squeeze bunt to score Ben Fish who had open the inning with a hit and had been pushed to third on a beautiful hit and run hit by Cameron Ramsey hitting the ball behind the running Fish..

Post 58 first two runs in the game came on a solid single by Grant Johnson who had advanced the two previous hitters to second and third Dillon Cockrell and Gabe Brown came home to score when the ball went through the legs of the left fielder.

Bill Clark pitch 3 and 2/3 inning of relief he walked one batter and surrendered one hit. Once Clark got Denton out of the jam in the sixth Clark was in control and picked up the save tonight after being the winning pitcher in relief last night.

Brandon Denton got the win pitching 5 and 1/3 innings allowed six hits, walked four and had what his mama believes to be his career high in strike outs with nine.

Post 58 had Nine hits again tonight being lead by Tyler Clark who hit two homers and had three rbi's. Xavier Macklin had a homer and a hit with two rbi's. Dillon Cockrell had the only other rbi with one hit but his rbi came on the safety squeeze. Collins Cuthrell, Ben Fish,Gabe Brown, Grant Johnson and Cameron Ramsey all had a single.

Post 58 starts Saturday afternoon at 4.30 with their first game against the area three #2 team who will either be Rowan County or Mooresville. Both those teams have qualified for the tournament but they started a two out of three tonight to see who's first and who's second in their area.

Victory is always hard to leave as all of the fans for Post 58 hung around long enough to see coach Matt Bryan get Gatoraded twice. The first time was not good enough so the guys loaded up a second cooler and got coach good while being interviewed by Wes Bradshaw for the Stretchlon Sports Show.

After having pitching six innings of shutout baseball and knocking two home runs on Saturday and then getting two hits last night in center field T J Taylor was named the outstanding player in the Area one finals

Coleman Pitt Post 58-8 Cary Post 67-5 Coleman Pitt sweeps the series three game to zero and are the Area one American Legion Champs!