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!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Coaching - It Can Make You or Break You
Coleman Pitt Post 58 has a young whipper snapper of a coach by the name of Matt Bryan. In real life, he is an assistant baseball coach at Eastern Wayne. Joe Bell ran across Matt a few years back and got him to coach the Rocky Mount Junior Legion team.
Matt is a young buck who has a lot of talent as a coach. I think most of the folks who have watched consistently over the last couple of years will tell you Matt, still being young in coaching circles, likes to show everyone every now and then how much baseball he knows. He will double steal, squeeze and sometimes his aggressive coaching runs himself right out of an inning.
Saturday night after Post 58 took the first game of the series with Cary, Matt, in his talk to the team, gave it his game plan for game two. He told the team that Mike Williams would start game two. Having just pitched T.J. Taylor, Post 58's center fielder, in game one, Bryan wanted one more day of rest for what has been the top three pitchers Brandon Denton, Dillon Cockrell and Alex Pearce. Those three were about worn out from going five games with Wilson.
A parent told me last night at the game that their son told him that this was the tightest bunch of players that they had ever played on. Bryan has them thinking as one. The players understood that with Mike Williams on the mound that everyone had to help him get us by this game.
Between clutch hitting and outstanding defense, Post 58 stole one in Cary last night with a pitcher who had never pitched more than two innings in his life.
Bryan has these kids playing some ball. These kids are all stars and yes, with all the baseball experience this year has in its hitting lineup, they are producing as all stars. The pitching is another matter there is no all star that takes the hill for Post 58.
Matt Bryan in just a few more than 20 games knows what button to push. What to say to his pitchers to give him just a little more.
Post 58 can wrap up a spot in the State tournament with a win tonight. We must remember that Wilson had us 2-zip just a week ago and we came back, so we know it can be done. I like our chances. Three well-rested starters to go in the next three games, if need be, and two are at home.
When Bryan is 35 years old, I think he will be known in eastern North Carolina as one of the finest baseball coaches around. Now as a young agressive coach, his legend is taking shape. Bryan and Post 58 are one win away from the state tournament.
Whether the wheels fall off and we don't win another game this year, this team has produced when it needed it. The state tournament is a double elimination affair. Post 58 has brought back memories of years gone by. Bryan, who wears number 55, has kicked butt when needed but most of all has this team playing as one.
Matt is a young buck who has a lot of talent as a coach. I think most of the folks who have watched consistently over the last couple of years will tell you Matt, still being young in coaching circles, likes to show everyone every now and then how much baseball he knows. He will double steal, squeeze and sometimes his aggressive coaching runs himself right out of an inning.
Saturday night after Post 58 took the first game of the series with Cary, Matt, in his talk to the team, gave it his game plan for game two. He told the team that Mike Williams would start game two. Having just pitched T.J. Taylor, Post 58's center fielder, in game one, Bryan wanted one more day of rest for what has been the top three pitchers Brandon Denton, Dillon Cockrell and Alex Pearce. Those three were about worn out from going five games with Wilson.
A parent told me last night at the game that their son told him that this was the tightest bunch of players that they had ever played on. Bryan has them thinking as one. The players understood that with Mike Williams on the mound that everyone had to help him get us by this game.
Between clutch hitting and outstanding defense, Post 58 stole one in Cary last night with a pitcher who had never pitched more than two innings in his life.
Bryan has these kids playing some ball. These kids are all stars and yes, with all the baseball experience this year has in its hitting lineup, they are producing as all stars. The pitching is another matter there is no all star that takes the hill for Post 58.
Matt Bryan in just a few more than 20 games knows what button to push. What to say to his pitchers to give him just a little more.
Post 58 can wrap up a spot in the State tournament with a win tonight. We must remember that Wilson had us 2-zip just a week ago and we came back, so we know it can be done. I like our chances. Three well-rested starters to go in the next three games, if need be, and two are at home.
When Bryan is 35 years old, I think he will be known in eastern North Carolina as one of the finest baseball coaches around. Now as a young agressive coach, his legend is taking shape. Bryan and Post 58 are one win away from the state tournament.
Whether the wheels fall off and we don't win another game this year, this team has produced when it needed it. The state tournament is a double elimination affair. Post 58 has brought back memories of years gone by. Bryan, who wears number 55, has kicked butt when needed but most of all has this team playing as one.
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