NCISAA 3A State Playoffs

NCISAA 3A State Playoffs began today at Charlotte Country Day.

Semi-final game one:

Charlotte Christian - 10
Providence Day - 6

WP - Bard (in relief)
LP - Conrad

HRs: CCS - Linton, Glover
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Semi-final game two:

Wesleyan Christian - 4
Charlotte Country Day - 0

WP - Self
LP - Frazier
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Final (best of 3)
Game one:

Charlotte Christian - 14
Wesleyan Christian - 0
(5 innings)

WP - Williams
LP - Ingram

HRs - CCS: Linton, Laney
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Game two tomorrow (5/16) at 11:00 a.m. at Country Day. Game three if necessary shortly thereafter.

 

Linton was 2-3 with 5 RBI's...he tagged one that got out of the park in a flash and Laney followed him a few batters later with a moon shot. Charlotte Christian wins 14-0.....Wesleyan will have to figure out how to slow down the Knights merry-go-round offense or it's over.

 

Charlotte Christian Wins!

In a game played over the span of about five hours because of three rain delays, Charlotte Christian defeated Wesleyan Christian Academy by a score of 8-5 to capture the NCISAA 3A State Championship. Two excellent teams battled the elements and each other to the end. The Knights finish the season with a record of 30-3, and WCA finished 17-5.

I believe Luke Bard earned the victory in relief, and Tyler Hickernell took the loss. Ty Linton of CCS continued his hot hitting with two shots off the fence. The only home run was hit by Wil Myers of WCA who blasted one of the few fast balls he saw in two days almost to Carmel Road.

 

Baseball America HS rankings

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/high-school/team-rankings/2009/268090.html

Charlotte Christian School rated #21 nationally, 5 games before its run to the State Championship and sweep of Weslyan Christian Academy this Saturday. The CCS bats overwhelmed the highly rated pitching staff of High Point's WCA in the championship best of 3 series sweep.


Braves, this is one team that can hit, better than the 2006 team that saw 8 players go on to the next level.

Farewell to asst Coach David Houseton who has take the head coaching role at Covenant Day School in Matthews.

 

Ty Linton is a beast! Congratulations to CC on their fabulous season culminating in another championship. Although David Houseton will be sorely missed, I'm happy for him with his new opportunity.

 

Entertaining

The title game of the NCISAA 3A playoffs was an exciting game for fans to witness. The game started with a purpose pitch and some chin music and then settled into a contest of wills. Christian's powerhouse offense got things going early with leadoff hitter John Kincaid rifling a triple to right center (following the the first pitch of the game flying over his head). Christian's power-hitting centerfielder Ty Linton got a close look at the first pitch thrown to him as a fastball zipped by just under his chin. The next pitch hit him squarely in the back and the game was on.

Christian shot out to a 5-1 lead and it appeared that they were going to coast to the state title from there. Wesleyan's run came from a solo HR from their all-everything player Wil Myers (SC signee) who had the 3-0 greenlight and responded with a smash to right-center. Some hard showers put things on hold for several hours and when play resumed, Wesleyan immediately mounted a rally. Several sharp hits in succession and a couple of walks led to 3 runs and a 5-4 score with the bases loaded and no outs....or so it appeared. The hit that scored the 4th run moved Wil Myers to third, but when the throw in skirted past the third baseman, Myers broke for the plate. Christian's catcher Scott Glover made an exceptional play to retrieve the ball and flip it to the pitcher covering for the bang bang play at the plate...the call could have gone either way, and it went "out". If Glover throws the ball instead of flipping it the moment his hand touched it, Myers is safe and the score is tied. When the Christian pitcher barked at Myers after the play as he was returning to the mound, Myers bowed up and had to be restrained. Now with one out, the Wesleyan rally fizzles.

Ultimately, Wesleyan did get that fifth run, but didn't have the pitching to hold Christian off as they scored three in the top of the 7th with a couple of runs coming via bases loaded walks. In the previous inning, Christian had the go-ahead run taken off the board when the umpire granted a Wesleyan appeal that Linton left third too soon on a bases loaded sac fly by Sam Fulginiti. When the ump called him out, the stands erupted and Coach Simmons decided to have an animated word with the umpire about the situation, adding a little flavor the the festivities. The play turned a bases-loaded, one out situation into an inning ending double play with no runs scoring, so you can see why the fans were reacting to the play in ways that demonstrated their allegiance to their teams.

Myers put on a show in the first game of the series on Friday night, throwing down to 2nd base and 3rd base from his knees with accuracy and zip rarely seen in HS baseball. Scouts say he is the rare 5-tool player and it showed this weekend in Charlotte. Respect for his hitting was so high that he rarely saw a pitch to hit, as breaking balls out of the zone were standard fare.

Kudos to the Charlotte Country Day coaches and staff for getting the field back in playable condition when that didn't look possible at one point.