Adam Gunn and John Robertson(Eastern Guilford HS) playing well for Burlington-Graham Post 63 Legion team

from the Sunday edition of the Burlington Times-News and available on-line at www.timesnews.com:

Post 63 tightens defense in victory against Winston-Salem

GRAHAM — Winston-Salem Post 55 brought an undefeated record in Northern
Conference play and some gaudy offensive statistics into Saturday night’s
American Legion baseball game with homestanding Burlington-Graham Post 63.
The visitors left Tom Zachary Field with a 12-5 loss and praise for
Burlington-Graham’s pitching and defense.

Winston-Salem (4-2 overall, 4-1 Northern Conference) was held to nine hits. It
entered the game having won three of its four conference games by the 10-run
mercy rule.

“We came into this game averaging 12 runs and 15 hits in conference games, so
the credit goes to Burlington-Graham’s pitchers,” Winston-Salem manager Mike
Lovelace said. “Their guys made good pitches and their defense made plays in the
field.”

Burlington-Graham (3-3, 2-1) continues to play good defense, committing one
error against Post 55. Winston-Salem, which had four starters miss the game,
including one who’s going to North Carolina, committed three errors and left 11
runners on base.

“The three games we’ve played here, I think we’ve only made one or two errors in
each game,” Burlington-Graham manager Johnny Slaughter said. “That should make our pitchers realize that if they throw strikes, we have guys who can make plays behind them.”

Post 63 starter Jack Metcalf was the winning pitcher, giving up four hits and
four walks and striking out four batters in five innings. Despite
Winston-Salem’s base runners, he escaped major damage.

Adam Gunn(Eastern Guilford) and Elliott Fowler were the big offensive guns for Post 63. Gunn went
4-for-5 with a double. Fowler was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and four RBI.
Fowler’s first two-bagger came with the bases loaded in the first inning,
clearing the bases and giving Post 63 a 4-0 lead.

Fowler sent a screamer down the third-base line in the fifth, plating John David
Slade with the first of five runs in the inning that put Post 63 on top 11-3.
Gunn drove in two runs with a double.

Not only did he star at the plate, Fowler, a Williams High School product,
pitched an inning in relief. He allowed two hits and struck out a batter.
“It’s about time,” Fowler said of his hitting spree. “I’ve been struggling and
the coaches helped a lot. I listened to them and took a different approach at
the plate. I kept my foot down and was quicker with the bat. I just tried to hit
it hard and find a hole. That double in the first inning helped my confidence
and I think helped get things going for us.”

Tommy Marshall drove in a pair of runs in the second, giving Burlington-Graham a 6-2 lead.

On Friday night, Burlington-Graham dropped a 12-8 decision to host Eastern
Randolph in a Northern Conference game. Marshall tripled while Fowler, Gunn and
Logan Thornton doubled. Metcalf went 3-for-4 and Eddie Sappelt scored three
times.