Local Greensboro Colt Baseball:
Southern Guilford 6, Cornerstone Charter 5
Burlington Williams 3, Western Guilford 1
South Atlantic League:
Hagerstown Suns 7, Greensboro Grasshoppers 5
WP:Guillen(1-3)/LP:Bido(10-5)/SV:Brasher(1)….GSO Grant Koch 2-4/RBI…Jack Herman 2-5/2 RBI/Run
Hoppers(51-31/7-6)/Suns(34-49/4-9)
TOG-2:49(:53 Delay)/Attendance 296 at Municipal Stadium, in Hagerstown, Maryland
Atlantic League Professional Baseball:
High Point Rockers 4, Lancaster Barnstormers 3
Rockers(38-28)/Barnstormers(23-40)
TOG-2:38/Attendance 1,601 at BB&T Point Ballpark, in High Point, N.C.
Coastal Plain League:
High Point-Thomasville HiToms OFF
Peninsula Pilots 12, Asheboro Copperheads 8
Carolina League:
Winston-Salem Dash 5, Down East Wood Ducks 4
Dash(43-34)/Wood Ducks(57-26)
TOG-2:33/Attendance 1,294 at Grainger Stadium, in Kinston, N.C.
Appalachian League:
Princeton Rays 6, Burlington Royals 5
Rays(7-7)/Royals(5-9)
TOG-3:04/Attendance 453 at Burlington Athletic Stadium, in Burlington, N.C.
American Legion Baseball:
Pitchers Duel In Low-Scoring Affair, Eastern Randolph Post 81 Falls to Greensboro Post 53
Final:Post 53 Greensboro Red Wings 3, Post 81 Eastern Randolph 0
*****from Post 53 on Twitter:*****
GREENSBORO, NC — Tuesday night’s game was the final game of the regular season for Post 53 and they ended it on a high note.
It was mostly a quickly played pitcher’s duel–the game only lasted about an hour and a half. Much of this was due to the excellent pitching Post 53 put on display.
Brandon Leonard got the start for the Red Wings after firing a complete game last week. Leonard was stellar yet again; he went 5.2 shutout innings, allowed four hits, no walks, and struck out four. He was pulled to preserve his eligibility to pitch in the playoffs on Saturday.
In his last three appearances (including two starts), Leonard has gone 2-0 and posted 14.2 IP, 13 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 11 K. That’s good enough for a 0.63 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and 5.5 K/BB.
Bowen Young was called upon to record the final four outs of the ballgame. He locked down a 4-out save and allowed three hits, no walks, and struck out two.
Young has also been hot as of late. He has been used as a long reliever and as a closer. In his last four appearances, he has gone 14.0 IP, allowed 11 H, 1 R, 11 BB, and 18 K. Seven of his 11 walks came in one long relief appearance. Regardless, he has posted a 0.64 ERA and 11.57 K/9 over that stretch.
Collectively, Leonard and Young did not allow a run, struck out six, allowed seven hits, and did not issue a walk–the first time the staff has not walked a batter in a game all year.
In typical fashion, the offense scratched and clawed their way to three runs. Aiden Bognar scored the first run in the third inning on a wild pitch and Josh Nichols scored on an RBI single by Clay Dilday. Jonathan Todd scored in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly by Chandler Coleman.
Although the Red Wings did not crush Eastern Randolph, they did enough to win. The pitching and defense shut down Post 81’s offense and the Red Wings’ bats put up enough runs to win the ballgame.
That seems to be this team’s identity and pattern for winning: stellar pitching, lock-down defense, and a couple runs. Extra-base hits have not come as often as some might have hoped, but the offense is gritty enough to push runs across even when they don’t have balls consistently hit into gaps.
At this point, finding a way to win is all that matters. There are no more opportunities to tune up or figure things out. The Red Wings are locked in as the sixth seed in the North, pitting them against Area III powerhouse Rowan County–the third seed in the South.
Post 53 has played Rowan twice this year. Rowan won both games, but the first game went to extra-innings when the Red Wings lost 6-5. It has potential to be an entertaining series, especially if they pitch as well as they have recently.
The Red Wings finish the season at 6-12 overall and 4-8 in the division. It was not the regular season the team had hoped for, but Post 53 has been trending up at the right time of year. The first round of playoffs will begin Friday night at Newman Park in Salisbury.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++More on the Post 53 Greensboro Red Wings, as they get set for the 2019 American Legion Playoffs++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Post 53 Red Wings
?@post53redwings
BREAKING NEWS:The schedule has been set for the First Round of the Playoffs vs. Rowan County!
Friday 7/5 at Rowan 7pm
Newman Park
Saturday 7/6 at home 7pm
Eastern Guilford HS
Sunday 7/7 at Rowan 7pm
Newman Park