By Jerob Moon- Sports Information
KANNAPOLIS, NC- The Piedmont Pride were well represented on this year’s SCBL All-Star team, with seven players making the roster. During the weekend, they made their presence known on the team, each player contributing to the SCBL team success. All five position players got a base hit in the two games played, and the two pitchers threw well in their appearances on Sunday.
“I thought our players represented Kingsmen Baseball and the SCBL very well over the weekend. I thought our two pitchers threw well, and our five hitters had a great weekend. I’m very proud of all of them,” Coach Joe Hudak commented
In the first game of the round robin tournament, the SCBL faced the Valley League on Saturday. Even though the team was shutout 6-0, the Pride players contributed. As a team the SCBL had seven hits, five of those coming from Pride players. Josh Baker led the team with two singles, and Joe Campagna hit a double in the eighth. Kitt Capell and Roury Glanton each added a hit as well.
Roury Glanton enjoyed what the weekend had to offer. “I loved it here, the SCBL put on a great showcase tournament this weekend. The competition was great, and it was really cool to play with a lot of different kids from different teams we battle with. We came together this weekend, united as one, and played the great game of baseball.”
The Pride players performed well in Game Two on Sunday, a 4-2 win against the Sun Belt League. The pitchers got their time to shine as Zach English and Cory Conway both pitched well in their outings. Conway allowed a run in the second inning but pitched well in his short outing. English then took the ball in the third and only needed 13 pitches to retire the side.
“It was a good weekend, a lot of fun to meet the other guys and getting to know them and see where they are from. I had a lot of fun pitching today and throwing on the mound in front of the scouts. It was a fun experience and definitely something I will take for the rest of my life,” Zach English commented.
Again the batters made an impression on the scoreboard. Campagna hit his second double of the weekend in the first inning that scored a run. Glanton scored Campagna two batters later and gave the SCBL an early 2-0 lead. Cody Littlejohn hit a triple in the seventh and later scored, and Josh Baker added a hit and run of his own.
Joe Campagna enjoyed facing the different leagues, “It was a very good event, I liked that we brought all these leagues together. It was a good mix of competition. You see some better arms, different players, and different styles of play. It’s a great event and I really enjoyed it.”
In the two games played, the Pride batters tallied eight of the SCBL’s 15 hits and the pitchers kept the Sun Belt batters off balance with a variety of different pitches.
The Pride All-Stars and the rest of the team now have to refocus on finishing out the last week of the regular season strong. The Pride face the Charlotte Galaxy (1-28) in a doubleheader on the road Monday. First pitch from Butler High School will be at 5 pm.
