Sports - June 2002

With 7 of  their last 8 games in the win column, American Legion Post 321’s the team to watch

By TERRANCE THOMAS, Staff Writer

June 26, 2002 - HUNTERSVILLE — Huntersville is hot.

Huntersville’s American Legion Post 321 baseball team is ripping teams apart in league play.

The team has won seven of its last eight games and could be in first place before the regular season is over.

The players are doing things well in all phases of the game.

“Really good pitching and clutch hitting is the reason we’ve won (seven of eight),” said team spokesman Lindsey Lamming.

“Mark McAuley, Luke Mayes, Jeff Mundy, Dustin Walker and Paul Balco are the starting pitchers. They are doing very well.”

Benji Sheehan, is one of the relief pitchers.

“We’re strong,” Sheehan said, “We’ve got a couple of good starters from the North Mecklenburg varsity team, some from the JV such as me. We’re well- rounded. We’re good. That’s another reason why we’re winning.”

The majority of the players played on North Meck’s conference-winning team. A couple of players played at Vance and West Charlotte.

Knowing each other helps on the ball field.

“We know how to play together,” Mayes said. “We’ve been playing together since we were young.”

Lamming agrees.

“We have a good team this year,” he said. “We’re especially strong with seniors from a good graduating class this year. They did well in the regular season (at North Meck) We’re blessed with the wealth of our feeder school. We picked up some important players from Vance as well.

“We’ve been strong this year. Our bats have come around,” Lamming said. “We’ve got some good hitters. We're playing well on the defensive side of the ball.”

Around the horn on defense, Huntersville is tough.

 Behind the plate is Adam Taylor.

“Our pitchers benefit from having a catcher like him back there,” Lamming said. “He’ not the strongest hitter in the game, but he’s the best defensive catcher in the league, in my opinion anyway.”

Michael Kellet mainly starts at first base. Mayes plays second when he’s not pitching, Anthony Parisee and  Nate Stone get the nod when he’s pitching. 

McAuley is the starting shortstop

“Mark is having a great all- around season,” Lamming said.

Will Mitchell is at third.

Arthur Hogue (Vance) plays left field and leads off.

“He does a good job of taking pitches and getting on base,” Lamming said.

In center field is Methodist College freshman Robert Troy.

“He’s  our No. 3 or No. 4 hitter,” Lamming said. “He’s just a awesome hitter.”

Tristian Hollar, a North Meck sophomore starts in right field.

Michael Stewart is the team’s manager

Lamming said the team won a total of 11 games in a five-year stand before he became coach. Last year, he matched that total. This year the team has surpassed it already.

With playoffs starting at the end of the week, Huntersville can’t be overlooked.

“Everybody’s ready for the playoff stretch,” said McAuley. “We’re looking good and the pitchers are looking good. We’re peaking at the right time. We have all the keys, pitching hitting and fielding. If we play our game we’ll be fine.”

“We have a lot of seniors,” he said. “We don’t make a lot of errors, that’s good. We have a lot of experience. In the infield and outfield, we have a lot of players who are quick and can cover ground.

“Our pitching has been good. We’ve been hitting the ball and making key plays. Everybody’s healthy.”

Huntersville plays tonight at 7 p.m. at North Meck High. The team will receive a first-round bye in the playoffs and will probably start playing in the second round Monday or Tuesday.

Watch out for Huntersville.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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