Sports - July 2002

Cherryville in charge

TERRANCE THOMAS, LTN Staff Writer

July 15, 2002 - DENVER — Cherryville’s in the driver’s seat in the Girls 10-and-under Dixie Fast-Pitch Softball State Tournament at East Lincoln Optimist Park.

Cherryville is the only team in the tournament that hasn’t been beaten. The girls beat Burgaw 23-3 in their first game Saturday, beat Dunn 13-5 in their second game and Sunday, they slipped past South Stanly 4-2.

Cherryville is now a win or two away from taking the state title and a trip to the Nationals.

“I’m surprised we got this far,” said Jordan McNeely who was the winning pitcher against South Stanly. “We played great. We’re playing as a team.”

Part of Cherryville’s success has been its hitting. Emily Self, Sarah Teague and Taylor Long have led the way. Self has hit a grand slam. Long hit a big fifth inning triple to help the team Sunday, and Teague hit a two-run single against Burgaw.

“We’ve improved on our hitting,” said Self. “We’re hitting the ball well and getting better all the time. There’s something special about this team.”

Cherryville needs two more victories to win the state championship. Whoever wins the state title has to beat Cherryville.

“We can definitely win it all if we try our best,” said Long. “We’ve got the team to go all the way. We’ve got good hitting, fielding. We’ve got to concentrate.”

The next team Cherryville will have to focus on is the Randal Autry team, which eliminated Burgaw 11-5 Sunday. The Cherryville-Randal Autry game is tonight at 8.

If Cherryville wins, then it will play the winner of the South Stanly-Duplin game Tuesday. That winner will have to defeat Cherryville twice while Cherryville will need one win.

 If Cherryville loses, then it will play Tuesday for the championship in a winner-take-all game.

Either way Cherryville looks good.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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