11U All-Stars Reach NC Cal Ripken State Tournament

The Stewards of the Game 11 and under All Star team had a fantastic 2004 season highlighted by a 5^th place finish in the North Carolina Cal Ripken State Tournament.

The team was assembled in June after completion of the regular season and played numerous practice games to prepare for the All Star tournaments in July.  The team had good outings against All Star teams from Mathews, Mint Hill, and Lincoln County as the official Cal Ripken tournaments were fast approaching.

 In the first tournament game at Statesville versus the host team, things started roughly for the Stewards team as the first three batters reached base with one scoring. Cameron Travis hit a shot over the fence to tie the game in the bottom of the first and William Frazier struck out 13 Statesville batters to hold them scoreless the rest of the game.

 In the second game,  perennial powerhouse Olde Providence used strong pitching to silence the Stewards bats, but found a good defense and strong pitching by Tanner Cassady would keep the Stewards team in the game. The only run of the game scored on an error as Olde Providence prevailed 1-0.

 Our next opponent was South Union and the Stewards team got the bats going, scoring 10 runs, including home runs out of the park by Jared Fortune and William Frazier. Cameron Travis was 3-4 at the plate, including a double. 

The team’s winning performance at the District tournament qualified them for an appearance in the North Carolina Cal Ripken State Tournament (a first for a Stewards of the Game team). The beautifully groomed fields of the Park Sharon complex in Charlotte were inspiring as the players could feel what it meant to earn a spot in this tournament.  Our first game opponent was a team from East Randolph (Greensboro District). Tanner Cassady had a strong performance on the mound, holding the opponent to two runs through five innings and when Daniel Armstrong and Spencer Cole reached base in the top of the sixth inning, Palmer Coleman came in the game as a pinch hitter. The first pitch from the Randolph pitcher was quickly deposited in the parking lot as Palmer cleared the bases with a powerful shot to straight away center field making the score 6-2. The East Randolph team rallied in the bottom of the 6^th and had the tying run at the plate, but Tanner hung tough and retired the batter. 

Our next opponent was the undefeated District Champion team from China Grove. This team had some “big country boys” and their record was imposing, but our team was focused and came out strong, scoring six runs in the first two innings, finally winning by a 8-1 margin. William Frazier pitched a one-hitter while striking out 12 batters.  At the plate, Sam Remick was 2-4 and William was 4-4, with a double.

 Next up was a team from Cleveland County and our team won by a score 0f 10-0. The bottom of the batting order kicked in, scoring 7 of the 10 runs. Jared Sobo was 2-3 and scored three runs. Spencer Cole pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 4 batters.

 After a loss to Anson County, our team played a team from Buncombe County in a very exciting game that was well played by both teams. The Stewards team fell behind by a score of 6-2 and hung tough over the last two innings. Spencer Cole came in to pitch two shutout innings in relief and the team scored 3 runs to bring the score to 6-5 with two outs and the bases loaded, but we couldn’t sneak one more run across the plate.  Cameron Travis was 2-4, with a double, Danny Wintermeier was 2-3, Jared Fortune was 2-3 and William Frazier was 2-4. 

The team represented themselves and Stewards of the Game with distinction, demonstrating a good command of the fundamentals of the game, tenacity in competition, and good sportsmanship throughout.  During the prep games and the actual tournament the team blasted 7 home runs out of the park (no one in this group had ever hit one out previously) led by Cameron Travis with 3 home runs, all struck with some serious pop. Also noteworthy was the all-around play of Sam Remick. Whether playing great defense from the catching position or leading the offense from the leadoff position, Sam demonstrated to his teammates what a competitor looks like on the field. 

Front row:  L to R   Jared Sobo, William Frazier, Danny Wintermeier, Daniel Armstrong, Reza Safari, Tanner Cassady
Middle row:  Sam Remick, Spencer Cole, Jared Fortune, Bubba McKnight, Cameron Travis
Back row:  Coach John Cassady, Coach Brad Frazier, Coach Ben Travis
Not Pictured:   Nathan Sharp, Palmer Coleman