[SugaredLemonade]

May 1, 1972
Shiners “shining”, Crash “crashing” through first two weeks of play





----------

Attachment 938093

Everything that could have gone right for Appalachian has gone right through the first two weeks of action. An eight game win streak during the stretch signified this. The offense has been mostly unstoppable and the pitching has been unhittable. They have outscored their opponents 74-39, and lead the league in AVG (.267), OBP (.352) and OPS (.731). This dominance has been much in part to Benjamin Strain, who in four starts has allowed just two runs in 32.2 for an ERA of 0.55. He has also struck out 42 and walked just seven. Caleb Harlan (3.74 ERA in 33.2, 31 strikeouts to 6 walks) and Andrew Strickland (2.13 ERA in 25.1, 17 K to 8 BB) have both been key contributors to the rotation as well. Their leader offensively has undoubtedly been CF Gene Stice (.396/.507/.566). He leads the NCBL in hits with 21, and his .507 OBP is top of the league as well. It’s early, but Appalachian appears to be a team the Baseball Writers of North Carolina may have been completely wrong about.

Top Performances:
04/25 - Benjamin Strain was masterful again, twirling a complete game shutout against Bull City (2-7). He allowed just six hits while striking out nine Crash batters in Appalachian’s (7-2) 1-0 victory.

04/28 - Gene Stice and RF Elijah Benoit went a combined 5-12 with nine RBI out of the 3 and 4 holes in the Shiners’ (10-2) 10-9 13-inning win over Triad (6-6). Stice also provided the game winning RBI on a sacrifice fly allowing Val Turner to score. A rare pitching letdown for Appalachian was easily covered by these two players

BBWNC Quote:

The Appalachian Moonshiners have proved us wrong two weeks into the NCBL season. Though it is still early, we are seeing that Benjamin Strain — not Quincy Williams — may be the favorite for the Walter Johnson Award. The Shiners are certainly the team to beat right now in the NCBL.

----------



While Appalachian’s biggest strength has been top-level offensive performance, Wilmington’s biggest strength has been their starting rotation. They lead baseball with a 2.42 ERA amongst their starters, allowing just 34 runs. John Bourne (3-1, 1.93 ERA, 32.2 IP, 35/13 K/BB), Roosevelt Wilson (2-1, 2.54 ERA, 28.1 IP, 16/13 K/BB), and Sam Robinson (1-2, 2.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 18/4 K/BB) have been dominant through the very early goings. Their offense has been less dominant, posting middle of the road numbers thus far. RF Joey Reichard (.348/.354/.413), however, has been phenomenal, and you can never count out Josh Sullivan (.298/.421/.447). 3B Wyatt Dunn (.288/.311/.508) has also been solid for Wilmington.

Top Performances:
04/23 - Denis Jamison was the best player at Wilmington Municipal Ballpark, as the 33-year-old catcher went 3-4 — including two home runs — with five RBI in the Sharks’ (5-3) 6-1 win over High Point (2-6).

04/29 - John Bourne outdueled Benjamin Strain in Wilmington’s (9-4) 2-0 victory over Appalachian (10-3), handing Strain his first loss of the year. Bourne struck out thirteen Moonshiners in 8.2, allowing 7 hits and 2 walks as well.

BBWNC Quote:

Despite Wilmington’s hot start, we at BBWNC remain skeptical of their ability to keep it up throughout the course of a 126-game season. Roosevelt Wilson and Sam Robinson are both vastly overperforming, and are due to fall off as we go through May and June. Unless the offense becomes better than middle-of-the-road, we still project the Sharks as an average ballclub this year.

----------



Another surprising team out of the gates, the Charlotte Knights sit third in the NCBL despite sporting the league’s worst offense. They rank 6th in runs scored (36), and last in average (.200), OBP (.283) and OPS (.563). They have just two qualified hitters with an average above .205, and just two hitters with an OPS above .700. Their only good offensive player has been Jordan Lane (.289/.439/.511) as Ted Turlington (.196/.309/.413) has been flat out disappointing. Their rotation has been decent, as Sam Jenkins (3-0, 1.73 ERA, 26.0 IP, 39/6 K/BB), Aiden Self (2-1, 1.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 32/11 K/BB), and James Straub (1-2, 2.91 ERA, 34.0 IP, 35/12 K/BB) have been dominant. Nine of their fourteen games have been decided by two or less runs, and they are 8-1 in these contests. Once this number balances out a bit, expect Charlotte to come crashing down to Earth.

Top Performances:
04/30 - Sam Jenkins was stellar in a 13-strikeout performance at home against Bull City (3-11). He allowed just two runs on five hits and went the distance in for Charlotte (8-6) as they defeated the Crash 5-2.

BBWNC Quote:

Much like Wilmington, we don’t see Charlotte’s success lasting much longer. The league’s projected worst offense has lived up to the name, and its rotation — though solid — has been overperforming. Don’t expect to see Charlotte still in the hunt come the end of the first half, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended the season fighting with Bull City for that bottom spot.