Fall Baseball Opening Day for Carolina Mens Baseball

After a Saturday work party to get the fields at Murray and Noble Middle Schools ready, the Carolina Mens Baseball League got back into action with 15 teams competing throughout the region. The weather was perfect despite forecasts that caused some anxiety among the faithful. All games went as scheduled. With one exception, the hitters came out blazing. None were hotter than the defending champion Wilmington Red Sox.

RED DIVISION

Red Sox 10 Engineers 0 ~ Led by the dominant pitching of Casey McBride and his 11 strikeouts, the Sox took the fall season opener on Sunday at Murray Middle School. The Engineers could manage only 1 hit through 7 innings off the Sox right-hander. McBride also contributed 2 hits offensively. Rookie Walt Massey made his Sox debut a memorable one by knocking in 3 runs and playing a solid 3^rd base. Al Ganey sparked the Sox offense by getting on base 3 times and stealing 2 bags.

Red Sox 15 Pride 0 ~ Veterans Mike Burke and Chet Nesley were the offensive standouts in the nightcap Sunday. Burke was 3 for 3 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI. Nesley chipped in 2 knocks and 4 RBI and swiped a base. Doug Lucas made 2 outstanding catches in the outfield and pitched 2 scoreless innings to help preserve the Sox 2^nd shutout of the day. U.S. Marine Matt Fitzgerald contributed 2 hits and 3 RBI all while preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan in the near future. Go get ‘em Matt, come back safe!

Bud Light Braves 2 Cape Fear River Rats 1. WP Mark Bonfiglio went 9 innings to secure the victory for the Braves.

Yosake Giants 17 Brunswick Barons 3. The Giants who abandoned the flag football league for the CMBL, made an impressive debut. Led by manager Steve Gaconnier and 1B Matt Buckmiller who both went yard, the Giants led the entire game. Rookie Marcos Wear wore out the Barons in the field and on the bases all day. The lone bright spot for the Barons was the play of the rookie twins, Eli and Corey Childress. Eli hit a 2 run bomb to centerfield and Corey almost matched him with a drive deep to center that fell just short of going out.

Lejeune Storm 11 Shady Bears 1. In the CMBL’s first contest in Onslow County, the veteran Storm team welcomed the Rookie Bears into the League. The bears had trouble locating the plate and the patient Storm were able to score double digits.

Drain Works Shockers 23 Breaktime Mudcats 3. The Shockers are on a mission after losing in the Championship game for the regular season. They took advantage of Mudcat miscues and won going away. Reigning HR Derby Champ Jon Brunson blasted one out as did CF Chris Williams for the Shockers.

BLUE DIVISION

Alpha Dogs 13 Novus Glass Seahawks 9. Mgr. Fulton Burns, fresh off leading the work parties on Saturday, led the Dogs to an early lead that SP Frank Amoroso made stand up. Ryan Trobaugh made an impressive debut behind the plate for the Dogs and the division welcomed SP Doug Comes. Hawks Alan Paull with two hits and SS Bill Bennett with an RBI double led the Hawks offense.

Riptide 13 Miller Lites 4. The revamped Lites under Rookie Mgr. Jay Harrington did not fare well against the veteran Tides despite their spiffy new uniforms. WP Steve Goodman, Rookie Danny Bellamy and 3B Wes Hayford each two hits in three at bats to lead the tide to victory.