Category: Professional

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Baseball “rally caps” take many forms these days. In a run-rule decision that shortened the Boone Bigfoots vs. High Point-Thomasville HiToms baseball game to seven innings on Father’s Day, June 18, the 13-3 win by Boone perhaps found early momentum from an unusual source depending on your belief in supersitions.

As the Boone Bigfoots were coming to bat at the start of the fourth inning, the visitors led, 2-0 — but then nature called for reserve outfielder Walter Monday. As he entered the dugout restroom at the far end of the Bigfoots’ bench, teammate Nadir Lewis ripped a double off the top of the left-centerfield wall.

Just as Monday exited the restroom to ask what all the cheering was about, teammate J C Navarro was hit by a pitch, sending him to first base. Monday’s teammates in the dugout took a quick vote, deciding that the Transylvania University outfielder’s presence in the bathroom was the team’s equivalent of a rally cap, pushing him back into the facility and quickly closing the door.

And that was where he stayed for the duration of what evolved as a 4-run rally. It propelled the Bigfoots into the lead and gave their offensive production some needed momentum. Even when Monday deflected praise later, his teammates gave him all the credit.

Of course there were centerpieces to the Bigfoots’ offensive explosion besides Lewis’ double in the fourth inning, including Jalen Vasquez’ double down the right field line that scored the team’s first two runs (and delayed again Monday’s return from exile). “You have to stay there, Walt, until this is over.” That was the message generally agreed upon by his teammates.

And when Zach Weaver promptly launched a 2-run home run, the team’s superstitions were appropriately rewarded. By this time, Monday had shrugged off the superstitions, exited and refused to go back — and the rally suddenly ended. Just sayin’… maybe there was a connection.

Although the Bigfoots’ bats were silent in the bottom of the fifth inning, they caught fire again in the sixth and seventh innings, producing nine more runs. Meanwhile, three Boone pitchers combined to allow just three runs on five hits, the only real damage coming in the second inning with HiToms outfielder Kane Kepley rapping a 2-RBI single to left field.

Daniel Dewey (2-0) started on the mound for the Bigfoots and went five strong innings to pick up his second win of the season, giving up two runs on three hits, walking three and striking out five. Riley Bost pitched the sixth inning, giving up a run on two hits, walking two and striking out two HiToms batters. Jackson Kirkpatrick earned the save by pitching the seventh inning, facing five batters while walking two, striking out two, and allowing no runs or hits.

KEY PERFORMERS

• BIG – Zach Weaver: 2-4, 2 runs scored, 6 RBIs, 2 HRs
• BIG – Nadir Lewis: 4-5, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, 2B, 3B
• BIG – Jalen Vasquez: 1-2, 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 2B
• BIG – J C Navarro: 1-3, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, hit by pitch
• BIG – Brayden Simpson: 2-4, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI
• HPT – Kane Kepley: 1-2, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, SB
• HPT – Josh Caron: 1-3, 1 run scored
• HPT – Jake Koonin: 1-3, 1 run scored

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There were winning teams and losing teams on June 9-10 when the Premier Lacrosse League for its second weekend of the 2023 season, this time at the American Legion Memorial Stadium. And yet, the biggest winner of all may very well have been Charlotte, the city and major media market.

Bonus Photos at Bottom of Article

Only two weeks earlier (May 25), Premier Lacrosse League distributed a press release announcing that beginning in 2024, the eight clubs comprising the league’s competition would be assigned to home cities. Since the league’s formation in 2018, PLL has taken its eight franchises to as many as 12 different markets. The teams have been identified only  by their nicknames: Whipsnakes, Waterdogs, Chaos, Chrome, Redwoods, Atlas, Cannons, and Archers, each one playing a single game each weekend. On June 3-4, they played in Albany, N.Y. to kickoff the season. On June 16-17 the tour traveled to Columbus, Ohio, then the next week to Minneapolis; and so on to Fairfield, Conn.; Louisville, Dallas, Baltimore, Denver, Seattle, and Salt Lake City before staging playoffs in Boston, Long Island, and Philadelphia.

Ostensibly, each of the cities hosting the tour are vying for a coveted “home city” designation beginning in 2024. Charlotte made a strong case by nearly filling the 21,000 capacity Memorial Stadium venue. In previous years, a typical PLL crowd, according to stats gleaned from online sources, numbered in the 12,000 to 13,000 range. The Columbus-based event will be hosted by the recently built Ohio State University lacrosse stadium, with a capacity of about 3,000.

According to the Inside Lacrosse Recruiting Database found online, 169 high schools in North Carolina offered men’s lacrosse in 2023 and 106 schools offered women’s lacrosse in the most recent season, including both public and private institutions. From PLL’s perspective, participation at the middle and high school levels translates into good potential market demand for a professional lacrosse product.

In the short-term, the scores of the four games on June 9-10 were important for the players, coaches and PLL organizers. Three matches were decided by a single point, one by a wider margin:

• Archers def. Chrome, 12-7
• Redwoods def. Waterdogs, 10-9
• Atlas def. Whipsnakes, 12-11
• Chaos def. Cannons, 14-13

As the scores suggest, the action was fast-paced and all of the teams will be looking on with interest as to which home city they will be representing next year.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — An evenly contested soccer match on June 17 between Appalachian FC and the Charlottetown Hops produced an abundance of cheers, jeers and raised eyebrows. The final result was a 3-2 win to the benefit of the Charlotte-based visitors.

Appalachian forward Jeremiah Luoma brought the 1,000-plus crowd to its feet in the 23rd minute with an angling break from the left side, drawing the Hops goalkeeper out before punching the ball past him, skipping along the turf and into the net to put the home side up 1-0.

The cheers quickly died just four minutes later when a controversial penalty kick was awarded to the Hops, successfully put into the goal by Jordan Da Costa to knot the score, 1-1, at the 27th minute.

The back and forth battle continued through the remainder of the first half and well into the second, the score remaining tied until the Hops’ Julien Sagnol pushed in a visitors’ tally in the 67th minute. Ten minutes later, Sasquatch & Co. responded in kind, London Williams emerging from a crowd to zip a worm-burner along the ground into the net from the near left side.

Nearly everyone in the stadium thought the match would end in a tie at 2-2 or go into an overtime period, but with the full 90 minutes having ticked off the clock and the referee allowing play continue into injury time, the Hops’ Mike Habel broke out of a congested pack to knock the ball into the Appalachian defended goal. Less than a minute later, full time was called with Charlottetown in the lead by the final margin.

Soccer fans, coaches and players never want to see a game adversely influenced by officiating decisions, but sometimes that is exactly what happens. In an effort to get control of a game that she was losing control of, as the match progressed the referee more readily handed out yellow cards. In total, there were eight yellow cards issued on the night, four from each team and, surprisingly, no send offs.

At two critical junctures, when the whistle blew and play stopped, the referee’s decision was directly opposite of what everyone else was thinking would be called. The first was the controversial penalty kick. At least everyone in the stadium rooting for Appalachian FC were shocked by the decision.

The second was late in the second half with Appalachian FC in possession and attacking down the right side. The App FC winger was in position to play the ball when a Charlottetown defender bowled him over, literally vaulting himself backwards into the attacking player. The referee apparently saw something else, because she penalized the Appalachian FC player.

The same attacking winger was involved in another controversial call a short while later. He deftly saved a ball from going out of the field of play as it neared the end line, but the out-of-position line judge called him out and offside, even though he had to go around a defensive player to reach the ball.

All of that said, the Sasquatch-led crew had a clear advantage in time of possession and multiple opportunities to score that simply missed.

After the game, Appalachian FC head coach Dale Parker said that when controversial calls go against you, you can’t let them take your attention away from the task at hand.

“Yes, there were decisions made by the referee that we didn’t agree with,” Parker said. “But you have to be resilient and not let them take you out of the game. The penalty kick that was awarded in the first half was particularly upsetting and it (disrupted) our play for the rest of the first half and maybe even part of the second half. Questionable decisions by a referee are going to happen. We have to be better in how we respond.

“We had several opportunities created with our attacking style of play,” added Parker. “We just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

By David Rogers. LITCHFIELD HILLS, Conn. — The “starting gun” the Litchfield Hills Road Race is an old cannon, its “boom” echoing in and around the surrounding woods, hills and valleys. Then there is that featured part of the course called “Gallows Hill.” You run down at the start — and then have to run back up at the end of 7.1 miles. And the “fun times” in waiting carry the organizers’ stiff, pre-race warning that goes something like, “If you haven’t trained, we recommend that you don’t run this race.”

Blowing Rock’s Andrew Colley, a veteran member of the ZAP Endurance professional elite running team, brushed any doubts aside on June 11 in winning the historic Litchfield Hills Road Race against a competitive field that included almost 1,000 hardy souls. The High Country equivalent might be “The Bear,” run up Grandfather Mountain.

“The first mile was down Gallows Hill,” said Coffey in describing his first race back in competition since running the Rotterdam Marathon in April. “I ran it in 4:19!”

That pace for 7.1 miles is not sustainable, especially considering you have to run back UP Gallow’s Hill at the end. In spite of the elevation changes and switching periodically from asphalt to dirt and gravel surfaces, Colley still maintained a blistering 4:56 mile pace to cross the finish line in 34:34.37, roughly 45 seconds ahead of No. 2 Vann Moffett of Niantic, Conn., a collegiate star from Stony Brook University on Long Island (N.Y.). Moffett ran 35:19.58, a 5:03 mile pace for the distance.

No. 3 was Ryan Eiler of Boston (36:36.87), with Alex Norstrom of Glastonbury, Conn., at No. 4 (37:08.08) and Spencer Bossi-Johnson of San Diego, Calif. in the No. 5 spot (37:21.90).

Almost 1,000 runners competed.

“This was a good run for Andrew,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea after the race. “There is a lot of history to this race as well as for the venue. The race was started back in 1977, so has been going for 46 years now and the entire community comes out to support the event. Gallows Hill got its name because that is where they executed people convicted of certain crimes, like murder, back in the 1700s.”

The brief video below shows Colley having just crested Gallows Hill and on his way to the finish line.

CLICK: IMG_1723

By David Rogers. NEW YORK, N.Y. — Known largely for scenic, leisurely walks and romantic horse and buggy rides, New York’s Central Park was the venue for something more frenetic on June 10: the Mastercard New York Mini 10k for Women.

In an elite field of international runners, Blowing Rock’s Tristin Van Ord finished No. 11 out of more than 8,300 competitors on June 10.

Van Ord’s time of 32:34 for the 10k distance (slightly more than 6.21 miles) was hardly leisurely, a 5:15 mile pace around the challenging course that features several elevation changes as well as twists and turns in meandering around the park.

The jam-packed, competitive field included 26 runners all finishing under 35 minutes, topped by Ethiopian Senbere Teferi at No. 1 in 20:12, a sizzling 4:52 mile pace. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri was No. 2 (30:19/4:53) and Mexico’s Laura Galvan rounded out the top three (31:14/5:02).

“ZAP Assistant Coacch Ryan Warrenburg and I pretty much expected Tristin to run this course around 32:30,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea after the race. “The way she has been running in practice, we calculated that on a flat track in a stadium she would go 31:15 to 31:45, but in Central Park you have to add at least 30 seconds for the same distance. It is not an easy course. For Tristin, it was just a matter of execution and she did executed almost perfectly.”

Rea added that in such an elite field, finishing at No. 11 was outstanding at this point in Van Ord’s career.

“She was just two seconds outside of a top 10 finish, which is worth paying attention to,” said Rea. “Until the last 400 meters or so, she was running neck and neck with the tenth place runner, Emma Grace Hurley of Atlanta, for really about three miles. They were kind of alone, the runners ahead a little out of touch and the runners behind pretty far behind. So it was great for both of them to have that competition. They pushed each other. Until the last 400 meters, Tristin was slightly ahead, then gave up those two seconds as they neared the finish.”

Next up for Van Ord is the Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race on July 4.

By David Rogers. CONCORD, Mass. — It may not have been the shot heard round the world but it was a scorching battle royale, not far from the site of the American Revolution’s first military engagement, The Battle of Lexington and Concord. This June 10 battle, though, was civil yet still an adrenaline rush: The Adrian Martinez Classic, a men’s 1500-meter race on the track at Emerson Field.

VIDEO OF RACE EMBEDDED AT BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

Dan Schaffer, a member of Blowing Rock-based professional running team ZAP Endurance, emerged the victor in a thrilling race where only two seconds separated the top four athletes. Schaffer crossed the finish line in 3:40.37, followed by a pair of unattached runners in Jack Salisbury (3:41.42) and A J Ernst (3:41.74). UA Run Baltimore Dist.’s Ahmed Jaziri came across the line less than a second later in the No. 4 position (3:42.67).

Schaffer started the race with a bit of jostling in getting across the starting line before settling into a position at the back of a tight pack that included all 12 runners. He stayed in that position for the better part of 1000 meters, then moved up to the No. 3 spot for the last couple laps. As they rounded the final turn, he shot to the outside and sprinted past the two runners then in front of him to get the “W.”

A total of 12 athletes were entered in the race, of which two did not finish (designated pacesetters). The finishers included two runners from Georgetown University, and one each from Davidson College, Boston Athletic Association, Soul Elite, and other unattached athletes. The slowest of the finishers crossed the line in 3:53.08.

Compliments of YouTube, you can see the entire race in this video. Schaffer is in the light colored jersey, in the center of the field at the starting line.