On Saturday, March 19, 2005, Coastal Federal Field played host to the 2nd Annual Pelicans High School Baseball Showcase – Sponsored by the Batter’s Box. It was a day that saw five top-notch high school baseball games in one action packed day.
“We appreciate the ten teams participating in the 2nd Annual High School Showcase,” said Bradley Bell, Commissioner of the Showcase. “A special thanks to the Batter’s Box for sponsoring the event and providing all ten teams with showcase t-shirts, MVP awards, and brand new fungo bats to the coaches of each team. We hope that this event will be something that the players will remember for a long, long time and hopefully one day their kids will be able to play in a high school showcase at Coastal Federal Field. We were proud to increase the field of participants to ten teams from six just a year ago and we hope that we can continue to carry the tradition into the future.”
Game one featured the East Columbus Gators and the Pender Patriots. East Columbus dominated from the get-go riding the offensive performance of 1B Jared Bracey, who finished 1-2 with three RBI, good enough for the MVP award. The Gator’s pitching staff consisting of Ben Rouse, Caleb Andrews and Dustin Proctor combined to toss a shutout, giving up just three hits and striking out nine Patriots in the 8-0 victory.
Game two saw the Aynor Blue Jackets jump all over the Green Sea Floyds Trojans. Aynor used multi-hit games from CF Andrew Fox (2-3), 3B Garrett Tyler (2-3), RF Derek Gore (2-4), and LF Brice Ambrose (2-3) to score nine runs against the Trojans. The Jackets offensive attack and the solid pitching of Cal Cox (5.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 5 K’s) proved to be too much for Green Sea Floyds. Cox took home MVP honors for his shutout performance as the Jackets won game two, 9-0.
In game three it was the Waccamaw Academy Warriors and the West Bladen Knights squaring off. Waccamaw Academy jumped out to an early 6-1 advantage by the end of the 2nd inning. A four-run second inning, highlighted by an RBI double off the bat of SS Josh Carroll helped Waccamaw take the early lead. West Bladen fought back in the 4th, using an RBI single from 2B Garrett Brisson to spark a two-run rally to chop the lead in half. Waccamaw Academy then answered in the bottom half of the 4 th with two more runs thanks to a two-run base hit from P Dustin Williamson, giving Waccamaw Academy an 8-3 win over the Knights. Williamson earned MVP honors after tossing five strong innings and knocking in two runs at the plate.
Game four pitted the St. James Sharks and the Waccamaw Warriors against each other in a rematch of the inaugural Pelicans High School Baseball Showcase. In ’04 it was St. James recording a 7-2 upset of Waccamaw. The Warriors got their revenge with a victory over the Sharks on Saturday. With Waccamaw on top 5-1 entering the bottom of the 6th inning the Sharks pieced together a rally to make things interesting. An RBI single from C Alex Smith followed by another RBI base rap by 1B Seth Oskin pulled the Sharks to within two runs, 5-3. Threatening with the bases loaded, the Sharks were unable to come up with any more magic, leaving three runners stranded. The Warriors held on to win 5-3. MVP honors went to Warrior’s CF Wesley Welchel for his 3-4, 2 RBI night at the plate.
In the finale of this year’s showcase the North Myrtle Beach Chiefs squared off against the Loris Lions in a ballgame filled with excitement and extra innings. Loris led 3-0 after three innings of play, but North Myrtle Beach clawed back into the game with two runs in the top of the 5th to make it 3-2. In the final frame, the Chiefs were able to push the ballgame into extra innings, thanks to an RBI ground out from CF Eddie Diaz. Move ahead to the top of the 9th inning where Chiefs SS Zach Douglas came through with a clutch RBI triple to give North Myrtle Beach the lead 4-3. After another run and a big defensive stop in the bottom of the 9th the Chiefs were the ones celebrating on the field after posting a thrilling 5-3 win over Loris. Douglas was crowned as the MVP of the game after going 4-4 with 2 RBI, and a run scored. He finished just a homer away from hitting for the cycle.
Thanks to MBBC’s Ryan Ibbotson for this capcom story.
