Diamond Notes: Remembering Canada

Baseball: The Canadian way, eh? By: Brian Harrison-July 17, 2007   Gretzky. Lemieux. Howe. Orr. Canada is a country rich in athletic history, but it is more known for its dominance on the ice than its success on the diamond. This past week our Diamond Devils baseball team took a trip north of the border to see what these Canadians could do with a round ball and a piece of lumber. This was not your typical baseball road trip, so we were anxiously awaiting what was in store for us in this hockey nation. It proved to be a quite interesting experience for our group of southern boys who were now in a world where sweet tea was replaced with orange pop, and every sentence could be turned into a question by ending it with “eh”. We were forced to live without Sportscenter, the dollar menu and free text messaging. Every time we would ask for ice in our drinks, they would look at us as if we had lost it. Oh, not to mention we were thousands of miles away from our families and for that matter anyone we know. This meant that all that we had was our little group of 22, and of course our lovely waitress Megan from the pizza place. She does not play baseball, though, so it was up to the rest of us to see how good these Canadian baseball teams were. We ran right through our first two games, racking up consecutive wins by scores of 10-0 and 7-0. The second contest was highlighted by an Alex Gilstrap (Easley) no-hitter and homeruns by Cody McElhaney (Midland-Valley) and Steele Myers (Jordan, NC). Our third game was a little more interesting as we played a highly-touted Ontario Blue Jays team, but we pulled out a 7-6 win with Andrew Turner (Hartsville) killing a late rally to earn the save. It seemed our most fun times in Canada were those when we felt most at home, playing the game of baseball. In between games, and during them for that matter, we played a game of another sorts to pass some time. The way you play this game is you try to get someone else to say the word “mine” and if they do, they have to do ten push-ups. For example, I could say, “Hey BJ whose glove is this?” If he says mine, that’s ten. “Whose sunglasses are those?” Mine. That’s ten. Even if there is a pop-up in the infield…Mine. You’ve got ten. I was a victim of that one. We did push-up in airports, food courts, parking lots, restaurants and in the grandstand…You know you are bored in a place when it takes an elementary school game to keep you occupied. But, I do think we are all a little stronger as a result of all those push-ups. While it is easy to look back on the trip and see all the negatives, which include hard-to-find gas stations and steep prices, there were some bright moments in the trip too. We got to see Niagara Falls, learn about a slightly different culture and some of us flew on a plane for the first time. There was no humidity, stress was nonexistent in Canadians as was any evidence of being exposed to sunlight. And police were almost as hard to find as a good meal! On a serious note, we came together really well as a team over the course of the week. There was a friendly rivalry between our team vans that got us to stick up for each other, sometimes even helping out a fellow van member in, say, a wrestling match. Next year, all of us will go our separate ways, except for the Easley trio heading to Erskine together, but we strengthened some friendships in Canada that will keep us in contact for years to come. There is no sugarcoating that Canada was somewhat of a disappointment, especially after losing the championship game 3-2 to the host team. At the end of the trip, we all could not wait to get back in the USA. It was fitting that as we crossed back across the border we heard the voice of Chris Daughtry assuring us that we were going home. I do not mean to offend any Canadians when I say this but if you ask me whose country I would rather live in, I would say “mine” in a heartbeat…wait that’s ten. I had better go rep these out, eh? About Brian Harrison: Harrison signed with Furman University in November of 2006 and was taken in the 29th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this month in the MLB Draft. Harrison is widely regarded as one of the top right-handed hitters in the Class of 2007. .

DP Rankings: Class of 2010

-Diamond Rankings: 2010 Graduates- Right-Handed Pitchers Rank Name High School HT/WT B/T Committed 1 Drew Cisco Wando 6-1/180 L/R Undecided 2 Logan Thomas Pickens 6-0/165 R/R Undecided 3 Tyler Smith Sumter 6-1/175 R/R Undecided 4 Forrest Koumas Lugoff-Elgin 5-10/155 R/R Undecided 5 Matt Radford Dutch Fork 6-0/160 R/R Undecided 6 … The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well. Username Password Remember Me     Forgot Password

DP Rankings: Class of 2009

 -Diamond Rankings: 2009 Graduates- Right-Handed Pitchers Rank Name High School HT/WT B/T Committed 1 Greg Harrison Hilton Head 6-0/150 R/R South Carolina 2 Matt Pegler Riverside 6-0/185 R/R Undecided 3 Colby Holmes Conway 5-10/180 R/R Undecided 4 Madison Younginer Mauldin 6-3/182 R/R Clemson 5 Evan Darr North Augusta 5-11/165… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

All-Sar Weekend: Select Game II

Recap-NC/SC Select: Game 2 By Nick Nickles-June 23, 2007 South Carolina had revenge on its mind after losing a close battle with North Carolina the night before in Game One of two in the North Carolina versus South Carolina Select match-up. The Sandlappers would send Emerald’s Brandon Miller to do battle with the potent sticks of the Tar Heels. South Carolina struck early by putting up a five-spot in the second inning with Hilton Head’s Brian Harrison (left) smoking a bases loaded, clearing double into the gap to collect three of his eventual four RBI’s and an MVP selection. North Carolina responded with a five-run fourth inning of their own to tie the game at five. Harrison and Riverside’s John Nester followed up with RBI-singles in the sixth to take the lead 7-5. Logan Munson came on in sixth and struggled with his control a bit and two runs were scored on him to tie it back up at 7-7, but Munson would actually get the win because the South Carolina team was determined not to be swept and put together a rally in the top of the seventh with some help from the North Carolina defense. South Carolina scrapped across three runs to make it 10-7. Drew Wingo came in to close the game and North Carolina would hit four balls extremely hard that provided some scares but three of the four were right at Sandlappers. Dusty Quattlebaum’s ball made it over the rightfield wall for a solo shot to end the scoring at 10-8 for a South Carolina victory. WP: Logan Munson (AC Flora), LP: Vance Williams (Athens Drive), SV: Drew Wingo (Mauldin).Top hitters-South Carolina: Brian Harrison (Hilton Head) 3-for-3, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 runs; Brett Thomas (AC Flora) 2-for-4, RBI, 2 runs; Scott Wingo (Mauldin) 2-for-3, 2B. North Carolina: David Mailman (Providence) 1-for-2, 2B, 2 runs; Dusty Quattlebaum (Crest) 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs; Greg Holt (West Forsyth) 1-for-3, HR, 4 RBI.Pitchers: Brandon Miller (Emerald) 4 innings, 5 runs; Hamilton Bennett (Fort Mill) 1 inning, 0 runs; Logan Munson (AC Flora) 1 inning, 2 runs; Drew Wingo (Mauldin) 1inning, 1 run. .

Recap: Consolation Game

Recap-Consolation Game By: Nick Nickles-June 23, 2007 The consolation game of the North/South was a match-up of the South teams: 1A/4A South took a beating from the sticks of the South 2A/3A 10-2. Brookland-Cayce’s Thomas Little earned the victory and Summerville’s Anthony Markham took the loss. Cheraw’s Rhett Stafford (left) and the duo of North… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Recap: 2/3A North versus 2A/3A South

Recap: 2A/3A North-2A/3A South By: Nick Nickles-June 22, 2007 The South 2A/3A was hurt with the absences of Ben Henry and Alex Downing, and the North 2A/3A took full advantage by pounding out ten hits and seven runs in a 7-1 rout over the South. The North also countered with some of the state’s top pitchers to hold the South to just one run. Mid-… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

All-Star Weekend: Select Game

Recap: NC/SC Select-Game One By: Nick Nickles-June 22, 2007 Game one between the North Carolina and South Carolina select was a showcase of good pitching silencing the premier hitters from each state at Myrtle Beach’s Coastal Federal Field on Friday. Lancaster’s Steven Neff (right) pitched thee solid innings allowing only one run to the star-studded line-up from the Palmetto State. Fort Mill’s Hamilton Bennett followed in relief in the fourth and fell behind to the first hitter he faced, and eventually lost him to a base on balls. A successful hit-and-run by David Mailman, set up an RBI-groundout by Cam Freeman and an runs-scoring single by John Henson. North Carolina grabbed a 3-1 lead, which would stand to be the final. Bennett, though, seemed to find his rhythm and had the most dominating performance on either team after the initial trouble. He struck out the last six hitters he faced making several hitters look ridiculous on his deceptively nasty change-piece. South Carolina’s lone run was unearned, as Mauldin’s Scott Wingo scored on one of four North Carolina errors during the game in the first inning. WP: Dustin Harrison (Alexander Central), LP: Hamilton Bennett (Fort Mill). South Carolina Notables: Stephen Neff (Lancaster) 3 innings, 1 run; Hamilton Bennett (Fort Mill) 3 innings, 2 runs; Justin Hopper (Lexington) 1 inning, 0 runs. Scott Wingo (Mauldin) 1-for-3, run; Arturo Mogrezutt (Easley) 1-for-4, triple. .

Recap: North-South, Game 1

Recap: 1A/4A North-1A/4A South By: Nick Nickles-June 22, 2007 The South Carolina All-Star weekend started the first day of games with the 1A/4A North versus 1A/4A South. Lancaster’s Marc Rape started pitching for the North and Beaufort’s Toland Sams countered for the South. After three shutout innings by both starters, the North jumped on Strat… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

All-Star Weekend

-All-Star Weekend Scores and Highlights- North/South Games Game 1: 1A/4A North 6 1A/4A South 3; WP: Atlee Pearson (Byrnes), LP: Taylor Roberts (Fort Dorchester), HR: Marc Rape (Lancaster), Taylor Black (Easley). NEW! To view recap, click here. Game 2: 2A/3A North 7 2A/3A South 1; WP: Robert Lake (Mid-Carolina), LP: Josh McElwee (Andrews), HR: Legare Jones (Blythewood). NEW! To view recap, click here. Consolation Game: 2A/3A South 10 1A/4A South 2; WP: Thomas Little (Brookland-Cayce), LP: Anthony Markham (Summerville). NEW! To view recap, click here. Championship Game: North 1A/4A 8 North 2A/3A 7; WP: Alex Gilstrap (Easley), LP: Matt Ramey (Pickens), SV: Atlee Pearson (Byrnes). NC/SC Select Game Game 1: North Carolina 3 South Carolina 1; WP: Dustin Harrison (Alexander Central), LP: Hamilton Bennett (Fort Mill). NEW! To view recap, click here. Game 2: South Carolina 10 North Carolina 8; WP: Logan Munson (AC Flora), LP: Vance Williams (Athens Drive). NEW! To view recap, click here. MVP: South Carolina-Brian Harrison (Hilton Head), North Carolina-David Mailman (Providence). .

Diamond Notes: Senior Season in Review

My senior year in review By: Brian Harrison-June 22, 2007 The day after our season officially ended, I walked through our dugout with all the pieces of my uniform in hand, ready to be turned in. I stepped into our team room, filled now with empty lockers and piles of white, gray and baby blue jerseys. My locker, which was always a mess, was soon le… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.