POST 240 SALAMANDERS SCHEDULE
(Home games at Maiden High)
MAY
25, Kings Mountain (at Bandys), Won 9-2
26, at Lincoln County (E. Lincoln HS), ppd., May 30
27, at Cherryville (Cherryville HS), ppd., June 3
28, at Hickory (Legion Fairgrounds), ppd., June 22
30, at Lincoln County (E. Lincoln HS), Won 8-0
31, Hickory, Won 9-4
JUNE
1, Union County, Won 5-4
2, at Shelby (Shelby HS), Won 13-0, 5 inn.
3, at Cherryville (Cherryville HS), ppd.
4, Gastonia, Lost 6-9
6, at Belmont (Belmont Abbey College), DH, Won 8-2, Won 9-2
14, Mint Hill,Won 10-7
15, at Huntersville (Hopewell HS), Won 3-2.
16, Lincoln County, Won 15-5 (5 inn.)
17, Henderson County, Lost 5-9
18, at Kings Mountain (Kings Mountain HS), Won 5-0
19, at Burke County (Shuey Field), Won 10-0, 5 inn.
20, at Mint Hill (Independence HS), Won 4-1
22, at Hickory (Fairgrounds), Lost 6-7, 9 inn.
25, Pineville, DH, Won 8-5, 5 inn.; Won 7-4, 5 inn. (First-game win changed to double forfeit by Area IV ruling on July 2)
27, at Union County (Wingate), Lost 3-5
29, Shelby, Lost 9-10, 8 inn.
30–at Gastonia (Sims Park), Lost 9-10
JULY
2, Huntersville, Won 10-2
3, at Cherryville (Cherryville High), 6 p.m.
HobbsDailyReport.com
MAIDEN – Maiden Post 240’s American Legion baseball record changed on Tuesday after Area IV commissioner David Coffey made a ruling on the Salamanders playing Pineville in two five-inning games in late June.
Maiden beat Pineville 8-5 in five innings and 7-4 in five innings on June 25, battling wet field conditions and rain to get the games at Maiden High completed.
Legion games in North Carolina were changed from nine innings to seven innings for the first time this season, and an initial indication on Tuesday was both games at Maiden would be recorded as double forfeits because they should have been seven innings each.
Late Tuesday afternoon, an email from Coffey said: “Gentleman, let’s put this matter to rest! After reading all the emails, listening to all the voice mails, talking to the State Commissioner and reading the State Rule Book on this situation, it is my decision that since the first regular season game should have been 7 innings, the first game will be a double forfeit! The second game will be counted as played.”
The ruling changes Maiden’s record to 14-8 overall and 12-6 in the East Division as its heads into a Tuesday (6 p.m.) non-division game at Cherryville to close the regular season.
With the change, the Salamanders could be anywhere from the East No. 2 to the East No. 5 seed when pairings are set at an Area IV meeting on Friday night.
Pineville’s record should revert to 5-11 overall and 5-10 in the East Division through Monday.
WILLIAMS
In an email to Area IV officials and other head coaches, head coach David Williams of Maiden said he and Pineville head coach Justin Rummage, in discussions with the umpiring crew, agreed to do whatever was necessary to get the games played that night because of scheduling concerns for the rest of the season.
In the email, Williams explained: “The reason I am emailing the area coaches, is to not only inform you all of what happened, but it is my hope that we can come together and find a different solution to what transpired that night.
“I’m telling you guys right now, we played 10 innings that night, when we should have probably not played at all, and I don’t think there (were) any other games played at all that night.
“We knew it was that night or never. I’m not skipping games, seeking advantages, cheating, or breaking rules. We played those games, and the results should stand.”
The first-game start was delayed by at least an hour and it was almost midnight when the teams finished playing the second game, Williams said in the email.
Williams’ email also said, in part: “We made the decisions to play 5 innings based on the weather and based on the available playing dates for the future. We were amazed that we got our 2 games in, considering what we played through that night, but nonetheless, we played our games.
“We made the right decisions for our teams and for their safety. Neither team wanted 5 inning games, but that’s the way it worked out, and both teams and organizations understood that. There was no grey area. We played, and the outcome is really irrelevant.
“For the state to hand out a double forfeiture to our teams is just preposterous. The health and safety was a priority when making the decisions to play 5 innings that night…”
The Area IV regular season is in its final week, with the last games scheduled for Thursday and the first round of the playoffs scheduled to begin on Saturday.