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, 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.
27, at Union County (Wingate), Lost 3-5
29, Shelby, Lost 9-10, 8 inn.
30–at Gastonia (Sims Park), 7 p.m.
JULY
2, Huntersville, 7 p.m.
3, at Cherryville (Cherryville High), 6 p.m.
HobbsDailyReport.com
MAIDEN – Ben Ledbetter homered twice and drove in four runs as visiting Shelby Post 82 wiped out a deficit to beat Maiden 10-9 in eight innings on Friday night, clinching the Area IV East Division title in American Legion baseball.
Shelby (16-1, 15-1) has won 10 straight games and has two left in the regular season, at Kings Mountain on Sunday and at Pineville on Tuesday.
Maiden’s Salamanders (14-6, 12-4) were the last team in contention to derail Shelby. They handed Shelby its only loss, 13-0 in five innings on June 2.
Post 240 closes the regular season with a game Saturday (7 p.m.) against Gastonia at Sims Park, a home game on Monday (7 p.m.) against Huntersville and a non-division game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Cherryville.
The Area IV regular season ends on Thursday and playoff pairings are scheduled to be announced Friday night with the postseason beginning next Saturday.
Ledbetter went 3-for-4 with home runs in the fifth and seventh innings and Logan McNeely went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs to spark a victory Friday at Maiden High.
McNeely’s single in the first inning gave Shelby an early 1-0 lead, matched by the Salamanders in their first at-bat on a single by Josh Frye (Statesville Christian).
Post 240 widened its lead to 4-1 in the second inning on Frye’s bases-loaded two-run single and a run-scoring hit by Matt Beam (Bandys).
Shelby rallied in the third inning, scoring four runs, to lead 5-4. The inning included McNeely’s two-run home run and two Maiden errors.
Post 82 stretched the edge in the fifth inning when Ledbetter, facing reliever Spencer Ledford (Bandys), hit a two-run home run.
An error and a two-run hit with the bases full by Jay Sipe (Maiden) helped Maiden regain the lead in the sixth inning.
With reliever Ross Fowler (Maiden) pitching, the Salamanders had Shelby down to its last out in the seventh inning when Ledbetter hit his second home run to tie it.
Shelby went ahead in the eighth inning when Maiden had two relay throwing errors on the same play.
Post 82 ended the game by getting an out with Maiden runners at first and second base.
SALAMANDERS ROSTER
No./Name/Class/Post./School
1, Bain Sipe, sophomore, INF-RHP, Maiden
2, Dylan Abernathy, sophomore, OF-RHP, Maiden
3, Jacob Cauble, freshman, INF-RHP, Maiden
4, Jay Sipe, senior, INF, Maiden
5, Grayson Brown, junior, INF, Maiden
6, Austin Hoyle, freshman, C, Maiden
7, Ryan Lyda, junior, OF-LHP, Bandys*
8, Ross Fowler, sophomore, RHP, Maiden
9, Cy Spencer, junior, INF-OF-RHP, Bandys
10, Bryson Ledford, senior, RHP-OF-INF, Maiden
11, Ty Williams, freshman, OF, Berea College
12, Taylor Tibbs, freshman, INF, Bluefield State
20, Spencer Ledford, sophomore, INF-RHP, Bandys
21, Noah Caldwell, junior, RHP, Bandys
22, Drew Huffman, sophomore, INF-RHP, Maiden
23, Josh Frye, senior, OF-RHP, Statesville Christian
24, Jacob Ellis, junior, C, Bandys
26, Will Harbinson, junior, 1B, Maiden
30, Tyler Laws, senior, RHP-1B, Statesville Christian
31, Mac Beam, senior, OF-INF-RHP, Bandys
32, Jarrett Isaac, junior, OF-INF, Maiden
34, Brantley Durham, senior, C-INF, Newton-Conover
40, T.J. Rasar, senior, RHP, Bandys
44, Peyton Laney, sophomore, 1B-RHP, Bandys
*–inactive (injury)
Head coach: David Williams; Assistant coaches: Frank Porter, Ryan Pendley, Dustin Hull, Jason DeHart; AD: David Williams Sr.
Team sponsor: Carolina Glove & Safety.