2017 Premier Orioles Win 40+ Championship Series in Central North Carolina
Central North Carolina MSBL, 40+ Division
Premier Orioles 21, Raleigh Red Sox 9
‘Moore Perfect at the Plate for Birds’
Submitted by Rob Isbell, CNCMSBL 50+ Division President
The Central North Carolina Men’s Senior Baseball League (CNCMSBL) season drew to a close on September 30th as the 40+ age division held their best two out of three championship series at the beautiful Burlington Athletic Stadium in Burlington, NC, home of the minor league Burlington Royals. This series was a surprise match-up between the #3 and #4 seeded teams (Raleigh Red Sox and the Premier Orioles, respectively) who knocked off the top two seeds last weekend.
In the first game both teams played great defense and the game was tight through eight innings. The Orioles exploded for five runs in the ninth inning and Charlie Wildes came in relief to get the win. Mark Simpson of the Orioles pitched well enough to win, however the Orioles were plagued with errors and the Red Sox pitching staff cooled off the hot bats of the Orioles preserving a game two win for the Red Sox.
With the series tied at one game apiece the third game was a lopsided victory in favor of the Orioles. The O’s tallied 21 runs and 24 hits in the contest. The explosion of Oriole offense was followed up by a complete game dominant pitching performance by Charlie Wildes. Wildes is credited with both wins for the Orioles in the championship series. The Oriole offense was led by Jeff Moore, who went five for five. Every Oriole in the lineup tallied base hits and multiple hits were recorded by Mike Stickler, Shannon Martin, Vinny Stilo, Charles Orndorff (Manager), Jeff Moore, Jared Stimpson, Rob Isbell, Marcus Vegas and William Garner.
In the first round of the 40s division playoffs the Red Sox eliminated the Blue Sox by a 10 run deficit (14-4) while the Orioles knocked off the Carrboro Athletics, 17-2. That set up the semi-final games the following day at JP Riddle Stadium in Fayetteville, home of the Swamp-dogs of the collegiate Coastal Plans League.
The first semi-final game featured the #2 seeded Marlins vs. the #3 seed Raleigh Red Sox.The Red Sox jumped out to a 5-run lead early however the Marlins were able to fight their way back and take the lead before giving way to the relentless Sox by a score of 12-13. The Marlins, managed by Dave Halley, were defending champions.
In the second game the #4 seeded Orioles faced the #1 seed Giants of Alamance. Like the first game there were several lead changes and plenty of offense throughout the contest however with some solid closing pitching and timely hitting the Orioles were able to prevail in the end by a score of 19-14.
The CNCMSBL is looking to expand. If interested in playing in the Men’s Senior Baseball League of Central North Carolina go to www.cncmsbl.org or email info@cncmsbl.org or risbell@cncmsbl.org.