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Red Sox, 2007 Charlotte NABA Champions

Great Pitching, Timely Hitting Lead to 2-0 Series Victory

Season Awards Announced, Red Sox Snubbed



Welcome to the Internet home of the 2007 Charlotte NABA Champion Charlotte Red Sox Feel free to contact us at chltredsox@yahoo.com if you have any questions or comments, or are an interested player or sponsor. The Sox are coming off their first Charlotte NABA Championship in impressive fashion. A record 22 win regular season against only 4 losses was followed by a 4-1 post-season record to cap off the season. This was the franchises 5th year in the league and 2nd under current managers Jeremy and Ryan Little, and they couldn't have been more pleased with the turnaround from a trying 06' first season. Coming off such a complete season, it would be easy to rest on your laurels, but if you're not getting better, you're getting beat. With all but 2 players from the final roster at this point returning for next season, the Red Sox haven't had to make many off-season moves to date, but they have managed to make a splash. Joining the defending champs in 08' will be former Wingate standout Josh Benton. Coming off a spectacular career with the Bulldogs in which he captured team MVP, All-Conference, and All-America honors in 07' as a DH and Pitcher, Benton will fit right in with an already potent Sox lineup and be a real boost to the pitching staff also. He managed team highs in average (.364), homers (14), and RBI's (58) and worked 36 innings on the mound in relief for the Bulldogs in his senior year. The Little's are excited about the addition of their fellow Mt. Pleasant HS alum and the improvement he will bring to a team that didn't have any holes to start with. 2008 looks to be another stellar year for the club despite the bullseye they have earned, as the Sox start their title defense in only a few short months.

	The 2007 Season Awards have been announced, and despite all the broken records, their was no hardware to hand out to the Sox nominees. Scott Yaniszweski finished third in the MVP voting behind winner Brian Zurhellen and Pat Whitted, despite his league record 8 home runs and 3rd and 5th best in RBI's and average respectively. Pitcher Wes Hepler was second in Cy Young voting despite being undefeated and 2-0 heads up against eventual winner Zurhellen. Rookie Dowd Maye finished second in the ROY voting behind winner Kevin Faulkner despite hitting 152 points higher with 20 RBI's and 3 home runs. Not to mention the postseason efforts from Hepler's 3 wins and title-clinching save to Mayes 3 postseason home runs. The team would like to congratulate each of you on your huge contributions you made this season. Even though they didn't recieve the deserved individual awards, they have the most coveted of all, the championship.

		Aug 16,, 2007 Red Sox 0 3 0 2 0 2 0 7 6 3 Chiefs 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 6 9 1 WP- Bostick (10-2) LP- Helms (3-2) Sv- Hepler (1) HR- Red Sox--Maione (3) Livingston (1) Maye (4) Chiefs---Zurhellen (6) Faulkner (8) West Charlotte HS-----The Charlotte Red Sox won another hard-fought game over the Charlottte Chiefs and collected the franchises first NABA title with a 7-6 Game 2 victory Thursday night. The win capped off a record-breaking season and solidified their spot as one of the top teams in Charlotte NABA history. The Chiefs looked to Derrick Helms on the mound to force a Game 3 and the Red Sox went to 9 game winner Brett Bostick to wrap up the title in only two. The Sox went quietly in the top of the 1st and allowed the Chiefs to take the early lead in the bottom half. Brian Zurhellen and Kevin Faulkner each blasted a solo homer to left for the only two hits of the inning and the early 2-0 lead. The Sox would answer in the top of the 2nd via the longball themselves. Dowd Maye led off the inning and stood on first after being hit by a pitch. Joe Maione stepped in and lost a ball over the left-center wall to quickly knot the game at 2. After two hard-hit flyouts to right, catcher Jason Livingston roped an 0-2 pitch over the wall in right-center to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. Yes, four hits, four homeruns, through one and a half innings of play had it headed to be a slugfest, but the pitchers would have something to say about that. Bostick worked the side in order in the 2nd and Helms did the same in the top of the 3rd. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom half, the Chiefs worked themselves back on top scoring four in the frame. A 1-out RBI single from Zurhellen knotted the score, and 2 batters later Faulkner ran it to 4-3 with an RBI single of his own. Bostick induced what should have been an inning ending ground ball, but an infield error allowed two more to score on the play and it was 6-2 before the Sox could get out of the inning. In one of their most important innings of the season, the Sox again answered in the top of the 4th. A leadoff double by Maye and a balk left him on 3rd with no outs. Maione's ground out scored him and got the Sox within two. A 2-out walk to Matt Rosner would end up plating the second run with Livingston driving one opposite field for the RBI double to close the gap to one at 6-5. Bostick came out in the bottom of the 4th looking like a man on a mission and proceeded to work a hitless 4th and 5th innings and let his offense go back to work for him. The Red Sox came to the plate in the top of the 6th still trailing by a run but that was quickly erased as Maye led off the inning with a towering solo blast to dead center to tie the game up at 6. A Maione walk and Rosner single to center led to the only controversial play of the night. Maione advanced to third on the hit in a close play, but the centerfielders throw deflected off the 3rd basemans glove and went into the Sox dugout. He was awarded home, and Rosner who had advanced to 2nd on the throw, was also awarded his two bases for the dead ball and seemed to cross the plate and push the lead to 8-6. After a couple lengthy conferences, it was ruled that the ball went in on the throw and Rosner was placed back on 3rd with one out and the run came off the board. A popout and flyout ending the eventful inning and left the score 7-6 in favor of the Red Sox. The Chiefs started the bottom half with a leadoff single but it was quickly erased with a timely double play and a strikeout ended the inning. With both teams having the top of the order up in the 7th, the Sox looked to push across a few more for insurance. Two straight walks led off the inning, but the first was erased trying to score from second on a wild pitch. Another walk left runners at first and third with one out but a strikeout and flyout to right ended the threat. For the second inning in a row the Sox had a runner at 3rd with one out and stranded him and they went to the bottom half hoping it wouldn't come back to hurt them. Only three outs away from the title and with Bostick allowing a lone single since the 3rd, the Sox ran him back out in the 7th to face the top of the order. A quick flyout to right started the inning but a Zurhellen liner off the left field fence put the tying run aboard. Despite Bostick pitching an excellent game and getting stronger as the night went on, the Sox called on the lefty, Game 1 winner Wes Hepler to hold the speedy pinch-runner Taylor close at first and finish the game. A Steve Pritchard single put runners at 1st and 2nd with only one out but Hepler would strike out the next for out number two. On the strikeout, a double steal left the winning run on 2nd and the tying run 90 feet away. Hepler induced a ground ball to 2nd and the sure-handed Mike Marconi made the throw to Maione at first in routine fashion, and the Charlotte Red Sox could finally celebrate their first championship. Bostick picked up the win on the mound working 6 and 1/3 innings, scattering 8 hits and striking out 2. Back true to his form, he didn't walk a batter all night. Hepler picked up the save to go along with his game 1 win. Maye and Livingston continued their hot hitting, each going 2-3, with a double and home run, with Livingston driving in 2 and scoring a run and Maye driving in 1 and scoring 3 times. Maione also pitched in with 3 RBI's, a 2-run homer, and crossed the plate twice. Zurhellen (3-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) and Faulkner (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)once again did the damage for the Chiefs driving in all four runs. Pat Rice also added a two-hit effort going 2-3 with a double. Now comes the end to a long, grueling season, which combined with the heat of late, and intensity of playoff baseball, has made for a mentally and physically draining post-season. Congratulations to the Chiefs who took part in two of the best games of the season over the last week. You have an excellent ball club and a great group of guys. It has been an enjoyable ride, but as soon as the celebrating is over, it will be time to think of the 2008 season and the Red Sox will start planning their defense of their 2007 Charlotte NABA title.

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