Doubleheader Cut Short in Gastonia

Updated July 18 2017
GASTONIA, N.C.

Forest City (23-12, 4-4) played their first CPL games since Thursday on Tuesday night in a doubleheader at Sims Legion Park against the Gastonia Grizzlies (22-17, 5-6). The pair of seven inning games could not be completed as game two was interrupted by weather.


Game 1:

The Owls had a disappointing game number one against the Grizzlies. Forest City missed opportunity after opportunity and ended up falling 3-0 in the contest.

Forest City ace Alec Bivins (Mars Hill) got the start on the mound for the Owls.

Bivins was great all evening long, going through the first five innings scoreless, before giving up three runs in the 6th.

For the Owls, they were able to put runners in scoring position in four of seven frames, but were held without a run.

In the 2nd, a double by Ryan Kemp (Middle Tennessee State) hit off the wall, inches from being a round-tripper.

In the 5th, Andrew Friedholm (UNC-Asheville) doubled with two outs and was thrown out at home to end the inning.

But the Owls best opportunity came in the 6th, when they had runners at the corners with nobody out.

Grizzlies’ reliever Sam Turcotte (Stony Brook) maneuvered his way out of the jam to keep the game scoreless, striking out two batters and forcing a Kemp pop out to end the frame.

In the bottom half of the inning, Gastonia took the lead for good, putting up three runs off Bivins. An RBI single to shallow left by Chaz Davey (Erskine) broke the deadlock to make it 1-0.

Next, an RBI sacrifice bunt by Thomas Yoder (Belmont Abbey) doubled the lead. Finally, Michael Wilson (Stony Brook) reached base on an error to bring in Davey to score, making it 3-0.

Forest City came back up in the 7th, but were held scoreless, as the Owls dropped their second straight league game for the first time since the first week of June, falling 3-0 to Gastonia in game one.

Game 2:

In the second game of the doubleheader, Forest City looked to lefthander Danny Poidomani (Stevens Institute) on the mound. Poidomani tossed three innings of shutout ball, giving up one hit while striking out two.

The Owls took an early lead, as Connor Grant (North Greenville) scored from second an error by the Gastonia defense.

Two innings later, Grant increased that lead with one swing of the bat. His two run homerun (1) to right-center field put Forest City on top 3-0.

In the middle of the 4th, the game was halted due to weather and never resumed. About 50 minutes after the game entered a delay, it was called off.

The contest will be resumed on Monday, July 24 in Gastonia and will be a part of a doubleheader, with game one being resumed in the bottom of the 4th with Forest City leading 3-0.

The Owls return to action on Thursday as they take on the High Point-Thomasville HiToms (23-14, 10-0) in a doubleheader at McNair Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and you can catch all the action on the Forest City Owls Radio Network or on WCAB 590AM.

To find out more about 2017 or 2018 Owls Season Tickets, please contact the Owls Office at 828-245-0000 or visit the website at www.forestcitybaseball.com.

The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 22nd season in 2018, the CPL features 16 teams playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL has had over 1,450 alumni drafted and 111 of those – including 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander – make their Major League debut; while another notable alum – Russell Wilson – won Super Bowl XLVIII. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com and follow us via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @CPLBaseball..

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