WOW - SP Baseball Team Makes it Exciting!

 

South Point made an exciting statement last night in the first game of a 3 game series to determine a state finalist in 3A baseball.

A 1-0 victory over a previously undefeated West Rowan pitcher and a No-Hitter by local standout Zach Horne, put SP in the driver’s seat to advance in this tournament.

(Gazette Photo)

The Gazette account of the game is pretty accurate.

Sophomore Wes Lawing, the hero of the R.S. Central game the other day, provided the scoring heroics again last night. His eighth-inning bloop single scored Jordan Edgerton who sprinted in from third base. But the real hero was Horne’s pitching performance.

Horne struck out 10 batters, and allowed only one runner to progress, and that was on a fielding error in the top of the 8th inning. For the most part, SP had come to play, they just couldn’t score off the 6 or 7 hits that they made through the game.

The next game is tonight at West Rowan, where the opposition has several tough undefeated pitchers waiting to face the Raider bats. Depending on that outcome, a third game will be played on Saturday night at South Point or the Raiders advance with a win tonight.

Go Red Raiders!

Grier marched through MS soccer playoffs

Grier middle school used consecutive “shots from the mark” situations to win the Girls MS Soccer Championship this week over Cramerton.

Grier needed to get past Belmont last Thursday to play in the championship match. They progressed after outlasting Belmont through 70 minutes of a scoreless draw and winning 2-1 in “shots from the mark” ( commonly called, “PK shootout”). Neither team had many opportunities in regulation and the overtime periods. Both coach Wydo of Grier, and coach Barnhardt of Belmont looked to bulking up their defenses using Shannon Kay of Grier, and Molly Fisher of Belmont as center backs or sweepers to keep out the opposition. The resulting progession to shots allowed Grier to progress after the girls figured out how to look for corners in those big goals.

A similar scenario greeted the Grier Knights as they played Cramerton for the championship. After a 1-1 regulation match and no score in overtime, Pk’s once again forced a result.

Congratulations, we at the Front Porch are looking forward to the next year of soccer in the Gaston County area. There will be many exciting youngesters joining the high school programs, and the continued growth of the sport in this area is developing many more players and fans.

Belmont Theater Scene Alive and Well

Belmont, most recently known for it’s thriving downtown and restaurants, has been an active theater town for a number of years. The Abbey Players would regularly present interesting and sometimes quirky works a couple of times per year.

Keith Taylor, the long time drama instructor at South Point HS left after the last school year to pursue greener pastures in the Triad. His replacement at South Point, Marcus Riter (prounounced, write-r), has taken the youthful thespians to new heights this school year.

 
During the fall semester the students performed a drama,  ”Dearly Departed”, a play about a death in a southern family.

In the Spring, ”Little Shop of Horrors”, a dark-comedy/musical about a flesh eating plant in a flower shop, was staged to rave reviews.

Saturday night in the South Point cafeteria, the stage was set for a Dinner Theater production of Murder and Mystery. 2, one-act plays were performed around a pasta dinner catered by the Olive Garden restaurant to a sold out, SRO crowd.

The first performance, “Clue’, was a take-off of the popular whodunit game. Mr. Riter wrote and directed his young charges through a simple choreography of murder and revenge. The usual suspects  of Mr. Green (played by Sarah Green), Professor Plum (Scott Stowe), Colonel Mustard (Jon Stewart), Ms. Scarlett (Laura Lemond), Ms. White (Kelsey Pate), Mrs. Peacock (Haley Bishop), and the body (Adam Kirkby), were drawn into a surprising murder, committed by who? An audience member? one of the caterers, or (gasp…) Mr. Riter’s own father!

The second play, a longer one-act play-within-a-play, called, “The Real Inspector Hound“, evoked a Twilight Zone appeal where two theater critics are drawn into a London stage play in the midst of their own personal dramas. Julianne Reeger starred in this scenario as “Moon”, a second level theater critic covering for a more expereienced reporter. Ms. Reeger ably carried an english accent throughout the production as did her competitive writer, Birdboot, played by Geoffry Brown. Ryan Howard played a somewhat clueless romeo, Simon Gascoyne, often floating around the stage. Felicity (Crystal Hannah) and Cynthia (Kirby Beal) were the objects of Simon’s “affairs”.

To make a long story short, the students pulled off a complicated plot line with energy, humor, and class. More importantly, a young crew of actors displayed their talent in a popular dinner setting. Mr. Riter is to be praised for his chops in putting together this event. As he mentioned, “if you liked it, tell everyone, if you didn’t, just be quiet and go home!”

Obviously, we liked it. The format, the staging, the actors, and the enthusiasm - all good, even after a busy day in downtown Belmont.

The Abbey Players are still around. Somewhat loosely organized, but missing longtime director, Simon Donohue. Marcus Riter could certainly try to tie the student and adult groups together, find much needed funding for both programs and keep Belmont theater supporters going to dinner and a show.