South Charlotte Panthers

The Panthers swept the weekend event and claimed the championship of the Greensboro First Horizon Showcase Tournament.

In Game 1 the Panthers won 6-2 versus the Heat Showcase 08's behind starting pitcher Mat Batts (6-1). Mat pitched 5 innings; giving up an unearned run and struck out 5. Clay Watson earned the save with 4 innings of one run relief while striking out 2. Leading the offense were CF Casey Gebhardt 2-4; 1B Richie Shaffer 2-4 and SS Garrett Koster 2-4. 3B Ryan Arrowood had a huge 3 run home run to put the game in the bank.

The Cats took care of the Heat Showcase 09 team 5-2 in the second game of the twin bill Saturday. Starting pitcher Corey Roberts pitched 6 strong innings; striking out 8 to pick up his team leading 9th win for the 2007 season. Justin Setzer pitched 1 inning of scoreless relief and Kurt   Semeniuk picked up a save with 2 innings of work; striking out 2. SS Richie Shaffer pulled an offensive hat trick going 4 for 4 with an RBI double in the game. C Ben Redmond contributed 2 hits including a double.

The Panthers came from behind twice to knock off the determined North Carolina Baseball Academy squad 4-3 to earn a spot in the tournament finals. Starting pitcher Ryan Arrowood (1-1) pitched 5 solid innings; striking out 7. Chris Fogleman picked up his 8th win with 3 innings of hitless;scoreless work. The Panther offense was led by C Ben Redmond going 3 for 4 and RF Tyler Tewell was 2 for 4 including the game winning RBI.

 In the Championship game versus the Heat Showcase 08's the Panthers won 4-0 behind the dominate pitching of starter Alex Wood (5-1) with 8 strike outs in 5 innings and closer Richie Shaffer pitching 2 innings; striking out 4. 2B C.A. Clayton led a 12 hit attack going 2 for 3 for the game and rookies Brett Austin  and Kurt Semeniuk hit back to back doubles to help ice the game.

RF Tyler Tewell and RF Shane Basen both had rally killing outfield assists to help lead the defense for the weekend. Catchers Ben Redmond and Tyler Tewell kept any running game in check; throwing out 3 of 4 base runners.

Fourteen Cats contributed 43 hits for the 4 game weekend. Leading the offense were Richie Shaffer 8 for 13; Ben Redmond 6 for 9; C.A. Clayton 4 for 8; Casey Gebhardt 4 for 10 and Shane Basen 4 for 13. Tyler Tewell collected three hits while Garrett Koster; Ryan Arrowood; Brett Austin; Chris Fogleman and Drew Casella all had two apiece. Other Panthers getting a hit were Joe Shealy; Mat Batts and Kurt Semeniuk.

The Panthers return to action the weekend of October 12 at the University of South Carolina Showcase in Columbia, South Carolina

The Panthers finished 2-2 in the UNCC Showcase held September 7-9 at the recently refurbished UNCC Baseball Complex.

In Game 1 the Cats beat the On Deck 09's 7-0. Alex Wood (4-0) picked up the win with 5 innings of No Hit ball and struck out 9 in the effort. Corey Roberts in his first action of the fall season finished things off with 2 innings; giving up 1 hit and no runs to protect the shutout victory. SS Garrett Koster led the offense getting three hits including 2 doubles and scored three times. 1B Chris Fogleman drove in 2 runs with two hits. Trey Laney drove in 2 runs with a hit and sacrifice fly.

In Game 2 the Panthers suffered their first loss of the fall in a 5-2 decision to the On Deck O's 08 team. Ryan Arrowood (1-1) took the loss on the mound; pitching 4.2 innings and striking out 7 O's. Mat Batts finished the game and gave up no hits and no runs. RF Tyler Miller 2-3 and Ryan Arrowood 2-2 led the hitters.

 The Panthers bounced back in Game 3 with another shut out win over the Megastars 09's 5-0. Starting pitcher Clay Watson (2-1) earned the victory with 5 innings of work; giving up 3 hits and no walks. Joseph Shealy again faced the minimum batters in two innings of relief. CF Casey Gebhardt 2-3 with 2 runs scored; Tyler Miller 2-2 with 2 doubles and Shane Basen 1-1 with an RBI led the hitters.

In Game 4 the Panthers made an uncharacteristic 7 errors in the field and left 10 runners on base in taking a 7-4 defeat to the Megastars 08's. Starting pitcher Justin Setzer (3-2) gave up one earned run but was strapped for the loss. Trey Laney and Kurt Semeniuk finished the game on the mound. DH Ryan Arrowood 2-3 led the Panther hitters.

 The Panthers take on the Dirtbags 17U and Dirtbags 18U teams at Wingate College on Saturday September 15 and face off in a rematch with the On Deck O's 08's and the Charlotte Heat on Sunday September 16 at Belmont Abbey.

Barquisimeto, Venezuela - The USA Baseball Youth National Team captured GOLD at the World Youth Championship, defeating Brazil 8-2 in the finals. Team USA swept through the event with a 6-0 record going 3-0 in pool play versus Brazil, Mexico and Japan. In championship round play the Yanks beat Columbia and then Cuba in the semi finals. Panther Richie Shaffer played 3B for Team USA and was the starting pitcher in the victory versus Japan giving up one hit in 3 innings of work.  Game recaps and highlights are available on the USA Baseball web site at usabaseball.com

The 2007 and 2009 Panthers capped off their summer schedule with a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico where the combined team played 4 exhibition games in addition to having some fun and relaxation in the Caribbean sun.

The team enjoyed making many new friends as they experienced the culture of the country and the Puerto Ricans passion for baseball. Games were played in Cayguas; home of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and in Vega Alta which is home to the 18U National Champion Bayamon Tigers. The Panthers had the upper hand in a 9 inning victory over Cayguas 15-2 and fell to Bayamon 1-2; 5-7 and 1-2 in three very well played games. Steven Neff (2) and Stephen Andrews both hit HRs while Whit Merrifield was robbed of a homer by a tree inside the fence in center field. Alex Wood picked up the win in his first start since coming off of the disabled list and Hamilton Bennett held the strong Bayamon team featuring 4 NCAA D1 signees to one run in 5 innings of work. Preston Shuey pitched the final inning of the last game and brought out the EPHUS pitch much to the delight of Panthers and Puerto Ricans alike. Kolby Epley, Skip Hutchins and Byron McKoy all collected hits in their last at bats in a Panther uniform as the 2007  players move on to the next stage of their lives in college.

The Panthers returned home to a couple of weeks off before gearing up for the 2007 Fall Season where the 2008/2009 team will play a full schedule of showcase and tournament events.

The 2007 and 2009 Panthers both participated in the Impact 18U World Series held at Wake Forest and High Point University. The 2007 Panthers tied for third place honors with the East Cobb Cubs. The senior Panthers completed pool play 3-0 with wins over long time rivals the On Deck O's 4-1 and the Tri State Arsenal 3-1 then a 10-2 victory over the Columbus County Cyclones. In championship bracket play the Cats won a hard fought victory over the Charlotte Megastars 7-6 before falling to the host Dirtbags 0-11 in the semi finals. Leading hitters were Byron McKoy 6 for 11; Jamie Holler 6-12 and Whit Merrifield 5-11. Hamilton Bennett; Michael Velten; Steven Neff and Whit Merrifield all picked up wins on the mound.

The junior Panthers thumped the Virginia Cardinals 16-5 in their opening game and then were shut out by the Hurricanes South team 0-5. In a match up of winner advances the 09 Cats beat the 09 Dirtbags 10-3 to take second in the pool and advance to championship bracket play. The Panthers fell to the East Cobb Cubs 2-7 in an extra inning contest that was tied 1-1 after regulation. Picking up the two wins on the mound were aces Corey Roberts and Mat Batts. Leading the hitters for the event were Richie Shaffer 6-13 with a HR; Tyler Zupcic 5-9 and Tyler Miller 5-11.