Shelby vs. Cherryville

Game 4 of the Area IV American Legion baseball semifinals from Veterans Field and Keeter Stadium on the Shelby High campus

Weather: The heat wave hasn't subsided. It's 95-plus here about 20 minutes before the first pitch.
Shelby's lineup:
1. Seth Canipe 1B; 2. Brett Wease SS; 3. Kyle Kendrick C; 4. Adam McFarland 3B; 5. Julian Ridings RF; 6. Jacob Tisdale P (righthander, 4-0 record to date); 7. Eric Shuford; 8. Corey Cline 2B; 9. Jordan Robinson CF

Cherryville lineup
1. Al Benson CF; 2. Aaron Haynes C; 3. Jake Watts P (lefthander, 6-0 on year, won first game of the series); 4. Nate Wright 1B; 5. Seth Freeman RF; 6. Corey Martin LF; 7. Tripp McSwain SS; 8. Drew Reynolds 2B; 9. Tyler Buff 3B

Records: Shelby 34-13, Cherryville 35-5
Winner advances to play Pineville in Area IV finals. Pineville beat Newell, 8-6, earlier today to finish off that semifinal series, 3-0.

First inning: Neither side scored. Both pitchers allowed a hit but stranded the runner.
0-0

Second: Cherryville draws first blood in the top of the second. The visitors loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. With two outs and a 2-2 count, Al Benson singled up the middle to drive in Seth Freeman and Tripp McSwain. Tisdale, the Shelby pitcher, was then called for a balk, allowing Drew Reynolds to score from third for a 3-0 score before Tisdale got Jake Watts to pop up and end the rally. Cherryville might have scored more except for Eric Shuford's running catch at the fence earlier in the inning to rob Corey Martin of a double.

Shelby goes quietly in bottom of inning ... 3-0

Third: Neither team scores. Shelby got two-out singles by Brett Wease and Kyle Kendrick but Watts got Adam McFarland to fly out to center for the third out. Still 3-0.

Fourth: Lefthander Sterling Cole comes on to pitch for Shelby.
A leadoff walk to Drew Reynolds led to another Cherryville run. Aaron Haynes' two-out double to the wall in right barely eluded the glove of Julian Ridings, letting Reynolds cross to make it 4-0. After an infield single by Jake Watts, Shelby coach Mike Grayson brought in righthander Adam Izokovic to stop the bleeding. Izo fanned Nate Wright to retire the side.
Shelby goes three up, three down in the bottom of the inning. Still 4-0.

Fifth inning: Shelby Post 82 breaks the ice in the bottom of the inning.
Corey Cline led off with a single and reached second on a throwing error. Jordan Robinson drew a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. With runners on second and third, Seth Canipe lines a 385-foot out to dead center caught by Cherryville's Al Benson. Cline scores on the play and Robinson moves to third. Watts comes back to strike out two straight and leave Robinson stranded.
Cherryville 4-1

6th inning: Cherryville pushes the lead back to four with an unearned run. Tyler Buff reached on an error and later scored on Jake Watts' single to make it 5-1.

Shelby leaves the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Adam McFarland and Izokovic, plus a walk to Corey Cline loads them with two outs. Watts fans Jordan Robinson to end it. Still 5-1.

Top of seventh: Seth Freeman's single precedes Corey Martin's line shot over the left field wall, putting Cherryville up 7-1. Drew Reynolds reaches on an error and scores an unearned run on Al Benson's two-out single up the middle to make it 8-1.
Bottom, 7th: Shelby leaves two more runners aboard. Kyle Kendrick and McFarland supply two-out singles but Watts gets a strikeout to end it. Shelby is 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position so far.

Eighth inning: Cherryville continues to pour it on. Tripp McSwain delivers a two-run double off Shelby reliever Jordan Robinson. Corey Martin later scores on Drew Reynold's infielder grounder to make it 11-1.
Shelby goes quietly in ninth. Final: 11-1.

Stats: Shelby 1 run, 10 hits, 3 errors
Cherryville 11 runs, 13 hits, 1 run
WP -- Jake Watts (7-0). LP - Jacob Tisdale (4-1)
HR -- Corey Martin (Chv).

Cherryville goes on to play Pineville in Area IV finals.
Shelby will face Puerto Rico in opening round of Southeast Regionals in Shelby on Aug. 14.

Blogging tonight from Shelby-Cherryville game 7/24

I'll be relaying the action from game four of the Shelby-Cherryville American Legion Baseball Playoff Series tonight at Veterans Field and Keeter Stadium on my blog. Gametime is 7 p.m.