Senior Legion -- Snow Hill clinches third in South

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 11, 2004 2:00 AM

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SNOW HILL -- Snow Hill Post 94 put the finishing touches on its week-long playoff run with an 8-5 victory against Kinston Post 43 on the James R. Fulghum Athletic Complex diamond Friday evening.

Snow Hill (10-10) started its postseason chase with a 10-inning victory Tuesday evening at New Bern. Post 94 followed that up with back-to-back victories against Kinston Post 43, which vaulted it into a third-place tie with New Bern and eliminated Post 43 from playoff contention.

Post 94 tied New Bern for third place at 5-5, but seized the higher seed due to sweeping the regular-season series. Snow Hill opens the Area I East South Division playoffs Monday at second-seeded Pitt County Post 39. Game one in the best-of-three series is slated for 7 p.m. at an undetermined site.

Kinston concluded the year 8-13.

Snow Hill scored in three of the first four innings and built an 8-0 advantage. The key was a four-run third where the Post 43 defense committed three errors.

A dropped fly ball allowed two runs to score after three consecutive singles by Blake Taylor, John Allen Conway and Joseph Wade. Brian James plated Matthew Tyndall, who reached on the fly ball miscue, with an infield bunt.

"We kind of petered out after that," Post 94 coach James "Rabbit" Fulghum said.

Kinston climbed within 8-5.

Post 94 right-hander Jordy Davis threw seven good innings, yielding five earned runs on nine hits while striking out six. Jordy Grady entered the eighth, but walked the two batters he faced.

Fulghum put Taylor on the mound and the right-hander got Post 94 out of trouble. Taylor struck out four of seven batters he faced and walked one en route to the save.

Conway, Wade and Taylor each had two hits for Snow Hill.

Reggie Dixon batted 2-for-5, including a two-run home run in the seventh for Kinston. Joel Battle had two hits and two RBI in four at-bats. Josh Williams and Richard Nobles combined for four hits and an RBI.

Paul Novicki endured the pitching loss.

Kinston Post 43 000 021 200 -- 5 9 6

Snow Hill Post 94 204 200 00x -- 8 9 0

Leading hitters -- Snow Hill -- John Allen Conway 2-4, RBI; Joseph Wade 2-4; Blake Taylor 2-5; Matthew Tyndall RBI. Kinston -- Reggie Dixon 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; Joel Battle 2-4, 2 RBI; Josh Williams 2-5; Richard Nobles 2-3, RBI.

IP H R ER BB SO

Kinston Post 43

Novicki (L) 6 9 8 5 2 2

Kennedy 2 0 0 0 0 2

Snow Hill Post 94

Davis (W) 7 9 5 5 3 6

Grady 0 0 0 0 2 0

Taylor (S) 2 0 0 0 1 4