Wayne County Hot Stove League: Fox is guest speaker Jan. 31

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 27, 2008 2:02 AM

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North Carolina head baseball coach Mike Fox is the guest speaker for the second annual Wayne County Hot Stove League banquet, scheduled for Thursday at the Eastern Carolina Athletic Park.

Fox has guided the Tar Heels to back-to-back runner-up finishes in the College World Series.

"Mike has done well at Carolina and it's a pleasure to have him as our speaker this year," said banquet organizer Roger May. "We're trying to promote baseball in Wayne County, which has a long outstanding tradition."

May will honor teams from Charles B. Aycock, Wayne Country Day and Princeton, which each won a baseball state championship last spring. Aycock ended a 34-year drought, while Wayne Country Day claimed the school's first-ever title in the sport.

Five individual awards will be presented:

* Clyde King Award -- recognizes the area's top pitcher.

* Jerry Narron Award -- recognizes the area's best player among Wayne, Greene, Johnston, Lenoir and Duplin counties.

* Doyle Whitfield Award -- recognizes the area's best high school coach.

* John Thomas Award -- recognizes the the top volunteer coach.

* George Whitfield Award -- recognizes the baseball player in Wayne County who best exemplifies the traits of dedication, determination, sacrifice for the good of the team and a genuine love for the game of baseball.

Banquet tickets remain available for $25 apiece. Charter memberships are $50 and all proceeds will be used to assist baseball programs in Wayne County.

"I think we're on the right track," said May.

For more information, telephone May at 738-5319 or the ECAP at 580-1100.