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Chance Crawford | |
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Chance Crawford | |
April 15-16, 2000
If you are going to beat Golden Corral, it might be a good idea
to draw them early in the morning. At least, that was the
case this past weekend at the annual Chance Crawford benefit tournament in Salem, VA.
In the opening game of the tournament, GC met Moore's Construction from Rock Hill, SC.
The Corral came out with a slight burst of offense right out of the gate, but it
didn't last long. John Hudson led of the game with double and Eddie Poole followed
with a single. Kevin Neal, Chris Cole, and Tuffy Eggleston each drove in runs to
give Golden Corral a modest 3 runs for the inning. After Moore's scored only 2, GC
opened up the second inning with singles from Tony Conner, Kevin Henderson, a Hudson
triple, another hit from Poole, and a big homerun from Matt Hunt, and the team appeared to
be on their way to a good game. But, the offensive slowed and the defense faltered
causing Moore's to take advantage and run up too much offense of their own. A few
runs in the late innings by GC were not nearly enough as they dropped the first game of
the tournament 26-11.
Next up for Golden Corral was Mikey's Trucking. Mikey's took a brief lead in the top
of the first but would not sniff the lead for the rest of this one. GC rolled into
the bottom of the first behind 3-run blasts from Hunt and Rodney Mosley for a 7-2
advantage. It was more of the same in the second as Mikey's managed 4 runs, only to
be outdone by Golden Corral again. After two complete, the score was 12-6.
After blanking the Truckers in the top of the third, GC was set to deliver the knockout
punch. Kirk Barnes led off with a single, followed by JoJo Owens's third hit of the
game, and Poole and Hunt also added singles to set the table for Neal, who promptly
cleared the bases with a 3-run homer. In the bottom of the fifth, GC needed only 3
runs to slaughter Mikey's. Singles by Hunt, Curtis Duffer, Hudson, and Eggleston led
to 2 runs, and when Barnes followed with a double, the game was called. Golden
Corral wins, 23-8.
This put Golden Corral "under the lights" for a prime time matchup versus
Cornbeef & Co. from Roanoke, VA. This one was all Golden Corral. The
onslaught began with GC plating 10 runs in the bottom of the first to take a 10-2 lead.
This game only went three innings, with The Corral sending at least a dozen batters
to the plate in each of the three innings. Mosley had 4 hits, and Owens, Hunt, Neal,
Cole, Eggleston, and Conner all chipped in 3 each. The game was called in the bottom
of the third when the score reached 27-2, as GC still had the bases loaded.
Unfortunately for Golden Corral, they were not allowed to play anymore this night, and the
Sunday morning game awaited.
This game was against Hustler's from Maryland.
This game started off with a bang as Hustler's scored 5 runs in the top of the
first, only to have Golden Corral answer in the bottom half, behind hits from Owens,
Poole, and Hunt, and a line-shot homer from Neal. Hudson, Eggleston, Barnes, Conner,
and Henderson also singled, but GC left the bases loaded. Hustler's continued to hit
the ball consistently, and GC did not. That made the difference. Golden Corral
just simply did not hit the ball well enough to be in a position to win this one and fell,
17-9.
Team Leaders: JoJo Owens (.750), Kevin Neal (.733, 2 HRs), John Hudson (.667, HR), Rodney Mosley (.667, HR), Tony Conner (.667).