1917 North Carolina State League — Carolina Champions Cup Recap
No doubt about it
Charlotte sweeps Twins to earn first Champions Cup
GAME SCORES
Game 1: Charlotte 4, Winston-Salem 3 -- WP: Norm Ross; LP: Gary “Brick” Lee; S: Dean Dimond
Game 2: Charlotte 6, Winston-Salem 5 -- WP: Rudy Young; LP: Chris Lloyd; S: Dean Dimond (2)
Game 3: Charlotte 7, Winston-Salem 4 -- WP: Jerry Parker; LP: Jack Fry; S: Miguel Ruiz
Winston-Salem nearly stole the regular season championship from the Charlotte Hornets in the final week. But the Hornets refused to let the Twins take away the franchise’s first Carolina Champions Cup celebration. Charlotte, like Asheville did to them last season, swept the Cup series 3-0.
The Hornets got offensive production up and down its lineup. 1B
Ivan Martinez batted .500 for the series, with a triple and a double. RF
Jeffrey Hanna batted .400, with three RBIs and four runs scored. LF
Will Simpson hit .308, etc.
Charlotte pitchers, meanwhile, handcuffed Winston’s top hitters.
Angel Pellicer, the league’s batting champ, went a combined 1-for-11 in the three games. He did have three RBIs but was pretty ineffective in most at-bats. In Game Three, Winston-Salem’s top three hitters were 0-for-11, while the top six in the order were 2-for-23 -- not exactly championship material.
The championship series was a little poetic justice for Charlotte pitcher
Jerry Parker. He was the first-ever pick in the first-ever NCSL draft but never really established himself in Raleigh. This season, Raleigh looked to deal him, and the Hornets brought him aboard. Parker got to be the winning pitcher in the decisive Game Three, throwing a strong seven innings (allowing five hits). Parker, who hails from little ol’ Dunn. N.C., cried as he wrapped his arms around the trophy. He missed out on the chance to win it with the Caps in 1914. Raleigh was beaten by Durham in the playoffs. Parker started one of the games that year but got a no decision.
It’s interesting that Winston-Salem chose to pitch rookie
Jack Fry in Game Three against Parker. The spotlight likely proved too much for the 21-year-old, though the experience was surely valuable for the future.
It was tough to pick a series MVP, but we’ll give it to Charlotte 1B
Ivan Martinez. Not only did the popular 39-year-old (wow, I hadn’t realized how old he was until looking at his card just now) lead the Hornets in hits, he had clutch hits. His RBI triple in the sixth inning of Game One gave the Hornets a lead they would never relinquish the rest of the series. Hats off to the big fella from Gresham, Oregon! And hats off to the Hornets. Word has it that fan Glenn is partying in the streets…
A few notes: this was the first time that the No. 1 seed actually won the playoff series … also, this is the first time Winston-Salem has lost the playoff series after winning its first two trips … this was the third year in a row that the winning team swept the losers… Charlotte becomes the fourth team to win a playoff title. Only Raleigh and Greensboro have yet to taste the thrill of victory in the Champions Cup series…
NORTH CAROLINA STATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
1913 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-1)
1914 - Durham Bulls (defeated Raleigh 2-1)
1915 - Winston-Salem Twins (defeated Durham 2-0)
1916 - Asheville Tourists (defeated Charlotte 3-0)
1917 - Charlotte Hornets (defeated Winston-Salem 3-0)