Shelby Shopper Shelby NC
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704-484-1047 www.shelbyinfo.com Our 40th Year • Issue No. 23 • June 8, 2023 "We Know Hometown" ©Community First Media Community First Media 356 E. Main St., Lawndale 704-538-0508 Mon-Fri. 7:30am-6pm • Sat. 8am-4pm mainstreethardwareinc.com Locally Owned & Operated FATHER'S DAY GIFT IDEAS GREAT GREAT SELECTION SELECTION GREAT GREAT P R I C E S P R I C E S 20 20 % OFF OFF IN STOCK ONLY IN STOCK ONLY ALL KNIVES ALL KNIVES 10 10 % OFF OFF IN STOCK ONLY IN STOCK ONLY Z MASTER Z MASTER 2000 2000 SERIES SERIES Only Only $ 7,500 7,500 50 INCH 50 INCH TIME CUTTER TIME CUTTER $ 3,995 3,995 Only Only Huge win for school is described by coach as "… a surreal feeling." by MICHAEL E. POWELL CF Media michael@cfmedia.info Burns High School Bulldogs head baseball coach Alex Le- onhardt knew the obvious question – "How did it feel win- ning the 2A state champion- ship?" – was going to come up eventually so he had his answer ready; it was a short, sweet, and got to the point, "It was a surreal feeling." The Burns Bulldogs de- feated South Granville, 9-5, last Saturday, May 3, in Holly Springs, NC, to get the two- game sweep, best-of-three series, getting the school's first-ever baseball state cham- pionship. Coach Leonhardt continued, "Everything we had worked for coming to fruition at that point was an amazing feeling." As for it being "a first" in baseball for Burns, Coach Le- onhardt replied, "Yes, it is our first high school state champi- onship in baseball. We did win the Junior Legion state title last year." The win was a culmination of a great season for Leon- hardt and his fellow 2023 Bull- dogs "diamond kings", who are as follows: #1 – Ben Mauney, Sr.; #2 – Joshua Powell, Sr.; #3 – Colby Putnam, Soph.; #5 – Gabe Holiday, Jr.; #6 – Josh Taylor, Jr.; #7 – Nick Williams, Soph.; #8 – Jacob Whiteside, Sr.; #9 – Hagan Hoyle, Soph.; #10- Haydin Smith, Sr.; #11- Ethan Guy, Jr. #12 – Camden Mackall, Soph.; #13- Mason Humphries, Soph.; #14 – Reid Stroupe, Sr.; #15– Jaxon Dubesko, Soph.; and #24 – Marshall McGowan, Soph. Coaches are: Alex Leonhardt, Chris White, Mark Mackall, Brad Hoyle, Wade Walker, and Nick Triplett. The path to the 2A cham- pionship for the SCPC 1A/2A conference champs, who were 19-3 overall, and 11-1 in the conference, and were the number one seed in the West (they were the home team each playoff game, said Coach Leonhardt) was: Round 1 – SW Randolph, 10-8; Round 2 – East Gaston, 2-1 (confer- ence opponent, 4th time play- ing them); Round 3 – Lincoln Charter 4-3; and Round 4 – West Stokes, 4-3. The Best-of-3 Western Fi- nals was: Game 1 – Morehead, 7-0; and Game 2 – Morehead, 13-6. In the State Championship games it was: Game 1 – de- feated South Granville, 6-1, and Game 2 – defeated South Granville, 9-5. Coach Leonhardt wanted to give the following "shout-outs" to: the Top Five in averages – Mar- shall McGowan, .478 (55 hits, and a school record); Ben Mauney, .421; Colby Putnam, .380; Ethan Guy, .358; and Nick Williams .352. His Top Five doubles hit- ters: Putnam, 14; McGowan, 13; Mauney, 10; Guy, 6; and Stroupe, 4. The Top Two triples hitters: Mauney, 2; and Williams, 2. Burns' Top Five home run hit- ters were: Mauney, 6; Putnam, 6; McGowan, 4; Stroupe, See BURNS, Page 7 Burns Bulldogs get first-ever NCHSAA State 2A baseball championship A Twitter feed photo of the Ting Stadium scoreboard show- ing the final games tabulation of stats for the 2A NCHSAA champs, the Burns Bulldogs! The 2023 Burns High School Bulldogs baseball team mem- bers giving the "thumbs up" sign as the team bus leaves, taking them to the State Championship playoffs Holly Springs, NC. The Burns Bulldogs, who are the NCHSAA 2A State Champions, taking a moment for a quick 'photo op' with their coaches. They are shown here with the championship trophy and banner. (photos from provided) SEE THIS YEAR'S HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES PAGES 11 THRU 14