SMC Alum Gantt Leads Way for NJCAA All Stars
HAARLEM, Netherlands – Japan used a nine-run eighth inning to defeat the NJCAA Baseball All-Stars 16-6 on Sunday afternoon on the final day of the 2010 Haarlem Honkbal Tournament. The win locked up third place for Japan while the United States team finishes fourth.
The United States trailed just 7-6 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning but Japan's offense erupted for seven hits and took advantage of three errors committed by the NJCAA All-Stars.
A RBI double by A.J. Regoli (Broward College, Fla.) followed by an RBI single by Wade Hinkle (Cochise College, Ariz.) gave the United States an early 2-1 lead in the second inning. Japan then tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the third frame via a one out triple by Koki Uchiyama who was then driven home by Yukihiro Mishima.
Japan would then score two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth to take a 7-2 lead. The United States would score three runs in seventh inning to get back in the contest. After two quick outs Hinkle hammered a solo home run to right field, which was followed by back-to-back doubles by Taed Moses (South Florida CC) and Tyler Hall (Grand Rapids CC, Mich.). Marty Gantt (Spartanburg Methodist College, S.C.) then singled home Hall to make the score 7-5.
A solo home run by Jared Womack (Ranger College, Texas) in the eighth inning put the United States within one run at 7-6.
Gantt led the team in hitting with nine hits in 23 at-bats (.391). The recent signee of a letter of intent with the College of Charleston, Gantt had two doubles and tied for a team high five RBIs.
Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The College is in its 99th year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.
For more information, contact SMC athletic director Mark Perdue at perduem@smcsc.edu or (864) 587-4237.
