Loose as a goose; Wilmington Post 10 & Whiteville Post 137 set for state tourney

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The first pitch for the American Legion State Baseball Tournament is less two days away. We typically have one team from the area in the state tourney. This year we’re fortunate to have two. Tonight we’re going to focus on a common theme between Wilmington Post 10 and Whiteville Post 137. See if you can figure it out.

Sometimes to win it all you have to play loose, and it appears Wilmington Post 10 is loose. Whiteville Post 137 may be an even looser goose as both teams get ready for the American Legion State Tournament this coming Friday. “We are going to have to start swinging the bat,” Whiteville’s Gage Hammonds told us. “We’re going to have to start throwing the ball better, and play good defense.”

“Legion baseball is a true 9 inning game you have to show up every day it’s a grind,” Whiteville head coach Brett Harwood said Monday night. “It teaches you the mental part of the game more than anything. Every night is a different night and you have to have a short memory in baseball.”

Baseball can be a bit repititious, a bit monotonous and both Post 10 and Post 137 like to have fun while focused on the game at hand. “We play a game called odds,” Wilmington’s Kennedy Hardy told WWAY. “We usually do some crazy things if you lose the game. In Myrtle Beach I had to stand on the foul line and sing the national anthem so everyone could hear me.”

Whiteville has not been to the state legion tournament since 2012. Wilmington missed out last year, but they’ve been nine out of the last ten years.

“Our mindset is to play loose and be ready to play each night,” per Wilmington’s Brandon Boone.

“We are pretty well balanced. We’ve got some good arms we can throw at you,” Wilmington head coach Scott Sandlin told us. “We have a stopper with Brandon Boone along with different arms and looks. Hitting wise we have some guys who can drive the baseball. We’ve got wonderful team speed, probably as fast as we’ve ever been.”

Whiteville Post 137 plays at 12:30 against High Point on Friday.
Wilmington Post 10 will lace em up at 4:30 on Friday against Rowan County.
All the games will be played on the Wingate University campus in Union County.