First Posted: 7/8/2014
HOLLY SPRINGS — Ben Schmucker, a rising senior on the nationally-ranked University of North Carolina at Pembroke baseball team, has been selected as one of nine starters for the Coastal Plain League’s 2014 All-Star Game on July 13-14 at Big Rock Stadium in Morehead City.
Schmucker, who leads the league with 26 runs batted in, was among 56 players selected to play in the event. Players are separated by division and will be competing in front over a large contingency of scouts and fans. Since the game is being played in the Morehead City Marlins’ home ballpark, the East All-Stars will be the home team while the West All-Stars will serve as the visitors.
A Greensboro native, Schmucker hit .316 with 25 extra-base hits and eight home runs the Braves in 2014. A two-year starter for the team, he has seen action in 116 career games for the Braves and boasts a .312 career batting average with 11 home runs and 93 RBI.
Fall cross country schedule set
PEMBROKE — UNCP interim cross country coach Adarian Barr has announced the 10-meet lineup for both the mens and womens programs with four meets in North Carolina, a pair in both South Carolina and Georgia, and one each in Kentucky and Alabama.
“The schedule is very competitive and should provide our athletes with a fun, exciting and great opportunity to compete at the highest level,” Barr said. “There are also plenty of dates for fans across the region to watch the teams compete.”
The squads will open the season on September 5 at the Catawba Invitational at the Salisbury Community Park where the women will run a 5K prior to the men running an 8K. The following weekend, the Braves will compete at the Barton-hosted Bulldog Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 12, before turning around to compete at the Furman Cross Country Classic less than 24 hours later on Sept. 13.
The teams will open the month of October by making the long trip to Kentucky to compete at the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 4. That event will be run on the same course as the NCAA Division II National Championships, which will be hosted by Bellarmine as part of the DII Festival.
The Western Carolina Catamount Classic on October 17 and the Francis Marion Invitational on Oct. 24 lead into the PBC Championships on Nov. 8 and the NCAA DII Southeast Region Championships on Nov. 22. The Southeast Region Championship will be hosted by PBC foe Montevallo.
The top 3 teams and the three finishers not associated with a qualifying team at the regional championships will advance to the NCAA DII National Championships on December 6 in Louisville, Ky.
