NJCAA DIII World Series opens Saturday in Kinston

Grainger Stadium will be the host to this year’s National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series. The championship tournament will start on Saturday at 10 a.m. and will run through May 28.

Tournament passes cost $20 for adults, and only adults are eligible for theses passes. Tickets per session cost $5 a day for adults and $3 for students and elementary-aged children. Children under 5 and any Little League/Cal Ripken players in uniforms are free.

Field level box seats will cost $30.

For more information, contact Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation at 252-939-3336.

2015 NJCAA D-III World Series Qualifiers

District                Region(s)            Team    Record State

A             3             Herkimer            45-4      NY

B             4,12       Joliet     35-23    Ill.

C             2,5,14   Tyler     37-8      TX

D             10,20    Montgomery     32-19    Md.

E             13           Century               38-7      Minn.

F             15           Nassau 18-11    NY

G             19           Rowan Gloucester          37-10    NJ

H             21           Northern Essex                28-2      Mass.

2015 NJCAA D-III Saturday Schedule

Nassau vs Rowan Gloucester at 10 a.m. / Joliet vs. Montgomery at 1 p.m.

Tyler vs. Northern Essex at 4 p.m. / Herkimer vs. Century at 7 p.m.

Parrott’s Wes Simmons is a Creed Boys’ Player to Watch

Arendell Parrott Academy junior golfer Wesley Simmons was named as one of 10 Player to Watch for the upcoming Creed Boys’ Invitational at Camden Country Club in South Carolina. There will be 96 boys from across the Carolinas playing 36 holes (18 each day) Saturday and Sunday.

Simmons tied for 12th in last year’s Creed and 25th in North Carolina.

ECU Signs JUCO Guard Charles Foster To Letter Of Intent

GREENVILLE | Charles Foster, a 6-foot-1 point guard who played the last two seasons at Vincennes (Ind.) University, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend school and play basketball at East Carolina University, announced head coach Jeff Lebo Monday.

"Our staff is very excited about Charles joining our Pirate family," Lebo said. "He comes from an extremely successful program at Vincennes and should strengthen our backcourt."

A native of Louisville, Ky., Foster averaged 14.4 points and 5.4 assists per game to lead Vincennes into the second round of the 2015 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Championship tournament. Foster guided coach Todd Franklin's Trailblazers to the regular season Region XVI Division I junior college title with a final record of 33-2, a year after VU advanced to the 2014 NJCAA Final Four.

Foster graduated from Trinity High School in Louisville in 2012, where he averaged 12.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals in helping the Shamrocks win their first state title and earned All-Seventh Region honors. He was also named to the Louisville Courier-Journal 's first-team all-state squad as a senior. Foster attended Lee Academy in Lee, Maine, the following season.

Foster is East Carolina's second signee of the spring period and the fourth in the 2014-15 signing class, joining Kentrell Barkley (Durham, N.C./Northern Durham HS), Deng Riak (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock (Fla.) Prep) and Clarence Williams (Tallahassee, Fla./Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College).   

DEEP RUN | South Lenoir’s worst game couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time.

The Blue Devils committed four errors, collected just two hits and watched a terrific season come to a disappointing end as they fell to North Johnston 6-2 in the third round of the 2A softball playoffs.

“It’s not the outcome we wanted, but we still had an outstanding year,” SL coach Lisa Smith said. “This team has nothing to be ashamed of. I’m very proud of them.”

The Devils finished 18-3-1 and their only other losses came by 1-run each at the hands of powerful South Central, which is still alive in the 4A playoffs.

Against North Johnston, however, SL couldn’t repeat the magic.

Aside from a fourth-inning double by Meredith Sanderson and a sixth-inning infield single from Bree Williams, the Devils failed to generate much offense against Panthers pitcher Emma Turner.

SL’s best chances came in the first when Turner hit Madison Herring, walked Williams, and gave up an RBI fielder’s choice to Mattie Beyer.

Beyer also walked to lead off the fourth, just prior to Sanderson’s two-bagger that reached the left-center field fence and nearly left the yard.

Beyer had been replaced by a courtesy runner, however, and the runner got caught up in a rundown and was tagged out, dampening what was SL’s top scoring opportunity.

“We just made too many mistakes, in the field, on the bases,” Smith said. “There’s no way to beat a team as good as North Johnston unless you play a great game.”

The Panthers (18-6) took advantage of three Devil errors to score twice in the first inning, and then broke the game open with three runs on four hits and another SL fielding miscue in the fifth.

NJ finished with eight hits in the contest.

The game was the final one for South Lenoir seniors Sanderson, Williams, Herring, and Taylor Mercer.

“They’ve all grown into outstanding young women who will go far in life,” Smith said. “Meredith, Bree, Madison, and Taylor will all be sorely missed next season.”

CREEDMOOR |  While the somber Hawks packed away their equipment for the last time this year on Tuesday night, Chad Ginn walked through the visiting dugout reminding the younger players to retain their love for the game.

The North Lenoir senior pitcher’s love for baseball was amplified his last two seasons: back-to-back conference championships, Eastern Regional runner-up and one last playoff appearance.

He finished the season 6-3 on the mound.

“It’s been one of my most important seasons. It’s one of my favorites, this year and last year,” said a moist-eyed Ginn after the game. He fought back tears as he added, “We’ve always been tight. We’ve played baseball together growing up, and this is the last time we’ll play together, so it’s really emotional.”

The Hawks wrapped up their season Tuesday, as the East’s second-seeded South Granville got its revenge. This time last year, North Lenoir eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs.

So they returned the favor by claiming a 4-1 victory in the third round the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A playoffs. South Granville will host No. 3 Croatan Friday.

After the final fly out of the year soared into left fielder Ethan Bowman’s glove and after enduring the postgame handshakes at home plate indicating the season was over, the Hawks made their way to left field. All some players could do was take a seat in the grass.

As North Lenoir coach Donell Garris addressed a team that battled to a 15-7 overall record, faint claps and sniffling could be heard in the distance.

“They’re visibly upset,” Garris said. “Nobody wants it to come to an end. You want to go to the end, but (the seniors) have set the bar very high. They’ve set the bar for everybody that comes after them. They’ve left big shoes to fill and it’s going to hurt losing so many.”

Ten seniors will exit the team this year.

And while the four runs South Granville (20-2)  forced in bottom of the fifth inning proved to be just enough to reject the Hawks from their postseason goals, the senior leaders put forth every bit of try, hoping to reverse the outcome over the last two innings.  

South Granville batted around in the fifth before the Hawks could stop the bleeding.

The Vikings, who hit three consecutive choppers to the left-center gap en route to the game-claiming fifth, saw the victory as a revenge game.

“We lost a tough one last year on some unfortunate errors. It’s always good to see a team again and play a great ball game, like we did last time; it just didn’t work out in our favor,” said South Granville coach Curt Watkins, who’s birthday was Wednesday. Last year’s loss fell on his birthday. “I told them before the game, I’d love to spend my birthday … knowing that we’re going to be at home in the fourth round with a chance to go a little farther.”

Senior third baseman Luke Jackson was hit to lead off the sixth, but two Justin Brown strikeouts followed. Brown came in relief for Justin Bullock to start the fourth inning and collected six strikeouts on the night.

Watkins cited the pitching change as a momentum-clincher.

“Everybody got down a little bit because the guy (Bullock), he’s our ace and he struggled a little bit,” Watkins said. “We were still in the ball game 1-noting, but when I did that pitching change, we came in and got three quick outs.”

With two outs in the sixth, senior Caleb Beard, in attempts to keep his final season alive one more round, singled to left and moved Jackson into scoring position.

But Brown didn’t give the Hawks a chance, fanning one last batter to retire the side.

North Lenoir senior reliever Orlando Cannon struck out the sixth batter he faced in the home half of the sixth, leaving the bases loaded, as a walk, a single and an error allowed SG runners on.

“We gotta go,” Garris said about his message to the team, which turned two double plays Tuesday night, in the top of the seventh. “We’ve got three outs to try and close the gap and leave it on the field.”

Hawks designated hitter Ethan Pittman battled Brown to draw a walk to lead off North Lenoir’s final chance, but the pinch of hope was short-lived.

As one last fly ball soared to left field, the Hawks saw their season end.

Beard, Cannon, Braxton Greene, Jacob Baird and Daron Gray collected hits.

The exiting seniors had a message for the underclassmen: preserve the rich program tradition that includes 20 playoff appearances.

“They’ll step up like we stepped up this year,” said Jackson, who will be headed to play at UNC Pembroke next season. “We had all the seniors last year. We had great talent and we stepped up and filled their shoes.”

His final message as he packed his bag was to “grind every day. It don’t stop. It don’t stop during the summer. It don’t stop during the winter.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan. 

Wes Simmons has adopted the work ethic and winning attitudes of some of the professional golfers he admires.

For example — Tiger Woods.

"He’s been there, done that; he knows how to win,” Simmons said.

Simmons, an Arendell Parrott Academy junior, was named as one of the Ten Players to Watch for the upcoming Creed Boys’ Invitational at Camden Country Club in South Carolina. There will be 96 junior golfers from across the Carolinas playing 36 holes through Saturday and Sunday.

It’ll be Simmons’ second time at the event.

He said coming into it as a standout golfer “tells me what I already knew. I go out there with the thought that I’m the best and that’s my mannerism on the course.”

Simmons added his mindset “helps because you don’t get nervous out there. It’s confidence-booster. It also makes others nervous when they see it.”

The 16-year-old finished tied for 12th last year at the Creed.

He’ll enter the competition knowing the course better and channel his signature presence of confidence.

“To win,” Simmons said, naming his weekend objective Thursday afternoon in the Parrott lobby. “That’s the goal every time.”

Simmons grew up in a golf family and has been playing since he was 5-years-old.

At Parrott, he played alongside his older brother Matthew, and the pair have always had friendly bouts of competition.

APA finished the 2015 season as conference champions and eighth in the state.

Wes Simmons cited the Cape Fear Academy match as a highlight to his junior season.

“Cape Fear Academy’s No. 1,” Simmons said. “We were coming in pretty close to each other in the last few holes, and I finished birdie birdie to basically beat them.”

The Kinston Country Club, Parrott’s home course and Simmons’ practice site, has been supportive.

Simmons said he practices there nearly every day and that the competitive spirit of his Parrott teammates has helped prepare him for big events. He recently played in the Scott Robertson Memorial Junior Golf Tournament and the United States Golf Association U.S. Open qualifier.

What’s kept him connected to golf for more than a decade is “that feeling you get when you walk off the golf course and you’ve played well.”

But he’ll remain very focused in Camden this weekend.

“Just play smart,” Simmons said. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You can’t win it in the first day but you can certainly lose it.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan. 

SNOW HILL | Greene County commissioners voted for an amendment on phase 1H of the alternative water project.

The resolution called for an increased contribution from the county of about $40,368 for construction costs, as required by the Public Water Supply Section and U.S Department of Agriculture, which are providing the loan/grant agreements.

"The purpose of the amendment," McDavid Associates' engineer Andrew Parker told the board Monday night, "is to structure the Greene County budget in a manner that's more desirable for both funding agencies."

In addition, an approximate $200,000 lender's contribution that was added to the May 4 budget was removed as the county contribution is required to be spent first, Parker said.

Commissioners James Shackleford and Bennie Heath gave the motions, voting yes.

Commissioner Susan Blizzard asked Parker to tell the board what the total cost of phase 1H with the passage of the resolution.

Parker said it would be $95,368.50.

In other news, Greene County budget workshops will be held at 10 a.m. May 27 and 6 p.m. May 28 at the Tech Center on Second Street next to the National Guard Armory. A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at 7 p.m. June 1 at the same location.

Commissioners moved their July 6 meeting to 7 p.m. June 29 to vote on the budget. It will also be held at the Tech Center.

The proposed budget may be viewed at co.greene.nc.us, the County Manager's Office or the Greene County Library.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.

Legislation ensuring U.S. 70 can become an interstate may get moving in Congress this summer.

Austen Shearer, regional field representative for U.S. Sen. Thom Tills, R-N.C., gave the U.S. 70 Corridor Commission the update Thursday at its meeting at the Woodmen Center.

Tillis — joined by cosponsor U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. — introduced S. 983 on April 16, dubbed the Military Corridor Transportation Improvement Act of 2015.

“In midst of a sluggish national economy, North Carolina has been a bright spot for growth and innovation, and one of the keys to sustaining that economic success is through continued investment in transportation, infrastructure, and our military,” Tillis said at the time.

He continued, “The Military Corridor Transportation Improvement Act is a true bipartisan effort to support North Carolina’s military installations and complement the state’s 25 year transportation improvement plan, which in turn will generate economic development, provide a boost for local communities and create good-paying jobs.”

High priority corridors would be U.S. 117/I-795 from Goldsboro to just west of Faison and U.S. 70 from Garner to Morehead City.

S. 980 was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

In the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., filed companion legislation — H.R. 1844 — that was referred to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

Each North Carolina member of the House signed as a co-sponsor of the bill with the exception of U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who represents the 5th District.

“Improving transportation in eastern North Carolina is vital to strengthening our state’s economy, improving military readiness and commerce, and reducing traffic congestion,” Butterfield said in a statement. “The Military Corridor Transportation Improvement Act would connect cities and military bases throughout eastern North Carolina with a major port, the state capital, and the eastern seaboard.

“This vital legislation will benefit the entire region, and stimulate job growth throughout eastern North Carolina.”

Also, NCDOT Division 2 Engineer John Rouse announced the phase extending the C.F. Harvey Parkway from N.C. 58 to N.C. 11 is fully-funded and ready to go, partially thanks to a significant amount of data collected earlier for proposals for a northerly Kinston bypass route. The decision has since been made to seek a southerly route.

Rouse said he expects work on the Harvey Parkway to begin in earnest in June.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.

Residents will see the intersection of North Queen Street and Vernon Avenue a little different after May 31.

“The project that you’re seeing on Queen Street is a (state Department of Transportation) project,” Kinston Department of Public Services Director Rhonda Barwick said. “The signals, they try to change them out every five years. And, they are using a new LED product which will be a little better — if one bulb should go out, you can still see the solid color.”

And the lights will line up side-to-side instead of straight up.

“Normally when we do upgrades we try to get a little more additional height, with the four-section flashing yellow that’s actually going there, so at this point in time the lights going in are horizontal instead of vertical," NCDOT Traffic Signals Supervisor Tim Bell said.

However, one of the main intersections in Kinston will be shut down for most of the day.

“It’s pretty much just going to be closed for that day, from about 7 (a.m.) to 3 or 4 that afternoon,” Bell said. “What we need to do to build that intersection, or to upgrade it, due to a bunch of utility height issues, we’re going to have to go back in at the same place.”

He added, “We’re pretty much going to have to pull everything down and put everything back up.”

After they go in, the lights will just be a slight deviation from the usual — solid green, yellow and red will mean what they’ve always meant, but the yellow blinking arrow light indicates it’s OK to turn but to yield to pedestrians and oncoming traffic.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.

I’ve kissed a few “pigs” in my life, but never one of the actual four-legged, snouted variety.

That all changed about 11 a.m. Saturday at the Pink Hill Rose Festival.

And really, the pig-kissing wasn’t the big deal some were making it out to be. If you’ve ever kissed a dog, or a cat, or another pet, or even a small child who’s been out in the rain, the pig wasn’t that much different.

Her name was Pearl, and she was someone’s pet. She was groomed and arrived with her own pink tutu. She wasn’t exactly chased down or pulled out of the nearest hog confinement. She looked adorable, actually, and very relaxed, until Pink Hill Mayor Carol Sykes tried to kiss her before the official ceremony.

“Don’t make the pig angry before we have to do this!” I admonished the mayor, in so many words.

Sorry, mayor.

Pearl calmed down fairly quickly and the festivities got underway. The pig-kissing event was created after the Pink Hill RoseFest queens raised more than $8,000 for the festival. Having hit that mark, County Commissioner J. Mac Daughtey, RoseFest founder Susan G. Myers and Free Press Editor Bryan Hanks had agreed to hit the pig.

I stood in for Hanks, who was unable to be at the event, but did enjoy the pictures and recap afterwards.

Before the ceremony, being the animal person I am, I went over and introduced myself to the pig, learned her name and pet her on the head.

It’s important to make friends.

Soon it was time. I was last in the order and by the time I got to Pearl, she had a little slobber on her nose.

“You have a little slobber there, honey,” I said, cleaning it off, since I didn’t know at that point whose it might be.

Her snout clean, I was ready. I leaned in for the kiss and — Zach Frailey swears this is true — Pearl leaned in to kiss me back.

The deed was done and everyone survived the experience.

And I guess I really am an animal person, because I haven’t been able to look at ham all week.

Jennifer Shrader is the managing editor of The Free Press. Her column appears in this space every Friday. You can reach her at 252-559-1079 or at Jennifer.Shrader@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @jenjshrader.

Experience a delightful array of flavors at Ginger 108's sushi bar.

Joey Hughes brought his culinary experience to the Asian fusion restaurant starting on May 1 during the BBQ Festival on the Neuse.

In addition, the menu has changed considerably since Taylor Staton took over as general manager more than a year ago after Bill Tsao left.

Whether dining at the restaurant's tables or lounging in comfortable chairs or bar stools near the sushi bar, patrons can order any of the menu items, including sushi.

The sushi bar is eco-friendly, featuring a variety of sustainable fish from California .

"We partnered with Monterey Bay Aquarium to provide sustainable seafood," Staton said, "so every fish that we sell, we know where it was caught and how it was caught."

Fresh fish includes mahi, yellow fin tuna, hamachi, hybrid striped bass, sable fish and farm-raised Verlasso salmon. More varieties will be available, as well as specialty fish in season, and all will be sustainable.

Sustainability involves the impacts of fishing on the target species, by-catch (or unintended catch), habitat and ecosystem and how well a fishery is regulated, according to seachoice.org.

Hughes, a Kinston native, has worked at a number of restaurants and fine dining establishments in various places, including an Asian fusion bistro at Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev.

"I moved out to Vegas where I learned how to eat sushi," he said.

After a back injury, he returned home and began working at Ginger 108 after owner Stephen Hill tasted his sushi creations.

Starting as a bartender in February at the local restaurant, Hughes began telling people he would soon be making sushi.

"I would say business is picking up rapidly," he said.

Hughes has developed his own style of sushi creations with a blend of flavors that satisfy the taste buds. On Wednesday, he made a ginger roll with a ginger sauce that includes asparagus, cucumbers and hybrid striped bass and is topped with hamachi, also known as  yellowtail amberjack, pecans and Ninja sauce.

He also made a rap city roll with yum yum sauce that gives a mild kick with cayenne pepper. It includes ahi tuna (yellowfin tuna), cucumbers, squash, carrot and marinated ponzu dipping sauce (a tangy sauce similar to soy sauce) and topped with Japanese panko bread crumbs (bread without the crust) to give a little crunch and Ninja sauce.

Khymi Harrell, who has been a chef at the restaurant for about a year, said she changed up the menu when she took the reigns.

"It's more southern Asian fusion," she said about the regular menu. "It's a lot of local organic ingredients. We have a garden across from the restaurant."

Shrimp and grits and duck breast with sweet and sour collard greens and southern spice turnip puree are some of the popular items.

Everything is fresh and new specialty items are featured daily. Japanese rice wine is available.

"We have different selections of saké to sip on," Harrell said, "and the fish is really good."

The restaurant still has a variety of rice bowls with more topping and less rice than when the restaurant first opened, Harrell said. Besides meat choices, there is tofu, and brown rice is an option.

Harrell's favorite dessert, also popular with customers, is a sundae featuring Mother Earth Brewing's Dark Cloud beer, homemade banana ice cream and caramel. The beer gives a hint of the dark flavor, she said.

Ginger 108, 108 W. North St., is open from 5:30-10 p.m., or until, Tuesday through Saturday. For information, call 252-208-2663.

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Hampton Inn – Kinston has received a 2015 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award this month for a fifth year.

The award is given for excellence in hospitality and only to establishments that consistently achieve positive traveler reviews at the online site of TripAdvisor.

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at Hampton Inn – Kinston ...," said Edward J. Davis, general manager at Hampton Inn – Kinston, "and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor.”

Awards are given to accommodations, eateries and attractions all over the world that meet the criteria of continually delivering a superior customer service experience.

Quality, quantity and recency of reviews and opinions submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period, as well as business’s tenure and ranking on the Popularity Index on the site, are taken into consideration.

To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

“There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by one’s customers," Davis said. "With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence.”

Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for business, said, “By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive increasing hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition.”

Hampton Inn – Kinston is at 1382 U.S. 258 S. at U.S. 70. For information, call 252-523-1400.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.

An N.C. Silver Alert went out Friday afternoon for a 70-year-old Kinston woman missing from the 600 block of East Washington Avenue.

Norma Jean Sutton-Brown, 70, was last seen wearing a lavender shirt, blue jeans and Crocs. She’s described as 5 feet 2 inches tall and 90 pounds, with light brown, short hair.

She may be in a white 2002 Dodge van with the license plate number BAP2571.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is encouraged to contact Kinston Department of Public Safety Cmdr. Tim Dilday at 252-939-3213.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.

The NJCAA Divsion III baseball World Series will be streamed live 

WHAT TO WATCH:

Herkimer Community College of New York, 45-4

HEAD COACH: Jason Rathbun

Top 10 Rank: 1

- Generals’ offense leads the nation: Herkimer recorded a season-high 22 hits in its Region III championship victory. The club is first in the nation in runs (533), hits (615), doubles (129), home runs (38), RBIs (457) extra base hits (185) and batting average (.425).

- Japan’s Taishi Terashima: The sophomore leadoff is second in the nation with a .493 batting average who’s been reliable for the Generals this season

- Pitching staff deep and talented: Herkimer pitchers have combined to give up 2.7 runs a game this season.  

Century College of Minnesota, 38-7

HEAD COACH: Dwight Kolita

Top 10 Rank: 2

- Ducks ace Ryan Schlosser: The Region XIII MVP is 9-2 and on a five-game winning streak entering today’s game. Schlosser has 77 strikeouts on the year. 

- Defensively sound: Century owns a .940 fielding percentage and has committed less than two errors (1.6) a game.

- Timely hitting: Garrett Ganskie leads the club with 50 RBIs, and Axel Twenge enters today with a team-best 63 hits.

Montgomery Community College of Maryland, 32-19

HEAD COACH: Dan Rascher

Top 10 Rank: 8

- Routine plays: The Raptors defeated Rockingham Community College, 2-1, in the regional championship series to advance, knocking out what would have been the only in-state team in the D-III World Series in Kinston.

- Putting the ball in play: Montgomery is second overall in that nation with 37 home runs.

Joliet Junior College of Illinois, 35-23

HEAD COACH: Wayne King

Top 10 Rank: 6

- Swinging the bat: Joliet catcher  T.J. Condon leads the Division III in RBIs with 70. He’s also first in the nation in doubles and triples. Ron Sessler has added 49 RBIs for Joliet.

- Wolves’ ace: Thomas Jeffries comes into the World Series 9-2.

- Manufacture runs: The Wolves have had to win a few contests from behind this season. King said if Joliet gets down by even four runs, the club won’t panic. It’ll look to hit and run and bunt.

Tyler Junior College of Texas, 37-8

HEAD COACH: Doug Wren

Top 10 Rank: 3

- Returners: Zane Otten, an All-Tournament selection from the 2014 championship team, is one of the defending champs’ several returners. Wren was also named Coach of the Tournament when his team defeated Cumberland, 6-3, for last year’s title.

- Pitching: Freshman Jace Vines has allowed 18 runs on the year and walked six. Vines (56 Ks) and Cody Brown (87 Ks) are both 9-1. Brown’s 87 strikeouts rank third in the nation. Jonathan Groff (71 Ks) owns an 8-1 record on the mound.

- Infielders: Sophomore infielder Reid Russell leads the Apaches with 287 putouts this year. He also has a .984 fielding percentage, while catcher Derek Clemons’ 1.000 leads the team for players with at least 38 games.

Nassau Community College of New York, 18-11

HEAD COACH: Larry Minor

- Energy: Freshmen make up the bulk of Nassau’s lineup, while Michael Tancredi leads the team with a .545 batting average.

Rowan Colllege at Gloucester County of New Jersey, 37-10

HEAD COACH: Rob Valli

- Hitting: Sophomore Jon Gonzalez leads the team with 80 hits, 61 RBIs (second in nation) and a .468 batting average. He has 11 of the club’s 30 home runs to tie for second in the nation.

- Versatile pitching staff: Andrew Cohen and Andrew Biggs are both 7-1 on the mound. Jake Regina is 3-2 and Eric Schorr is undefeated on the hill at 5-0. Valli’s also moved his former ace to closer.

- Experience: Today will be the Roadrunners’ 20th baseball World Series appearance.

Northern Essex Community College of Massachusetts, 28-2

HEAD COACH: Jeff Mejia

Top 10 Rank: 4

- Defense: Catcher Keith Linnane leads Northern Essex with a .990 fielding percentage and 191 putouts. Overall, the Knights enter today’s game with a .958 fielding percentage.

- Team speed: Essex has registered 88 stolen bases on the year. 

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan. 

Bill Ellis’ explanation was simple: Grainger Stadium.

Kinston’s historic ballpark helped win a bid last year that brought the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Baseball World Series to town. Grainger will be the site of the championship tournament for the next three years, as the 2015 Juco World Series begins today.

Eight teams from as far as  New York and Texas will compete for the title, with games starting at 10 a.m. today.

“Probably the biggest reason is Grainger Stadium,” Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Director Bill Ellis said about the Juco World Series coming to Kinston. “It’s a great venue. When you’re looking at hosting major tournaments, they look at the venue first.

“We’re excited to be hosting it. It’s no different than the four-year schools going to Oklahoma. The junior colleges have won their way into the World Series here in Kinston.”

The stadium has been the site of dozens of high school, community college and other tournament baseball games this year, which also included the Freedom Classic.

Parks and Recreation administrators are hoping the college teams, which will compete until Thursday, will appreciate the park.

“Win or lose, we want them to enjoy Kinston and have a great experience,” said Scott Alston, a tournament coordinator. “The facility is great. It’s historic.

“Maybe (hosting the World Series) is a prequel to what is hopefully to come down the road.”

Tyler Junior College captured the D-III World Series title last year, playing in its home stadium in Northeast Texas.

The Apaches come into the series with a 37-8 record and will face Northern Essex Community College today.

New York’s Herkimer County Community College (45-4) is the top-ranked club entering today’s games. The Generals also lead several offensive categories. Herkimer went on a 33-game winning streak this season and have won 37 of the last 38.

“They’ve won their areas; normally areas are composed of six states,” Ellis said of all the qualifiers. “They’ve gone through their conference tournaments and area tournaments to get here, so most teams have won 12 games in the postseason to get here.

“So you’re getting the best of the best.”

2015 NJCAA D-III World Series Teams

District  Region(s) Team Record State

A 3 Herkimer 45-4 NY

B 4,12 Joliet 35-23 Ill.

C 2,5,14 Tyler 37-8 TX

D 10,20 Montgomery 32-19 Md.

E 13 Century 38-7 Minn.

F 15 Nassau 18-11 NY

G 19 Rowan Gloucester 37-10 NJ

H 21 Northern Essex 28-2 Mass.

2015 NJCAA D-III Saturday Schedule

Nassau vs Rowan Gloucester at 10 a.m. / Joliet vs. Montgomery at 1 p.m.

Tyler vs. Northern Essex at 4 p.m. / Herkimer vs. Century at 7 p.m.

Watch the NJCAA D-III Baseball World Series live at www.njcaatv.com/njcaatv/

The Junior College World Series kicked off events in Kinston this week with a youth clinic on Thursday.