Jenn's Block Party

Charlotte forward Jenn Hailey rejected a Marah Strickland lay up during the last two minutes of the first half to notch a blocked shot for the 27th straight game.  Hailey, who last went without a block nearly a year ago (Jan. 18, 2012 against La Salle), also has 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which leads 28-25 with a minute to go in the opening stanza.

Back in front: (3:50, 1st, 23-20 CLT)

After the shot-clock delay, Charlotte found itself down 20-17 before spent a good minute-and-a-half in the offensive end thanks to several offensive rebounds.  A Jenn Hailey layup and a Ny Hammonds steal-fast-break-and-score later, Charlotte is up 23-20.

The 49ers now hold the rebounding edge, 18-11, with 10 offensive rebounds to Fordham's four.  Jenn Hailey has eight boards (five O-boards) and is tied with Jai Forney for the team lead with eight points.

Ny Hammonds hit the and-1 free throw for a 24-20 lead.

Correcting the shot clock (7:20, 1st, 18-17 Fordham)

We're in a bit of a delay as the officials try to correct an inadvertent resetting of the shot clock. Charlotte defended Fordham down to 4 seconds on the shot clock, when a shot went up and missed the rim. After a 3 minute delay, the refs put two seconds on the shot clock and gave Fordham the ball.

The Rams were able to inbound and score on an Abigail Corning layup for a 20-17 lead.

Forney firing up

Senior guard Jai Forney has started strong with eight points for Charlotte (3-5 FG, 2-2 FT).  While the 49ers are down 18-17, 7:49 in the first half, if she can continue to be an offensive option -- something has been an up-and-down proposition through non-conference play -- Charlotte should win this game.

The odd thing is, when Forney scores in double figures (it's happened seven times in 14 games this year), the 49ers are 4-3.  Of course three of those games has been when Charlotte has faced arguably it's three toughest opponents this season.  She has 14 in the loss to Kansas State, 12 in the loss at home to Florida State and 14 down in Atlanta against Toledo.

Part of that might be the senior knowing she has to step up against tougher opponents, but it also might be the team leaning more on her before there just aren't *that* many other options against tougher competition. Jai isn't afraid of a bigger opponent and will fight after the loose balls.   If she becomes that 4th scoring option (after Jenn, Amanda and Hillary), Charlotte should roll.

TV attendance

At 15:34 in the first half, Charlotte is up 6-5 over Fordham.  Charlotte got on the board first with a couple quick buckets, and two offensive rebounds helped keep possessions alive.  Charlotte has only been out-rebounded twice this year in their 14 games, and while Fordham has a few 6-footers, the 49ers will need to stay strong on the boards to get off on the right foot in A-10 play.

Charlotte has never lost to Fordham in seven previous meetings.

One other tidbit: all the fans at Halton Arena have been pushed to the sections behind the benches as today's game is being televised nationally on CBS Sports Network (somewhere in the 600s on DirecTV last I checked).

Charlotte WBB vs. Fordham - A-10 Opener

I'm not doing the broadcast for today's Charlotte WBB game (that can be heard here in the Queen City on ESPN 730 AM), so I figured I'd do a little live-blogging for the Atlantic 10 opener -- the final A-10 opener before the 49ers leave for Conference USA next season.

This afternoons starting lineups:

Fordham:
G - Erin Rooney
G - Arielle Collins
G - Marah Strickland
G - Abigail Corning

C - Samantha Clark

Charlotte:

G - Ny Hammonds

G - Jai Forney

G - Hillary Sigmon

F - Amanda Dowe

F - Jenn Hailey

Time to tip.  Charlotte wearing their green unis instead of the regular home whites.

Medina erases base-runners

Martin Medina made base-runners disappear as if he were shaking an Etch-A-Sketch in Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader. While it's never a good idea for a base-runner to stop running half-way home from third, outfielders probably shouldn't be losing a foot race against a catcher. And while you're at it, attempting to steal third base isn't recommended either.

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Upchurch's grab ends the game

Kannapolis saw it's 7-0 evaporate as Hickory moved the tying run to third base and the winning run on first with two outs in the final inning of Tuesday's Game 1. And on the mound, reliever Steven Upchurch wasn't so much trying to save the game as he was his own life on the final play. Talks about two birds with one stone.

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Haddow goes horizontal

We learned Monday that Mark Haddow doesn't much care if opposing pitchers are working on a no-hitter. On Tuesday, it was Haddow's defense on display as the Intimidators were protecting a 1-run lead late in Game 1.

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Three bases for Two-A-Days

Kannapolis shook of a nearly two-hour rain delay in Game 1 at Hickory on Tuesday and got right back to work in the 4th innings. It was such a long break, it was almost like two different games, so go figure the guy from Two-A-Days would be the one to jump-start the offense.

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Gotta love the rally rain

As the skies opened up in Tuesday's first game at Hickory, Kannapolis piled on five early runs. Joe De Pinto got into the mix with an RBI single. Gotta love the "Rally Rain" >>

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Herbek's immediate impact

Intimidators infielder David Herbek came off the Disabled List this week and jumped right back into the fray for Kannapolis in a doubleheader at Hickory.

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Hurry up and lose!

Leading 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Intimidators found themselves two outs shy of registering an official game in the second half of Monday's doubleheader at Hickory. As the rains came down at L.P. Frans Stadium and JR Ballinger took the mound, batter Kevin Torres felt he was entitled to take his time in the batters box. I, on the other hand, did not.

Listen about 20 seconds into the clip...

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Haddow breaks up no-no

Luke Jackson, the Texas Rangers' first-round pick from the 2010 draft, was cruising right along with a no-hitter in tact against the Kannapolis Intimidators. Jackson recorded two outs in the sixth inning, but then Mark Haddow stepped to the plate to cost Jackson not only his no hitter, but also his shut out. Take a listen....

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Pre-Game Interview: Julio Vinas

Before every Friday home game, Intimidators manager Julio Vinas joins the pre-game show to discuss how the team is looking. In this particular chat, the skipper addresses claims of tarp-sliding while in Winston-Salem last season. Oh yes, you'll want to hear this...

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Pre-Game Interview: Martin Medina

Catcher Martin Medina discusses everything from the pronunciation of his first name to why he walks out to Whitney Houston's "I wanna dance with somebody" when stepping up to bat in this pre-game interview.

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Pre-Game Interview: Grant Buckner

Intimidators corner infielder and designated hitter Grant Buckner talks about joining the team from extended spring training, baseball superstitions, and coping with own his last name while playing first base.

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Pre-Game Interview: Steve McCray

Check out this interview with Intimidators reliever/spot-starter Steve McCray. (UPDATE: McCray has been promoted to Hi-A Winston-Salem!)

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Pre-Game Interview: Kevan Smith

In today's pre-game interview, Intimidators catcher Kevan Smith -- rated by Baseball America as the No. 28 Prospect in the White Sox organization -- discusses his decision to leave football and focus on baseball while at Pitt as well as how one fish turned into a big hobby.

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Pre-Game Interview: Kevin Vance

I caught up with Intimidators starting pitcher Kevin Vance to talk not only his own baseball experiences entering this season but to grasp a better understand of #feel vs. #nofeel.

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