Wonders’ playoff hopes fading

By Bill Kiser
Kannapolis Citizen
A.L. Brown head coach Empsy Thompson has a simple message for his seniors this week — it’s your time to shine.
The Wonders will need their upperclassmen to step up big this week, as Brown closes out its season still holding a slim chance to earn one of the South Piedmont Conference’s playoff berths.
“We’ve got an opportunity in front of us,” Thompson said. “We’ve still got a chance. … We need a little help, but we’ve got to take care of things on our end too.”
The Wonders, who were 8-12 overall and 6-8 in the SPC entering Tuesday’s home game against Porter Ridge, entered the week in seventh place in the league standings.
But Brown is just one game back of a three-way tie for fourth between Sun Valley, Porter Ridge and Parkwood, and 11⁄2 games behind Anson County in third place.
“They’re quite aware of what the standings are like right now,” Thompson said.
So if things go right for the Wonders this week — after Porter Ridge, Brown plays at Carson in a non-league game Wednesday, then go to Concord on Friday — they could find themselves with one of the SPC’s five berths in the NCHSAA 3A playoffs, which begin May 9.
It’s a tough stretch of games to end a season with, but Thompson said “it all depends on how we end it. … We could go 3-for-3, and that’s a good ending.”
And Brown enters the week on a roll, taking two out of three games last week. The Wonders knocked off Piedmont at home 6-4 on April 22, snapping a five-game losing streak.
After suffering an 8-1 non-conference loss to J.M. Robinson on April 23, Brown bounced back to beat Hickory Ridge 5-2 on April 25.
Senior Jacob Wright was a key player for the Wonders in both league wins. He belted two home runs in Brown’s victory over Piedmont, and threw a two-hit complete game while striking out 10 in beating Hickory Ridge.
“That’s what you want to do — you want to play your best ball at the end,” Thompson said. “Our guys understand the situation and the consequences that will follow if we don’t win. Our seniors realize that this could possibly be it for them if they don’t make things happen. Hopefully they’ll respond.”