ALBEMARLE — Earlier this week, the Uwharrie Wampus Cats wood-bat collegiate baseball team wrapped up its second season as a team and first campaign as a member of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League (SCBL).
Playing at Queens University’s Stick Williams Dream Field in Charlotte, the sixth-seeded Wampus Cats (11-20) fell 7-4 to the third-seeded Queen City Corndogs (18-13) on Monday night in the first round of the 2024 SCBL playoffs.
Established in 1999, the North Carolina-headquartered SCBL is partially funded by the MLB as a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball.
With the first two rounds of the league’s playoffs being single elimination — and the finals being a best-of-three series — Uwharrie’s postseason came to a quick end.
“Tough loss after an early lead against the Corndogs to end the season. We hope to see you back at the Don next season,” the Cats posted on social media after the game, referencing Don Montgomery Park in Albemarle.
Among the eight teams in the SCBL, Uwharrie finished the season in sixth place in the league’s standings, topping the Lake Norman Copperheads (10-20) and Concord Athletics (9-21) but trailing the Statesville Owls (22-8), Mooresville Spinners (22-9), Corndogs, Regulators Baseball Club (14-14) and Carolina Disco Turkeys (15-16).
In the Wampus Cats’ inaugural season last year, they finished with a 18-17 winning record playing independently of a league. This year, they played their first season in the SCBL under the leadership of general manager Jayson James and coach Josh Kent.
At the Albemarle City Council meeting on Monday night, Albemarle Mayor Pro-Tem Martha Sue Hall spoke on the Wampus Cats’ season and thanked everyone who has assisted the team financially.
“There are a lot of people within the city and outside the city of Albemarle who were sponsors,” Hall said. “For anyone that did that, they are grateful — as am I — and I will just give a shoutout to Albemarle Parks and Recreation because the guys that were taking care of the field and the fieldhouse were fabulous.”
While Uwharrie fell short of both a winning regular-season record and a league playoff run, the team still featured individual accolades.
Infielder Aiden Wilson ranked sixth in the league with three home runs, while catcher Nick Morris finished sixth in total RBIs with 19. On the pitching front, Sawyer Smith led the entire league in the ERA category with 0.89 and also finished sixth in overall strikeouts (42).
The Uwharrie Wampus Cats are set to return to action for Year 3 in May 2025.