A Year in Review

By Victoria Conway

The Edenton Steamers fell one game short of making the playoffs in 2019.

The Clams got back to .500 with a 26-26 record after finishing two games under last year. For the second straight season, Edenton finished in 3rd place within the North division.

A season which began with a 1-6 record turned into an exciting playoff push for the final two weeks of the schedule.

At one point, Edenton had won seven straight games, helping to make up for the slow start.

It was a back and forth affair with the Peninsula Pilots down the stretch. Heading into the final game of the regular season, Edenton was in a position to make the playoffs with a win. The Steamers lost 6-2 at Morehead City, ending their season early.

Although it was a tough ending, there were several bright spots on this year’s roster.

Starting off on the offensive side of the ball, the Clams gave Historic Hicks field plenty to cheer about. Edenton finished with the most homeruns in the CPL, third best team average in the league and runs scored.

Posting a 14-13 record and hitting 43 longballs at home provided Edenton with perfect homefield advantage.

Quincy Hamilton shinned the moment he put on the Teal and Black. The Wright State product finished the year leading the CPL in RBI with 50. Those 50 RBI also set a new Edenton franchise record for RBI in a single season. The lefty hit 12 homers to lead the way and also had three multi-homerun games which was the most on the roster.

Ian Walters became a household name throughout the season. After hitting .217 this spring at Southern Illinois the utility player quickly provided a burst for the offense. Walters homered in the first three games of the season and four of the first five contests.

Alex Alders was another constant in the lineup for Russ Burroughs. Once Alders moved into the 2-hole he saw his production rise even more. That stretch included a 19-28 (.620) clip for the Ohio native. Alders also was perfect on the base paths finishing with 25 stolen bases without being caught.

Hamilton, Walters and Alders each finished with at least a .313 average, 42 RBI, 11 HR’s and 17 stolen bases.

Jake Evans, Anthony Stehlin and Rob Wessheier were also main stays in the infield for Edenton this season.

Evans set a new franchise record for fielding percentage by a shortstop. Evans posted a .974% which surpassed the previous mark by 15 percentage points. The Binghamton kid also batted .280 and provided clutch 2-out RBI base hits.

Stehlin impressed in day one of practice and earned his starting spot as a middle infielder. Building off of a strong spring season at Concord University, Stehlin batted .273 while driving in 25 runs.

Weissheier, who was a late addition to the roster in May, finished the year batting .298 with 10 doubles as the team’s first baseman.

Edenton’s defense turned heads this season as they made the third fewest errors in the CPL and were tied for the second best fielding percentage across the league.

On the bump, there were some standout performances by the staff.

Alex Theis on June 12th , in his second start for the Clams, struck out 13 batters in 6.1 innings of work while allowing just two runs.

Theis finished with 59 K’s on the year, tied for the 3rd most in the CPL.

One of the best pitching days for the Clams came on July 17th in a doubleheader with the Wilmington Sharks.

Payton Rice tossed a complete game, striking out 13 and giving up one unearned run. Walker Cleveland followed up in game 2 of the DH with a CG shutout of the Sharks.

Jack Eisenbarger was a staple in the rotation from day one. The Rockhurst University product wanted to come to the CPL in order to compete against Division I talent, and he delivered.

He earned the Steamers’ Pitcher of the Year award. He logged the most innings on the team with 45.2 while striking out 50 batters.

One of the surprises on the staff this season was CJ Dornak. Although the Air Force Academy student-athlete was only in Edenton for three weeks, he made his mark on the team.

The freshman posted a 3.38 ERA in 21.1 innings of work and constantly asked Burroughs for the ball.

Tyler Hopman was another Steamer that was only with the club for half of the year but hit his stride late and gave the Teal and Black all he had.

He logged 30.2 innings of work with a 3.23 ERA and 21 punchouts.

The Clams sent five players to the All-Star game in Savanah this season. Ian Walters, Alex Theis, Quincy Hamilton, Jack Eisenbarger and Alex Alders.

Even though the Edenton Steamers fell one game short of their end goals, their exciting offense and timely punchouts allowed Edenton to celebrate often this season.