Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2019 UCW 19 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views NEWS 14U boys fourth Hope Mills team in World Series by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Food Truck Rodeo features Back to School theme by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Richard Martinez has already taken an all-star team to a Dixie Youth World Series. Next month, he'll take a second trip as he guides the Hope Mills 14U state Dixie Youth champions to this year's series in Aiken, South Carolina. "It's a very special group of boys,'' he said of his 12-member team. He told them earlier that he had previously made a World Series bid and there was no reason this team couldn't do the same. "If you all work together as a team, and everybody believes in the 'we' instead of the 'I,' there's nothing to stop you guys from going all the way,'' he said. The strength of this team could be pitching depth. Martinez said all 12 of his players are capable of throwing strikes, and at least nine of them have the ability to dominate when they're on the mound. The top hurler so far has been Dallas Capps. He has a 3-0 record in the postseason that includes 13 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and only three runs allowed. Anthony Spatorico, who normally is a catcher, shut down Columbus County over five innings as Hope Mills rallied from an early four-run deficit to win 5-4. Garret Smith shut out defending state champion Brunswick County through six innings before being relieved. At the plate, Capps is the team's leading hitter with a whopping .777 batting average. Brandon Novy is batting .438. "All the boys contributed greatly,'' Martinez said. Unlike the other three Hope Mills teams headed to World Series play, which will be in Louisiana, Martinez and his team only have to drive roughly three hours to get to Aiken. The opening ceremonies are on Friday, Aug. 2, and the first game for Hope Mills is Saturday, Aug. 3, vs. Tennessee. "These boys are resilient; they never give up,'' Martinez said. In the time remaining until they leave for South Carolina, Martinez said the focus will be on pitching and bunting. "We missed a lot of scoring oppor- tunities because we couldn't execute our bunts,'' he said. In the last two games, Hope Mills stranded 22 runners on base. Although they don't have a lot of time — less than a week from the time this story prints — Martinez said the team is going to try to raise as much money as possible to fund the trip. The tournament ends with the championship game on Aug. 7. "Our goal is to be there on Aug. 7,'' Martinez said. After a one-month absence for the obser- vance of the Fourth of July, Hope Mills resumes its monthly Food Truck Rodeos with an extra emphasis on helping the community. "A lot of people didn't realize we didn't have a rodeo in July because the Fourth of July was the first Thursday of the month,'' said Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning administrator of the town. "In August we are back, and the theme for this month is Back to School.'' The rodeo is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 1, from 5-8 p.m. It will still be at Municipal Park on Rockfish Road but will be held near the outdoor basketball courts and the play- ground area at the park. All of the vendors who have been invited to take part at this month's rodeo provide services related to children in the commu- nity. Among the organizations that will be rep- resented are the Teen Wellness Clinic, C.H.I.L.D Incorporated, Partnership for Children, Operation Inasmuch and Fayetteville Urban Ministry. As usual, donations of nonperishable food for the Hope Mills ALMS HOUSE will be collected, but in keeping with the Back to School theme, school supplies will also be collected. Because the ALMS HOUSE already has a dis- tribution system set up for sending food to the local schools, McLaughlin said the school sup- plies will be turned over to them for distribution as well. Donations most needed are white loose- leaf notebook paper, pens, pencils and standard composition books. Book bags should be avoided because there are some schools that require all book bags to be made of a clear or mesh mate- rial that is see-through. McLaughlin said three-ring binders are also not good items to donate. Another group that will be represented at the event is Cut My City, a group of local bar- bers and others who will provide free servic- es including haircuts to students at an event scheduled at the Crown Coliseum on Aug. 10. McLaughlin said they will be at the rodeo to share information about their project. As far as fun activities at this rodeo, there will be a gaming truck with free video games for the children, along with face painting and other activities. DJ King James, who has performed previ- ously at Hope Mills events, will have record- ed music as well as karaoke. The food trucks scheduled to appear include rodeo regulars Chef Glenn and Big T's. Other trucks scheduled are Nannie's Famous, Hopkins Barbecue, Coldstone Creamery, Kona Ice, Euasticias Fully Loaded Grill, Cedar Creek Fish Farm and Boss Ross Dogs. For updates on late changes to the rodeo, check either the Hope Mills Development or the Town of Hope Mills Administration pages on Facebook. Players: Nathan Camacho, Dallas Capps, Stephen Kriner, Adrick Murray, Brandon Novy, Jacob Patawaran, Maddox Powers, Garret Smith, William Smith, Anthony Spatorico, Brayden Speis, Jacob Sports Coaches: Richard Martinez, Blake Smelcer, Joey Smith, Juan Viera