Baseball fans packed the Lane Tree Golf Club dining room on Monday night for the 16th annual Wayne County Hot Stove Banquet.
Longtime University of Mount Olive public address announcer Shane Aube served as the banquet’s emcee.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill head baseball coach Scott Forbes was the banquet’s keynote speaker. Forbes was introduced by Adam Pate, a former Tar Heel, who played at Charles B. Aycock High School.
Pate currently serves as the head baseball coach at Wayne Country Day, as well as the head coach for the Wayne County Post 11 American Legion team.
Forbes touted the strength of high school and collegiate baseball in North Carolina as well as the importance of relationships in the game of baseball.
“The state of (baseball in) North Carolina is as good as it’s ever been,” Forbes said. “I want to give a shout-out to all the high school coaches that are in here, that’s a credit to you guys as well. There are tons of changes going on in baseball right now. What came to my heart today to talk to you all about is two things that haven’t changed, is relationships and the impact. If you’re a coach in this room and you wake up every single day and you keep those things at the top, I believe the wins will take care of themselves.”
The Tar Heels open their season Feb. 16-18 with a weekend series at home against Wagner.
During the awards portion of the banquet, Roger May presented Wayne County Post 11 with a $300 donation. May also presented the Greater Neuse Fellowship of Christian Athletes with a $300 donation to be used to allow area athletes to attend FCA camp.
Wayne County Post 11 was recognized for its 33-8 record last summer and appearance in the finals of the North Carolina American Legion State Tournament. Post 11 finished as state runner-up for the first time since 2011.
Jerry Johnson, the East Carolina Baseball Umpire’s Association Regional Supervisor, was recognized for his 35 years of service as a high school umpire and referee. Johnson has umpired over 3,400 baseball games, along with officiating thousands of basketball and football games.
Johnson also presented umpire awards to Chris Riddle and Leo Lockhart.
Greene Central senior pitcher and infield Braden Burress, and Wayne Country Day’s Everett Johnson both received the Jerry Narron Award.
Burress hit .549 last season, stole 20 bases, and had a team-high 45 hits, with 11 wins on the mound and 103 strikeouts. He was an all-conference and all-state selection. Greene Central finished the season 22-4.
Johnson hit .443 for the Chargers in 2023 as a sophomore. He finished with 39 hits, 20 walks and he struck out just six times. Wayne Country Day ended the season 21-10.
Former North Duplin standout and current University of Mount Olive pitcher Eric Rosas, received the Clyde King award. Rosas went 8-1 on the mound with a 1.61 earned run average and 117 strikeouts for the Rebels in 2023. North Duplin finished 21-4 last season.
Wayne Country Day’s Braden Collins received the Charles Davis Award. Collins finished his career with a 15-4 record on the mound and had a 1.55 earned run average as a senior last season.
Wayne Country Day graduate Gavin Johnson was presented with the George Whitfield Award. Johnson hit .405 as a senior last season with 34 hits and 27 RBIs. Johnson is currently a freshman on the baseball team at Gardner-Webb University.
Former Mount Olive Hurricanes head coach and current Southern Wayne High School volunteer assistant baseball coach Alex Ferrell received the John Thomas Award for his volunteer service.
Former Southern Wayne and University of Mount Olive baseball standout Jack Casbarro was presented with the inaugural Carl Lancaster Award.
