Logan Brock attends Cleveland Community College and is playing in the Series for Ridge, Md., St. Mary’s Post 255.
When Logan Brock first signed to play baseball at Cleveland Community College in Shelby, N.C., in the spring of 2020, he knew he'd be part of a start-up athletic program and was told he'd work as a volunteer at the American Legion World Series.
On Thursday, Brock will actually be playing in the ALWS for Ridge, Md., St. Mary's Post 255.
“When I knew I was coming back here, I texted a lot of my friends and said ‘we've got to do something,’" said Brock, who was the Mid-Atlantic Regional Most Valuable Player after hitting .538 with a critical walk-off RBI single in one of his team's five victories.
Ironically, it will mark the first time Brock will officially play at Keeter Stadium at Veterans Field facility that has been the permanent home of the ALWS since 2011.
Cleveland Community College, which is located four miles away from the ALWS championship stadium, is currently building its on-campus baseball stadium and last season the Yetis played their home games 24 miles away in nearby Forest City, N.C., while practicing at facilities all around Cleveland County.
Cleveland Community College went 14-34 in its first season and Brock hit .190 with one home run and four RBIs in 20 games.
When the coronavirus pandemic cancelled the 2020 ALWS, Brock and his teammates didn't get to work as volunteers for the event. That makes Brock's visit to the 2021 ALWS as a player that much sweeter.
"It's certainly nice to be back, and to be playing for a championship," said Brock, whose 30-year-old Legion Baseball team won its first Maryland state title, first Legion regional title and is making its first ALWS appearance.
Getting this far took winning twice by one run, once by two runs, and once by three runs before St. Mary's rolled to an 8-1 win over Fuquay-Varina, N.C., in last Sunday's Mid-Atlantic Regional championship game in Asheboro, N.C.
An example of the team's resiliency showed in its regional opener on Aug. 4 when Cole Tarleton hit a walkoff two-run home run to lift St. Mary's over Norchester, Pa., 3-2.
After shutting out host Randolph County, N.C., 3-0 in its second game, Brock proved a prophetic hero in a 7-6 win over Fuquay-Varina in the winner's bracket final.
"I told one of my teammates something good was about to happen for us," Brock said of his walkoff RBI single that capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. "Sure enough, I got a walkoff hit. So that was a good moment."
St. Mary's later beat Chesapeake, Va., 9-7 and Fuquay-Varina again by that comfortable 8-1 margin to take the regional title.
Brock says there's no magic involved in his team's success. The recipe, he says, has been quite simple.
"We just stick together and pick each other up," Brock said.
- Baseball