Intimidators rally to Sally North crown

Comeback kids all season long, the Kannapolis Intimidators rallied again Thursday night to beat visiting West Virginia, 4-3, and clinch the South Atlantic League's second-half North Division title.

The Intimidators managed one run on just two hits over the first six frames against Power starter Quinton Miller. Down 3-1, Kannapolis tied the game with two runs in the seventh inning before Luis Sierra crushed a one-out solo shot in the eighth to give the Intimidators the lead.

The longball was the left fielder's fourth of the season -- and the third in his last four games.

Despite having earned a two-inning save the night before, closer Dan Remenowsky locked down the division title with a hitless ninth inning. It was the right-hander's 24th save, third-most in the Sally League.

"I'm extremely happy for our guys," said first-year manager Ernie Young. "It's been a great experience seeing all these kids mature into good baseball players."

After posting a 37-34 record in the first half of the season, the Intimidators have gone 43-22 in the second half, with separate 12- and seven-game winning streaks in August.

"The only thing that changed was that the level of concentration went up immensely," recalled Young. "They started thinking more about the game and the way it's supposed to be played. They were talking to each other about their at-bats on the bus. They really responded as a team."

Despite losing players to promotion and trades -- among them starter Dexter Carter, who at one point led the Minor Leagues in strikeouts, in the Jake Peavy deal -- Young has 10 players who have been with the Intimidators all season long.

"I'm especially proud of those guys who have been grinding it out all year," he said.

The Intimidators will take on the first-half champion Lakewood BlueClaws in a best-of-3 series starting Sept. 9 at Kannapolis' Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. It's the club's first playoff appearance since winning the league championship in 2005.