Danville wins championship behind Matt Crim

Congrats to the Danville Braves for winning the Appalachian League title.

Pitching has been the key for the Danville Braves all season, so it should be no surprise that an outstanding pitching performance nailed down the Appy League Championship.

Lefty Matt Crim, who was drafted in the 21st round by the Braves and became the Appy League Pitcher of the Year, pitched a complete game shutout as Danville beat Elizabethton 5-0 Thursday night.

Crim allowed only four hits, walked one, and struck out five for the clinching victory. He was 10-2 this season in 13 regular season games (11 starts), with a 3.18 ERA. Crim allowed 70 hits in 68 innings, with only 10 walks, and 48 strikeouts.

Danville scored three runs in the third and solo runs in the fifth and seventh innings.



Bill Shanks hosts The Bill Shanks Show on WFSM Fox Sports 1670 in Macon, Georgia and The Braves Show Talk Show. Shanks writes a weekly baseball column for The Macon Telegraph and is the author of Scout's Honor: The Bravest Way To Build A Winning Team. You can email Bill at and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/billshanks.