Legion Baseball

I have been involved with Coleman-Pitt Post 58 baseball now for four years. I have volunteered as the PA man during that time.


From about 1961 through 1965, I was bat boy for the Ahoskie American Legion team and our trips to Rocky Mount to play at the old Municipal stadium was like going to a major league game for me as a 10-year-old.

Legion baseball has been in existence in Rocky Mount for 60 years. In those 60years, Legion baseball has been among the best in the state.

Legion is now not the only game in town during the summer. Travel leagues, select leagues, Impact Baseball leagues and Babe Ruth are all sucking the All-Star talent from what use to be Legion players.

The past several years Post 58 has not had a home base to play home games. It would really help attendance if everyone knew where the games were going to be. You always have to check the schedule to see where to go for a home game, but also to see where the game is going to be play. Even the Rocky Mount Sports Complex is not a good fit for Legion.

But, today I am not moaning about what could be if the Brian Goodwins and Hobbs Johnsons of the county were on this team. This story today is going a little deeper than what you might know of.

Our Legionnaires are dying out. Post 58 is made up mostly of World War II veterans. In August, that war will have been over 64 years. Post 58 is getting smaller in numbers which means less people in the Post to support baseball.

Today, the players are pretty much financing themselves to play Legion ball.

Joe Bell, who is not even a Legionnaire, has taken it upon himself last year and this to try to keep Legion Ball alive. Joe has sold ads for a small program that you can get at the games.

Thursday night there were about 40 people - just about all mamas and papas there to see the game. The gate receipts just could pay for the umpires. The lights and grounds crew were paid. We will just say they were paid out of someone’s pocket.

Legion baseball in Rocky Mount has been too good over the years to see it die the slow death that it is doing now.

This year’s team is really good. They may have a chance to go far in the state playoffs. If they make it to the state championships this year, they will played at ECU's Clark-LeClair Stadium.

They only have two regular season home games left this year Monday and Thursday night at Northern Nash. Then maybe several home playoff games.

Come see this team play. Legion ball may die in Nash County unless a person or organization takes an interest in keeping it alive. It will take more than Bell and and a couple of Legionnaires to keep Legion Ball alive in Rocky Mount.

Long Night

Last night I arrived at Northern Nash's baseball field to do the PA for Post 58 American Legion team and a 13 year of Babe Ruth game is in progress. My first thought is 'am I at the right field?'. The score board was saying the first inning.

It turns out it was where I was suppose to be, the score board was on for the Legion game. The Babe Ruth game got over a little after seven and by the time each team took infield and raked the infield it was 7.45.

Wilson Post 13 was undefeated in conference play as well as Post 58 and Post 58 starting pitcher Brandon Denton gives up a single and a home run to the first two batters and I am saying to myself 'brother this will be a long night'. Denton recovered pitched eight innings allowing just seven hits striking out seven and did not allow another run in leading Coleman Pitt Post 58 to a 12-2 victory over Wilson Post 13.

Even though they started late Post 58 is in sole possession of first place with a 3-0 conference mark and now 5-1 overall.

Ben Fish led the hitting attack going three for four driving home three runs and had a homer. Collins Cuthrell had three RBI's and two hits and also sent one over the fence. Tyler Clark had two hits and two RBI's. Also getting two hits was Alex Pearce who's double in the eighth inning sent the score to the ten run rule.

Mike Williams, Grant Johnson and Gabe Brown all reach base getting hits as Post 58 has put up forty runs in the last two nights and in their last three games all conference games have pushed 55 runs across the plate.

So by ending the game in the eighth inning the long night winds up finishing about when the nine inning game would have finished.

Post 58 can't sit on their laurels long as starting tonight they have four straight nights of conference games traveling to Ahoskie, Wilson and Edenton on the road and then a Monday night home game with Ahoskie.

The team with the best pitching in the college world series got two inning of terrible pitching giving up four runs in the sixth and eight in the seventh in losing to Arizona State 12-5.

Carolina is eliminated from the College World Series.

Heard last night at the Legion game talking to Northern's baseball coach Eddie Loesner that Tyler Joyner will not sign and play pro baseball. He is already in Summer school at ECU.

I had heard the rumor but now I know that Mike Williams will play at Pitt Community this fall.