Let's Solve This Muddle

The Big East baseball goes into hibernation for a week. First where is everyone right now.  Good news for Northern, Nash Central and Rocky Mount.  Southern Nash Beat Fike last night which gives those two teams splits on the season. If Fike had of won they would have been 2-4 and breathing down 4th place's neck so this give fourth place a game and a half lead on fifth which now is practically a tie.  Here's the standings.

Hunt 7-0  They only have three games to play and they all come the last week.  May 3rd  @Nash Central-May 5th Fike at Hunt and May 7th Hosting Rocky Mount.  Having played seven games already the only team to win the crown other than Hunt is Rocky Mount. Hunt would have to lose all three of their remaining conference games  and Rocky Mount would have to win all four of theirs.

Hunt is the best hitting team in the league and they have good pitching not great.  I know they went all the way to the State Championship series last year but I don't think they have enough pitching to get back there this year.

Rocky Mount  4-2   They play Fike April 26th then the last week they play Southern on May 3 at Southern.  Northern at Home May 5 and finish at Hunt on May 7.  This years Gryphons are a real Jekyll and Hyde.  when Benton Moss pitches they are as good as anybody, when he is not they can lose to anybody.  It would be nice if Benton Moss could open the playoffs at home.  It will probably be the last time he pitches there.

I would be willing to bet that Moss pitches against Fike again on the 26th.  If they win they head into the last week 5-2.  You have Northern on the 5th and that game could be playing from any where for second to fourth.  I suspect Moss goes against Northern and Johnson pitches against Southern on the 3rd. .  That leaves that Saturday game at Hunt.  It looks like Hunt will see Rocky Mount twice this year and never see Benton Moss.  I don't believe they can afford to save Moss for Hunt because they may be playing Northern for Second and second gets at least one home game.

Nash Central  3 -3   Right now the Bulldogs are in third due to the fact they Beat Northern the first go round.  They play at home against Northern on April 28th.  They have Hunt on the 3rd of May. Southern Nash at home on the Fifth,  and on the road at Fike on the 6th..  They could finish 7-3 if they win out.  They have good pitching but their hitting against quality teams is suspect.

Northern Nash   3-3  April 26th they host Southern Nash.  April 28th at Nash Central. May 3rd at Fike and May 5th at Rocky Mount.  They get a break on the schedule because the two teams they play during the Wilson County Easter break is Nash county schools  so they don't finish up the last week with three games.  Northern is probably the next best hitting team to Hunt but like everyone else not enough quality pitching.

Fike is now 1-5 and Southern 1-6.  Both would have to win out and hope between Rocky Mount Northern or Nash Central one of them loses out  then either Fike or Southern could sneak in the back door.

Take Benton Moss out of  this league is short on pitching.  If I am Rocky Mount, Northern and Nash Central I would try to beat each other when they meet  during the final weeks .  Hunt has probably already wrapped up first so every body else is playing for second and one home game in the playoffs.

If I'm Rocky Mount I want to go 3-1 and lose to Hunt if need be in order to win those other three.  That would make them 7-3 and no worse than a tie for second.  Northern already has Hunt out of the way so they need to do every thing they can to win their four remaining games.  That would put them at 7-3.  Nash Central the same they have Rocky Mount out of the way and it they end up tied Rocky Mount gets the tie breaker. The Bulldogs need to be no worse than 3-1 which would give them a 6-4.

Remember this between the three somebody is still going to lose along the way there are too many games to go between each other to decide this until the last pitch of the season.

Moss Joins Jim Leggett At The Top

If there is one problem that Gryphons fans have become accustomed to it is they expect Benton Moss to be like Tiger Woods every time he toes the rubber.  Tonight the best that Moss had was maybe a B or B+ game but in the end Benton Moss is good enough to join Jim Leggett a top of the victory list in Rocky Mount pitching history as the Gryphons beat Nash Central 3-2 and Moss wins victory #28.

My favorite MLB pitcher of all time Jim (Catfish) Hunter told me once while he was still playing ball that about half the time you don't have your A game.  It's those games that make great pitchers when they still win.

Those of you old enough may remember the night that George Brett hit three home runs off Hunter in I think it was the 77 or 78 American League playoffs.  Howard Cozell who was the color man on the game kept saying that Bob Lemon the Yankee manager had to take Hunter out because he had nothing.  Finally when Lemon did take Hunter out of the game in the eighth inning  he lead five to  three and Cozell called it the greatest game of courage he had ever seen.

Tonight Benton Moss hit four batters and walked one.  The Gryphons made three errors and Nash Central collect three hits. Despite being in trouble in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh inning  Moss mowed down 14 Bulldogs to help the Gryphons win their fourth conference game.

The Gryphons started the scoring in the third on a Jeremy Johnson double and he was driven home by a Thomas Berry double.  Nash Central tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Dillon Moore reached on an error and scored on a pass ball.

If you remember last years game at Nash Central the game was 1-1 in the seventh before Rocky Mount scored six runs to win that game 7-1.  Tonight the Gryphons could manage but two runs and they needed both.  Damien Smith and Jeremy Johnson singled and both scored on a Matthew Berry Double.

Nash Central got two back to back hits in the seventh, the first drove in run #2 for the Bulldogs on a rbi by Jordan Taylor.  Moss calmly struck out the last batter to end the game.

Jordan Taylor, Dillion Moore and Mason Wallace got the Bulldog hits.  Trellis Ashley gave up 10 hits to the Gryphons, walked two but deserved a better fate than being the losing pitcher.

The Berry Twins got all three Gryphon rbi with Matt getting two.  Thomas Berry, Matt Berry and Jeremy Johnson each had two hits.  Benton Moss,  Damien Smith, Collin Watson and Taylor Clontz each had singles.

There was a wild game at Hunt  as Hunt score four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Northern Nash 15-14.  The winning run scored on a bases loaded walk.

Hunt leads the way at 6-0.  Rocky Mount now owns second at 4-2.  Nash Central and Northern Nash are 3-3.  The Big East takes a two week break as Nash County is now out for Easter and Wilson County will be on break the week after Easter.

Everyone expects Benton Moss to wear a Superman Cape every time he pitches.  Tonight there was no S on his chest but he was still THE MAN.