The Man On The Mound

Those that had tickets this weekend have had the pleasure to watch baseball on the college level between two of the top teams in the country.  One of the the really big differences that I like about baseball over all other sports is every game is completely different just because of who is on the mound.

Football the same quarterback unless injury plays every game.  It comes down to who makes the plays.  Basketball you always play the same players  and it  comes down to who puts the ball in the hole the most.  Baseball can be completely different every game just because of who is pitching.

Friday Carolina put Kent Immanuel on the mound and the left hander kept N C State at bay.  24 hours later home grown Benton Moss couldn't match  Immanuel's dominance.  The other starter kept throwing pitches that Carolina couldn't touch.  Carlos Rodon not only is huge standing on the mound but when he lets it go it sometimes hits the plate in the upper 90's.  Even after throwing 125 pitches he was bringing it up to the plate in the mid 90's. If you are a left handed batter Rodon has a curve that starts out behind your back and finishes up in the third base dugout.

You are scared he's going to throw that fastball past you and he tosses that slider at you instead. Carolina finally got Rodon out of the game and hit a home run off the next State pitcher. Football those quarterbacks get the big money and in baseball pitchers who only work every four or five days get a gracious plenty.

Sunday night's rain out was a disappointment because of the hype this game carried.  Who it will hurt most no one will ever know because the team that a rain out hurts the most is the team that would have won the game.  It is a blessing for the loser. Since we will never see a winner will will have to hope them wind up in different brackets in the ACC Tournament and play each other for the championship.

If you are a long time reader of this blog you would know from the past that my favorite Gryphon baseball player from the past is Dillon Cockrell.  Dillon still plays on the Carolina club baseball team and I am proud to report in two weeks he will graduate from Carolina.  He majored in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry.  He will graduate on time which I know makes his parents happy.