Telephone Hot

Around six thirty Saturday evening my cell phone was popping with text and phone calls telling me that BW Holt had stepped down as the football coach at Rocky Mount Academy.  Three seasons at RMA the old ball coach produced two state championships for a school that had a hard time winning any games before his arrival in any season.

Holt is the perfect example of a coach who can change the attitude of the players, the administration and fans and when the attitude is I am as good as anybody and not here we go again to another loss.  He has that ability to get everyone involved in the program to give everything they have.

He leaves coaching with 321 victories in public schools and 26 in three years at  at RMA.  This move is not really a shock at 70 years old Holt who lives in Bristol Tennessee most of the time.  You know when you say to yourself I doubt he comes back and when it is official it is a shock just the timing.

There is an old saying "It ain't over to the fat lady sings."  This morning at 12:01 am I had a text ready to send to my son Brooks who this weekend is in Richmond where he  has some Tri  Athlon people trying to qualify to turn pro Tri Athletes.  The text said Pack plays 3:30 Sunday lose 4-3 to TCU.  I laid the phone in my lap waiting for the last out.

Two outs in the top of the ninth the Pack trailing 4-3 in a game that had been intense as if it was a World Series game. A walk from TCU top reliever sets up Chance Shepard the Pack dh who had done nothing all night.  Shepard hit a shot to dead center field and the camera behind home plate showing the center fielder on the dead run I thought it's off the wall and we tied it.  No it cleared the fence and I jumped out of my chair an with it my cell phone goes flying and when it hits face down sends the score 4-3 TCU.  I reach down to find my phone and realize I need to call him but he is asleep as Tri Races start early.  The Pack stuns top seeded TCU 5-4.  Won't he be surprised.

Virginia has beaten Long Beach State 3-1and the ACC the first two days  of the NCAA playoffs is 11-2. Miami, Florida State, Louisville, N C State  and Virginia are all 2-0. Notre Dame was Rained out Saturday is 1-0 . Clemson is home 0-2.

ECU who came in the the playoffs hot went more than a game and a half without scoring losing Saturday 2-0 to go with their 6-3 loss Friday.  They are back in Greenville.  I couldn't make it to the UNC W  finish with LSU.  They were in the top of the seventh with LSU winning 1-0.

Cuthrell Hauling In Hardware

Former Rocky Mount Gryphon Collins Cuthrell who spent only one year playing baseball for UNC Pembroke has received his third All American honor of the Post season.  Friday he was named first team Rawlings Baseball Coaches Association All American.  Earlier this week  the National Collegiate Baseball Writers had penned Cuthrell's name to their team and Daktronics.  He becomes only the fifth player in Braves history to make all three all American honors in the same year.  He is the first Pembroke baseball players to ever be named Peach Belt Conference player of the year.

Cuthrell led the Peach Belt in ten offensive categories during the 2015 season after spending four years at Baron but one was a red shirt year due to injury.  Having graduated Barton like many players these days in graduate school at Pembroke elected to finish his college eligibility for the Braves.  Oh what a year!!!

I have not mention my cousin Lauren Doughtie very much this golf season on the Futures Tour.  Not much to Brag  about as her scoring average is 74.87 which  ranks 108th and money earning is 98th.  One Futures tour win in her career in her five full years in pro golf.  She did qualify for the LPGA in 2013 but rejoined the Futures in 2014.

Every pro athlete who is in the minor leagues is looking for that magic in a bottle to advance to the next level..  Lauren at best so far has had a journeyman Career.  Wednesday playing in the U.S. Women's  Open sectional qualifying at the Governors course in Chapel a Hill Lauren like all 84 golfers had to play 36 holes and only two golfers would make the US Open.  Her morning round was right on average shooting 75.  She was one of the first out in the afternoon round and shot her best round of the year 68 to give her One under 143 score and the leader in the club house.

A thunder storm delayed the finish  and by late late Wednesday night  after sitting in the club house sweating it out Lauren ties for the top spot and has qualified for her second U.S. Open.  She has not had a top 20  finish on tour all year but her best round of the year is sending her to Lancaster Pa  the third full week in June to the 2015 Women's US Open.

Now with all our local teams out of all of the state playoffs I really don't care too much about the playoffs in any sport unless I know someone who gives me a special interest  in a team.  So CB Aycock won the eastern regional this week who I would say so what except for one thing.  Six playoff games Aycock  had winning scores of 5-1, 4-1, 3-2, 10-0, 4-0, 2-0.  See anything there worth talking about?

Aycock beat Fike in a shutout and both of the Regional games by zero runs allowed.  I don't know about you but six runs in six games, remember this is the playoffs and you are facing some pretty darn good teams and the last three games supposedly the best teams left they don't even cross home on you.  Boy this is worth taking notice in an other wise don't really care about any score.

Minor League Roundup

Xavier Macklin the former four year starter for the Nash Central baseball team is still trying his best to make it in pro baseball.  Last fall he was cut by Gate Way of the Frontier League and earlier this spring he was picked up by Florence Freedoms of the Frontier league.  Florence is on the Kentucky Ohio border near Cincinnati.

If you recall the Frontier League is an independent league that takes players no longer in any major league roster and those still trying to get some teams attention to sign them to pro contracts.  a couple weeks back X was cut by the Freedoms and any future baseball is up in the air for the all time leading hitter in the  history of North Carolina A&T.

Another former Bulldog Alex Pearce who spent last year at UNC Pembroke as a Graduate assistant is spending this summer as the 3rd base coach for Florence SC of the CPL summer League.  The first game of the season was Wednesday night and Florence scored so many runs that Alex may need Tommy John surgery from waving so many runners home ( Only kidding)  they won.

Don't feel sorry for Benton Moss even though his Tar Heels baseball season is over.  The Carolina graduate's phone has been hot ever since word came that the Tar Heels were not in the NCAA tournament.  Earlier this week he was in Florida letting the San Diego Padres get a look see.  I suspect between now and the MLB draft in a couple of weeks Benton will see the inside of several more planes as he hops across America giving others teams their chance to get a up close and personal look at Benton Moss.

Brian Goodwin is still in Harrisburg PA. playing for the AA team of the Washington Nationals.  28 games so far this year Brian is batting 230.  So far in his minor league career  strikeouts has been his down fall.  He has struck out one in five times so far this season which is an improvement but still every time you strike out and don't put the ball in play there goes a chance to get a hit.

Hobbs Johnson continues to impress in Biloxi Mississippi.  Hobbs is 3-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.81.  He has pitch 41 innings so far striking out 32 batters.  He has given up only 13 earned runs to date.  If these kind of numbers  continue  might not be too much longer before the Milwaukee Brewers send Hobbs to AAA.

Two weeks from today June the 12th the Northern Nash football team is having a fund raising lunch at the high school.  Pork Chops, Potatoes and string beans.  The price is $7 per plate.  You can pick up your order in front of the school anytime between 10:30 and 2pm on the 12th. Help support the Knights

North Carolina State, UNC Wilmington and East Carolina all begin the quest for a national championship  in college baseball today.  State is in Dallas Texas, UNCW is in Baton Rouge, La and the Pirates are in Miami.

High School Playoffs Too Many Games

The high school baseball and softball playoffs have reached the regional stage for the playoffs.  So far each team has played four games just to get to this point.  The regional format is a two out of three games so the minimum amount of games to make it to the state finals is six games and just maybe seven.

The state championship weekend is also a two out of three which can throw the total number of games to ten to win a state title.  This is too many games for pitchers.  Any team that has two really good pitchers is blessed but most don't.  You know what happens, those team with only one great pitcher pitches him to death during the playoffs. It takes four weeks of baseball playoffs playing two games a week and the season started the first of March so the season is only ten weeks and most of that was played in cold weather.

This country's number one sport is football.  It dominates TV but the future is not all of that rosey for football.  Injuries are a major concern and being the way insurance is in this country it is only a matter of time parents are not going to keep letting their children play football.

The next major sports in America is soccer.  Some think soccer was first played about 400 AD  and more than 200 countries play it as their top sport today.  This country because of the popularity of American football is only in the last 30 years rising in people playing.  Back in the 60's TV tried American professional soccer but TV used fake injuries to get tie outs to put in commercials and it failed.  If it fails TV no sport has a chance.  The World Cup coverage and the USA being underdogs convinced TV that people would watch soccer in America.

The next biggest sport on the rise in America is Lacrosse.  North Carolina now has enough schools playing Lacrosse to hold state championships last weekend.  The first recorded form of Lacrosse was around 1110 AD.  Most native Americans were playing some form of Lacrosse  when the first Spanish, English and French settlers arrived.

Why then if Lacrosse is the first sport of the new America why is it just now growing?  All those networks of ESPN needed programming.  College Lacrosse is not only exciting but the game is compacted into a two hour TV show which is perfect for TV.

Both soccer and Lacrosse have less severe injuries  which is better on players, parents and insurance.  It may not happen in the next thirty years but in the near future you will see six hours of pregame coverage of the World Cup or Lacrosse finals and football will be a sport like rugby.  Who in the world plays that sport?

Oh so Close

Carolina being  denied entry into this year's NCAA tournament has brought and end to the college baseball career of Benton Moss the former Gryphon finishes his career in the top ten all time in four pitching categories.

Wins  26 the all time Carolina record is 31.  Winning percentage  26-6  81 percent. His junior  year was his worst year at 4-2.  He has 318 strikes out which is second all time in Tar Heel history.  325 is the Carolina record.  His career ERA is 3.23.  Played in 65 games and was the starting pitcher 60 times.  His 332 innings is also top ten all time in Carolina history.

We might seem to forget that during the the state championship season of 2008 for the Rocky Mount Gryphons Moss the freshman was the winning pitcher in both the Regional and deciding win in the state championship game.

His future just might be professional baseball as now the draft is next month.  We all who know him know that if baseball only last for a few years he is prepared for life after baseball.  I have no stats to prove this but  Benton must be the most successful athlete in the history of the Cain-Morehead scholarship.  He has taken the highest academic scholarship at Carolina and been All ACC Academic team all four years at Carolina.

Even though he could have been a pro baseball player last year drafted in the 15th round of the draft Moss chose to return and graduate.  He lived up to his commitment.  You know that is just the way he is.  November he plans on marrying a Rocky Mount girl.

Tom and Ashley you can be very proud of the training that you have given your number one son. All of us fans of Benton can be very proud to say That he is a home boy from Enfield and Rocky Mount. He has never done anything to embarrass Carolina, his family or his home.  These days that's hard to say about anybody.

No one knows the future but the future is bright for Benton Moss whether it is on the baseball field or in the world of business.  Who knows one day he may be governor.

ACC Gets Seven Carolina Snubbed

That dredded first  one out label is pinned on the Tar Heels of North Carolina this year in the NCAA baseball  playoffs.  A team who stumbled down the stretch looks as if they needed one win more to make it. Clemson  another ACC members gets in as the last team in with a 32-27 record and a 53 RPI gets in so it is apparent the ACC was getting only seven teams in.  Carolina lost eight of their last eleven games to finish 34-24.

The true down fall for the Tar Heels is that four teams won conference tournaments including Texas who had a 96 RPI that would have not made the tournament without winning their conference tournament and by winning they got the automatic berth and the other team in the conference still got in the tournament too.  It will be the first time since 2001 Carolina is not going to the baseball dance

The ECU Pirates are seeded as the number two and will play Columbia in the Miami Region.  They are in regional which will also have Florida International.  ECU at one point in the season was 20-15 and have now won twenty of twenty five.

NC State will also be a number two and will play the third seed in the TCU Region in Stony Brook.  The top seed in this regional is Texas Christian  who will play Sacred Heart. The Pack's first game  is 2:30 Friday.  The Pack finished 34-21 on the season winning thirteen of their last sixteen.

North Carolina Wilmington will be playing in the LSU bracket as the two seed will play Tulane Friday and should they win game one will play the winner of LSU-Lehigh winner. UNCW has won six in a row heading to Baton Rouge.

Florida State, Miami and Louisville from the ACC are hosting regionals this weekend which the first advantage for any host is their records are really good but they don't travel and stay in motels like the other three teams in each regional must do.  Notre Dame and Virginia make the seven teams in.

Thinking the SEC would get nine teams in the league only gets seven spots which if you are a Southeastern Conference fan is a down year.

Carolina Sweating Baseball Tournament

ECU is in the 2015 NCAA baseball tournament after winning their first AAC baseball title beating Houston 9-1 Sunday in Clearwater Florida. They get the AAC's automatic bid but despite being the conference championship Houston has gotten a top 16 seed and will host one of the 16 regional sites when the NCAA playoffs begin Friday.  ECU has  the top RPI of all teams from North Carolina with a 24.

NC State lost the ACC championship game to Florida State. FSU, Miami and Louisville all will host one of the 16 regional sites while the Wolfpack with an RPI of 26 is a no brainer to make the tournament  as they have one of the best overall records over the last month wasn't even sure they were making the ACC tournament until this hot streak.

The Seahawks of UNCW were the winners of the CAA Tournament and know they are continuing their baseball season the only thing they need now is where they will be going.  The Hawks are 27 in the RPI .

If you go by RPI then the Tar Heels of North Carolina are safe at 28 but if the selection committee goes by how you have played the last 15 games the Tar Heels have one of the worse 15 games record of any team hoping to make the tournament.  This is about the the first time in ten years that Mike Fox's Tar Heel are sweating out the selection Show.

The selection show is at noon on ESPNU.

UNC women's lacrosse lost the national championsh to former ACC members Maryland 9-8

Ball Park Empty

The Memorial Day weekend is the traditional opening of the American Legion Baseball season.  Today the field now known as Coleman Pitt Post 58 American Legion Field sits empty due to the fact there is not enough interest from local players eligible to play want to play.

This is a sad end for a sport in Rocky Mount known for the place Jim Thrope lost all his Olympic metals because he came to play professional baseball for a summer in Rocky Mount.  I'm not sure if anyone still around knows what year Legion started in Rocky Mount.  It is thought sometime during the 1930's.  Exactly when they started playing in the old Mumicipal Stadium on Howell Street is somewhat an unknown too.

I first saw the old stadium in 1963 as batboy for Ahoskie Legion Post 102 and I thought this must be what Yankee Stadium looks like.  Walking into the front gate dragging the Legion bats, entering the dressing room under  the stadium and walking through the dressing room into  the dugout looking toward the field.  I remember at ten years old standing in the dugout I could not see beyond the third base foul line because of the slant on the infield for the water to run off.

A state Legion title and five Rocky Mount high baseball titles have been won on the old field which is all that is left and it has no way of telling us of all the history played there.  If you think of minor league players who past through as well the old park has a tremendous history that it seems our kids of today don't want to be a part of it.I

The University of North Carolina has received from the NCAA their formal complaints about the Academic scandal at UNC.  A major penalty is on the way for the Tar Heels.  The bottom line is Carolina set up fake classes to allow athletes to get enough credits to stay eligible to keep playing their sports.

Do I feel like that every college in America doesn't help athletes in some way to keep them eligible?  It happens every where just maybe not to the point of down right cheating.  What does this really mean when a major University of the world has to make up classes where no one attends, have to have extra help just to give extra additional training to those that can not survive in a college atmosphere with out changing grades, getting someone else take their test or just give a grade and never attend.

The bottom line is those athletes should not have been at Carolina or any other school where they can't pass the work presented by a professor every day.  Any thing beyond a required study hall for athletes is too much.

What has happened to our academic world is there is so much money made by sports that money is an idol for all universities and they worship money and more money.  I think my solution is make sports a school of the university just like the business school or engineering school.  Set up classes based on athlete's future being in sports whether playing, coaching, marketing or management.  If an athlete can't cut it in a program like that keep them out of our colleges.

Prime Time Magic

The Wolfpack of N C State loves playing ACC Tournament Baseball in the DBAP.  They love it some much they like prime time and extra innings.  Friday night the Pack walks 11 Miami Hurricanes  but they hold the Canes to only 6 hits and score in the bottom of the ninth to force the winner take all game into three extra innings.  Pack pitchers were so wild that they had Miami Hitters light on their feet in the batters box and got 17 strikeouts.

Preston Palmeiro double off the wall on the second pitch of the bottom of the 12th on the throw to second the left fielder threw the ball about ten yards into right field  and the ball rolled all the way to the right field stands and on the throw home the catcher failed to catch the ball and his swipe tag  which tagged Palmeiro but the ball laid in from of home plate for a 5-4 Wolfpack win.  If this was little league the batter would say he had an inside the park home run .

The Pack plays Virginia  Tonight at 7pm in a meaningless game because they play in Sunday's championship game against the winner of Florida State and Louisville at 11am.  What would you do?  I'm pitching my Wednesday starter to save my Sunday pitcher to pitch the championship game.  FSU and Louisville must win Saturday in order to play Sunday so they don't have the luxury of saving a starter.

Carolina got their lone win over Clemson To go  2-2 in the tournament.  They are 25th in RPI.  State beating the number one in the RPI jumps to 26 and ECU with the day off stays at 31.  ECU and Houston are playing in their brackets Saturday undefeated in the American Athletic conference.  ECU plays at 1pm and then again at 7 if they lose the 1pm game.   If both Houston wins their bracket with ECU they play Sunday for the title.

Fike failed to scored in round four of the 3-A playoffs.  They needed many losing 10-0 to CB Aycock.

Will Eight Make Playoffs

North Carolina came into the ACC tournament sneaking in getting the eighth seed while playing the last two weeks of the season on the down swing.  N C State is coming in on the upswing .  Most of the last month the bracketologist would tell State's RPI they won't make the tournament next week.

The Latest conference RPI has the SEC as the top conference but only by a hair over the ACC.  Experts say the SEC gets nine teams in the tournament.  If the ACC is only a hair behind the SEC then the ACC should at least get eight teams in right.   If that's the case North Carolina despite being 1-2 in the ACC tournament should be in?  State after their win over Notre Dame has moved up to 36 in the RPI and tonight they play the new number one in Miami.  Even if they lose tonight to Miami their RPI will go up a point or two, should they win they might jump to the top 30.Can any team in the top 30 be left out of the NCAA playoffs?

Losing to both Louisville and Florida State who are both in the top 15 of the RPI Carolina has been able to hang in the top 28 despite losing more than winning the last two weeks.   Carolina's two losses they can no longer win the tournament.  I would suspect the DBAP will be full tonight as the Wolfpack plays for the chance to win their bracket against Miami.

Should the Wolfpack win over Miami they have to hope Notre Dame beats Virginia Friday morning.  Here is where this round robin format can be fishy.  If State beats Miami, Virginia beats Notre Dame and then beats State Saturday night then Virginia can with the bracket if Miami loses to Notre Dame.  If State, Miami and Virginia  all finish 2-1 and Notre Dame is 0-3 then Miami wins any three way tie  tie breaker.

This baseball season has been very similar to the basketball season when it seems last place just might win any night.  The middle of the pack basketball teams did very well during the basketball tournament and there is no reason to think baseball will not do the same.

Last night in Clearwater Florida ECU beat Tulane 3-1 and the Pirates and Houston are the only two undefeated teams left after two games.  First year coach Cliff Godwin after a slow start in early February and March has the Pirates rolling now.  They are in the top 31 of the RPI and should be a lock come Monday when the baseball selection show airs.

Hot Start But Late Fizzle

The Way the ACC tournament  is set up playing three games it is almost vital that you win the first game.  Several years ago State lost the first game to Clemson and before  the Pack even played game two Clemson had already won their second game and were eliminated before winning their next two games.

Mike Fox knowing the Tar Heels needed to win he sent Benton Moss to the hill despite starting last Saturday in the last regular season game of the year.  Moss responded the first three innings getting six strike outs and there is and old saying in baseball ". Let's see what you do the second time around against Louisville's lineup.

Moss got one more K but a two run homer in the fourth led to two runs.  A poorly played ball in left to open the fifth led to a double and before the inning was over the Carolina lead was 4-3.  The one sore spot all year for Carolina has been the bull pen and again Wednesday when they needed somebody in the bullpen to get and out Carolina didn't get it and a costly error doomed Moss to his first lost on the year.

The four year starter for Carolina moved into second on the all time strikeout list with 318 trailing only Andrew Miller who had 325 as a Tar Heel.  First game in pool play Louisville gets great relief Pitching  while Carolina doesn't in beating Carolina 7-4.

Wednesday night WRAL TV did a feature on Benton talking about his singing and playing musical instruments ability.  Well worth a look.  Go to wral.com, click sports, unc and look for UNC pitcher Moss Talents extend beyond the diamond.

Wednesday Fike Baseball upset the Number two seed Cardinal Gibbons 3-1 to advance to round four.  Wednesday night  CB Aycock unset the top seed Topsoil 3-2 and will host the Golden Demons  Friday night at 7pm.

From one great victory to a disappointing lost as the Fike Girls give up a single goal to Swansboro and that is all that was needed Fike girls Lose the third round soccer game 1-0.

Carolina Survives

Just two years removed from going to the college World Series five of the past six years Carolina for the second year in a row has won a play in game to keep their hopes alive that the NCAA Regional playoffs are still possible.

Taking advantage of shoddy Virginia Tech defense the Tar Heels got four unearned runs and then held on once Carolina tried to give the runs back to Tech in the top of the eighth.  The Heels endured a thirty seven minute rain delay in the seventh to advance to pool play besting Tech 5-3.

Carolina now opens pool play against Louisville in the prime time game tonight at 7pm.  Clemson who just swept Florida State last weekend opens pool play at 11am and the 3pm game Virginia who whitewashed Georgia Tech 11-0 in the first playin game meets Miami.

If you did like I did and started watching the Carolina game in the third inning once I got home from work then you saw about a ten minute storm past by the ball park and dumped plenty of water on the DBAP.  Right in line of the storm was Cardinal Gibbons High school where Fike was preparing to play their third round baseball game with Cardinal  Gibbons.  To say the least there was a delay in the start.

Once play started Cardinal Gibbons scored in the bottom of the first and rode a 1-0 lead into the third inning.  Fike had two runners on an a simple sacrifice bunt will prove to be the difference in this game.  The bunt was booted by Gibbons and it opened the door for two Fike runs and that was enough even though Fike added another to win their third round playoff game in baseball 3-1.  Fike must wait until Wednesday night to see who they play as C B Aycock Topsoil game in Hempstead was rained out Tuesday.

The NCHSAA announced yesterday that the state softball championships will move to NC  State and UNC G this year.  This will mark the first time that the state softball championships have been play on college campus instead of the Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh.  Softball is growing up. State championship weekend is June 5th and 6th. Which classification plays where has yet to be determined but the championships are two out of three.

Spring Review

So far this spring Brian Goodwin is hitting 261 in AA Harrisburg Pa.  Over the weekend hit his first home run of the year and also his first triple.  His twenty hits this season include five doubles.

Hobbs Johnson has started seven games so far this season at AA Biloxi Ms.  He lost for the first time his last outing  and has a 2-1 record.  His ERA is 2.69 and has given up nine earned runs in 31 plus innings.

Lander University's Thomas Berry hit 318 on the year with nine home runs.  After making it all the way to the World Series last year Lander failed to make the conference this season.

Matthew Berry played in 26 games at Barton this spring and hit 240  with three home runs.

Nash Central's Dillon Moore pitched in 21 games this season for NC Wesleyan for a total of 20 innings  and had a 2-1 record.  He even batted once getting a double.

Garrison Vick playEd in eight games for Chowan this season going to bat four times.  The Nash Central freshman failed to get a hit.

Rocky Mount's Cody Smith pitched in nine games starting eight  winning three with a single loss.  His ERA with slightly under six and one of his wins was a no hitter.  Thirty three plus innings pitched he struck out 45.

His Gryphon teammate Will Edwards pitched in six games with a 1-1 record with nine strikeout in nine innings pitched.

Colton Vaughn the sophomore from Nash Central played in 16 games batting 14 times for Pitt CC getting two hits driving in two runs.

Fike Baseball travels to Cardinal Gibbons today in the third round of the state baseball playoffs at 5pm.  Fike women's soccer host Swansboro at Fike at 7pm.  These two are the last of the Big East sports teams still playing this year.

Carolina Baseball plays at 3pm in one of the two ACC tournaments playin games.  Game time is 3pm at the DBAP and can be seen on Fox Sports South as all the ACC games are until Sunday's finals which is on ESPN 2.

Time To Tweak Schedules

Both Mike Fox and Elliot Avent have suggested that the ACC needed to go back to the double elimination format  in the ACC baseball Tournament and I agree.  How would you arrive to that point  without depleting your pitching staffs and by the semi final rounds have 18-15 scores in games which has happened in the past.

Any double elimination tournament would require two weekends to complete and if you are going to take two weekends might as well let all fourteen teams play. What kind of format that takes is any body's guess but here is mine.

Weekend one the top six teams get off and for some teams that might let them off graduation weekend which is good for any player graduating being able to walk the isle.  The final eight teams start on Friday with two four teams double elimination tournaments by Monday there should be two winners who move on to two more four team double elimination tournaments  on Thursday and the two winners meet on a Monday night for the championship.

So in order to change the tournament there needs to be a change in the regular season.  Carolina not playing Wake is absolutely wrong. The league needs to play everyone in their division three times and everyone else twice.  That would bring on a 32 game schedule.  There is simply not enough weekends to play this schedule unless the first weekend  of play in February is use to play conference team that you only play twice.

This is the problem made by TV.  College conferences in the rush of greed to get as much of the TV money as possible.   You see TV have available time slots to fill and if the ACC doesn't fill those times somebody else will.  So what you have are conferences to large in number of members, and too much land space required to have conference members that have similar educational values. No longer can you get up early Saturday and drive to DC to watch State or Carolina play Maryland.  Now you must fly to South Bend or Louisville and the cost of those type weekend cuts back on the number of travel games you can afford to go to.

The bottom line is the only perfect conference is a league  where you play everybody in every sport.  The good news in all of this is if you are not flying to Boston for the game it is now on TV.  My cost to set in front of my TV to watch Boston College is the price of my cable bill.


Fike Baseball advanced to the third round in baseball with a 3-2 victory over Swansboro Saturday night.  Third round they travel to Cardinal Gibbons for a Tuesday night game.

Saturday Disaster

Both Rocky Mount and Northern Nash baseball teams were shut out in their efforts in the opening round of the state baseball playoffs.  Girls softball  Northern advanced to the second round while in soccer both Northern and Rocky Mount were surprise winners in the opening round.

The second round is always a tougher step to take. The second round was in no way a fun day for both of the Nash County teams  alive.   First softball where Northern Nash made the trip to Northern Guilford and surely this sports year has not been pleasant for any sports team from Nash County who has taken on any team with Guilford attached to their name and Saturday was no different.  Northern Guilford shuts out the Lady Knights 9-0.   Ouch!

Oddly enough both Rocky Mount and Northern were on the road in soccer and not that far apart as Rocky Mount visited Sawnsboro and Northern Nash at Jacksonville.  Both Onslow County schools only 19 miles apart  down highway 24 felt no pity for their visitors as Swansboro swamped Rocky Mount 8-0 and Jacksonville 6-0 over Northern. ouch ouch!!.

So the athletic year for all Nash County schools is over.  Only two teams left from the Big  East and both wear Fike on their chest.  Just maybe the best athletic team in the conference is the Fike girls soccer team.  They lead only 2-0 at the half against Northwood both added two more goals in the second half to win 4-0 and will now play Swansboro in round three.

  The third round game will pit number four Fike against number five Swansboro so the game is at Fike.   So far in 23 games Fike has had only 6 goals scored against them all season.  Only once has the Golden Demons been scored on twice in one game that was against Swansboro during a tournament in early season Fike's only loss of the season.  Since the Lady Golden a Demons have now won 20 in a row..

If the ACC baseball tournament continues to return to North Carolina year after year it is a must that North Carolina and NC State be a part of each playing in the three games during the tournament.  Last season they met each other in one of the play in  games. 2013 they met each other in the epic 18 inning game in front of the largest crowd to ever watch  a college baseball game in North Carolina.  No other state can offer when the top rivals of the area collide more than 10,000 will show up if they play at night.

Carolina returns to the play in game but state finished 6th so they will meet Miami, the winner of the 7/10 game and they start with their first game against Notre Dame. Come Saturday night one of the two still needs to be alive in order to keep the ACC interested in returning to Durham past 2016.

Big East Killer- Hitting

I guess the question about the quality of Big East baseball this year is that all those regular season games when nobody could score wasn't because of great pitching but poor hitting.  The opening round of the state playoffs the Big East goes 1-3. 

The Big East scored seven runs in the four first round games including Rocky Mount and Northern being shutout.  Hunt scored four times but gave up double digit runs in 10.  The four teams allowed 18 runs which is not bad that's 4.5 runs allowed per game but only put up 1.75 runs. The ultimate insult is that some of the games the other teams gambled and saved their best pitchers for round two and it worked.  Doesn't seem like the Big East got much respect from their opponents.  Fike in winning did pitch their ace Brandan Winstead 3-2 win over Eastern Wayne.

I guess to answer the question is the Big East did have good pitching this season not exceptional but any time you hold a playoff team to three runs or less like Rocky Mount, Northern and Fike did in the opening round you should win your game.  But only Fike did.  Fike round two tussle will be against West Carteret who was a 3-1 winner over Swansboro tonight at 7pm.

Today is the last day of the regular season of ACC baseball and North Carolina State has put it on the pro pickers of the 64 who will make the NCAA baseball tournament on Memorial Day.  The Pack's victory over Louisville last night guarantees the Pack no worse than sixth in the ACC which keeps them out of play in Tuesday.  The Pack has moved up to 34 in the RPI.

North Carolina who just two weeks ago was 13-10 in the league after losing again last night to Virginia  drops to 13-15 but with Duke beating Wake Carolina is in but they have fallen to a play in
Game.  It is still possible that if Benton Moss can't stop Carolina's bleeding today and if Carolina loses again Tuesday today just might be the last time Moss pitches for Carolina.

He is five wins short of tying for the all time Carolina wins record but unless Carolina finds a forward gear instead of the reverse they are doubtful for the NCAA even though they are 24th in RPI.  Can any team with a losing conference record get into the tournament if they would be on a seven game losing streak especially if they are 10th in the league when maybe only seven get in?
Benton Moss needs to pitch the game of his life today to keep his career at Carolina going plus keep Carolina's NCAA hopes alive.

Inflate-Gate

There is old saying in NASCAR that "if you ain't cheating you ain't trying."  I know for myself when driving I will drive 59 in a 55 mile and hour zone I feel safe that I'm in the no need to mess with him for that speed . But  if I get stopped and get a ticket I'm guilty.

Tom Brady's just after the AFC championship or should I say the Patriots were accused of taking air out of the ball.  Why would there be a rule of the minimum amount of air in the ball unless it had to do with all teams need to play with a standard ball to prevent unfair competition.

Now that an investigation called the Wells report has shown a great probability that Tom Brady directed ball boys to take air out of the balls.  Why would that matter? The way I see it cheating by circumventing the rules is cheating whether it is four miles over the speed limit or eight ounces under the football weight limit.  Also on this report about fumbling Peyton Manning and Tom Brady asked to reduce the football air for all quarterbacks in 2006.  They wanted every quarterback to use the balls that fitted them regardless of on the road or home.

Surely looks as if the Patriots decided to create their on rule whether the NFL agreed or not.  Seems they have made their own rules when ever it was convenient for them.  Now in the cover up phase to me the probability that Bill Bellicheat  had to know that the balls were being tampered with so if there is going to be any disciplinary action coach must be included.

Now there is this other report showing since 2007 Patriots have drastically reduced team fumbling.  Could it be that letting air out of ball helps runners hold on to the ball just like Brady can grip the ball better when throwing?  I just can't see this as a coincidence since 2007 the fumbling way down right after Brady asked the league to change the rule.

Regardless of who's idea it was the head coach had to know that Brady was leading tampering with the ball or it's or was it Bellichick all along.  Maybe big bad Bill gets a year off like Shawn Peyton got with New Orleans.  Brady has not helped with  his statements of unwillingness to cooperate  with the NFL. The bottom line cheating is trying to take advantage over your competition.  I wonder how many wins since 2007 can be attributed to not fumbling or a qb being able to grip the ball when the other qb can't.

Upset Special

Rocky Mount girls soccer team lost three times during the regular season to Hunt who in conference only lost two conference games and both of those loses were to powerhouse Fike.  Tonight Rocky Mount played Hunt  to a first half draw of 0-0 and then spotted the Lady  Warriors an early second half goal but The Lady Gryphons stick two goals in the net the last 15 minutes of the game to shock Hunt in the opening round of the State 3-A playoffs 2-1. They play the winner five seed Swansboro/Gray's Creek winner Saturday.

Big East top seed in soccer Fike wins by mercy rule 10-1 but the big news is they gave up a goal.  That's two games in a row that a team has scored on the Lady Golden Demons after going 17 games in a row winning by shutout. Northern Nash soccer went on the road as the lower seed and whips Eastern Wayne 4-3. They now travel to Jacksonville a 4-0 winner in round one.

Northern Nash softball has advanced to the second round winning at home tonight 6-2 over Eden Morehead and will play Northern Guilford who was a 7-2 winner over Swansboro.
Fike the top seed from the Big East in softball has been stunned by Orange 1-0 while Hunt fell 14-3 to West Craven

Big East baseball started in the afternoon as Hunt traveled to Cardinal Gibbons and lead early to get their hopes up but the number two seed Crusaders were too much and advances with a 10-4 win over Hunt.

Rocky Mount traveled to Lee County to play Southern Lee and Kent Cox sent Sophomore David Harrison and just like Northern yesterday the Gryphon pitching was good but not good enough as Rocky Mount is shutout of the playoffs losing 3-0 to Southern Lee.  SL only needed one run to win this one and it scored on a balk to give SL a 1-0 lead and that was plenty.

Fike is the only Big East baseball team still alive as they win another one run game 3-2 over Eastern Wayne.

Earlier in the week the only team left in tennis Fike lost in the third round 5-4 to Union Pines.

This area is very privileged to have the many athletes in this area that do great things on the athletic fields and advance on to college and in some cases into a pro sports athlete.  The very best athlete in the area very well be a player that doesn't get much coverage until it is time for the State Championships.

SouthWest Edgecombe's  Cole Jefferies has just won his second straight 2-A individual golf championship by a whomping 10 shots.  Sounds a lot like Tiger  Woods in his prime. Jefferies shot a two day total of 145.  I suspect we might hear more about him in the coming months.

Down And Out

There are those times when you line up to play certain teams that they look good in their uniforms.  Muscular but most of all when they swing the bat they look well coached.  Every swing their heads stay on the ball and when they make outs they hit it hard.

Tonight Northern Nash opened the state playoffs and ran into Eastern Guilford a team that executed fundamental baseball and out pitched Northern in winning at Northern 3-0.  Andrew Robinson popped the mitt all night in the high eighty miles an  hour range and held Northern to two singles and a double and Northern never got a runner past second.  Robinson did not walk a batter and when your team mates don't make errors three base runners by Northern never threaten  to score.

EG got all the runs they needed in the second when the first two batters stroked singles and following a sac bunt third baseman Stephan  Dressin stroked another hard hit ball for the third hit of the inning and two runs crossed the plate.  Northern Starter Tyler Barrett pitched the first three innings and EG scored again in the third when with one out Barrett walk the only base on base all night by either side.

A grounder to short left Northern no chance to get the lead runner but got an out at first. The next batter UNC bound catcher Luke Robinson laced a single driving in the last run of the night.  Whit Casper pitch the 4th-5th-6th innings for Northern and held EG to a single.

Down 3-0 Leonard Allen made a class move as he brought Derrick Carter to pitch the seventh inning when it looked like Carter would not be pitching the second round playoff game. Carter pitch his final inning and Carter like his career for four years for Northern he struck out the first two he faced Gave a a single which was only the 6th hit on the night for EG but that was enough. Northern pitched well to win most nights but not tonight.

Northern was the only Big East team playing Tuesday as Fike host E Wayne on Wednesday night at 7:00.  Hunt travel at 4:30 Wednesday to Cardinal Gibbons and Rocky Mount travels to play Southern Lee at Lee County High School at 7:00.

It's Playoff Time

All the brackets are posted and the last three spring sports that have yet to start playoffs do so this week and at least one big surprise who got in.  First the baseball brackets.

Big East top seed Fike  14-7 will be seeded 7th and they host Eastern Wayne seeded 26th at 7pm Wednesday.

Northern Nash 12-11 the 15th in the state tournament will have a home game Tuesday night at 6:00 pm when they host the 19th seed Eastern Guilford 15-10.

Rocky Mount falls to the third Big East team after Northern  won the Big East tournament but the main reason that got a higher seed over Rocky Mount was they won two of the three meetings between the two.  Rocky Mount hits the road meeting Southern Lee but the game will be played at Lee County High and game time will be 7:00pm Wednesday.

The surprise team to get in  is Hunt.  They have a losing record at 10-11 and get in seeded 31st so they are the next to last team.  They will travel to Cardinal Gibbons who are 21-2 on the season  and carry the number two seed into this game.  This game will be played at 4:30 Wednesday at Gibbons.

Softball finds Fike  12-6 8th seed hosting Orange 10-6 and the 25th seed.

Northern Nash 9-5 the 15th seed will play Eden Morehead 28th seed  will play Wednesday night at 6:oopm at Northern.

Hunt    8-7 is the third team in from the Big East and as a 19th seed travel to West Craven 13-7 an a 14 seed.

Fike at 20-1 is a 4th seed in soccer and they will host Smithfield Selma the 29th seed with a 8-8 record.

Hunt the 12th seed 13-6 will host Big East Rival Rocky Mount 8-11 is seeded 21st.  Doesn't there alway seems to be some how or other the Big East always plays somebody else in the conference which surely keeps the league getting too many teams deep in the playoffs

Northern Nash 11-8 is seeded 26th travels to the 7th eastern seed Eastern Wayne 10-6.

We got a game to go see Tuesday night as Northern Baseball plays at 6:00pm

Waiting On Brackets

Northern Nash Hosting a playoff game while Rocky Mount hits the road.  The official backets are in and  Northern Nash has jumped ahead of Rocky Mount and will host Eastern Guilford Wednesday while Rocky Mount will travel to Lee County.  The playoffs start Wednesday.

Sure has been a busy week for those NCHSAA officials as it started Thursday during the year end awards ceremonies  including Rocky Mount's Pam Gainey being named the NC High School female coach of the year.

Friday the state finals began in tennis which spilled over to the finals on Saturday and then the Track and field which finished also on Saturday.  If you go on line to the NCHSAA website and pull up baseball it says that the first day of baseball practice is February 15th, the first game March 2nd and playoff seeding announced on May 9th and the first day of the playoffs May 13th. Somebody in Chapel Hill forgot  when  scheduling that Saturday was a full day without baseball, softball and Lacrosse  brackets to get out so they have been put off until early Monday.

Chapel Hill's explanation was that seedings were more difficult to do than the standard who was first, second in your conference.  I don't see how seeding the teams by records will be an advantage for any Big East team.  Fike at 14-7 over all is only the 14th best record in the 3A east.  Rocky Mount at 10-8 is 26th and Northern at 12-11 is 28th.

The records of all the teams in the Big East are nothing  to Bragg about and if overall records are any indication of how good any team is compared to any other then it could be a short ride for the Big East this spring.  All three have at least one ace pitcher and you know everyone will throw their ace in the first round so it will come down to scoring runs to advance.

North Carolina baseball after a sweep last week moved up several spots in the ACC standings.  Saturday were swept by Notre Dame and Mike Fox brought Benton Moss hoping to get the Tar Heels at least one win on the weekend.  Moss wasn't great but when he left after six innings the Tar Heels were ahead 7-5 but a home run with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth Notre Dame beat Carolina 8-7.

The lost drops Carolina to 13-13 and after beating Wake Forest twice so far this weekend N C State has moved a half game ahead of Carolina.  They play Wake Monday night at 7pm on ESPNU.

Progress

We are a society of people who thinks because we live in this modern world of  computers and space age technology that the world is better off this way than without it.  It may be true but for those who grew up without all of this modern diversions life the old way won't bad either.

Wednesday in the Rocky Mount Telegram there was a heart felt letter from Grady Griffin about Rocky Mount losing American Legion baseball.  We can ride all over Rocky Mount and see the progress we have made in this world with all of the vacant buildings that use to employ hundreds that now only has grass growing in their parking lots.  The losers in the vacant buildings and the green parking lots are those who use to be employed there.

The losers watching American Legion baseball disappear from Rocky Mount are those that worked the hardest to keep Legion baseball thriving.  Grady is one of those and  if you read the speak up from Wednesday he is hurt by the lost because he has spent many hours keeping it alive.  There are many others  involved as Grady who are hurt to think something they care so much about and has been such a bell winner for the community is dying. 

We hope that just maybe  this will only be a temporary set back but with all of the cloth factories that use to be here when they closed they hoped they would reopen too.  When they tore down the old round house  when Atlantic Coast Line had steam engines and went to diesel engines that was called progress.  Today the railroad employes only 10% the employees they used to have here, progress.

Our world changes every day. There are Archaeologist every day digging in the ground looking for a world that no longer exist.  It has been cover up by an earthquake, volcano or maybe even the tide of the ocean like they predict for the Outer Banks.  The tide has washed Rocky Mount out of the Legion baseball world.  Rocky Mount will not be better off without but that is what is called progress.

Why would any high school senior who has already committed to play college at any level still want to play travel or showcase ball.  Many legion players because of the age can still play one year out of college.

We have seen other teams struggle mightily to field teams day after day.  Those that are trying to keep legion here and action and those two are Hank Jones the coach and Joe Bell the athletic officer have tried their best.  they have done all they could short of begging players to come.  If you have to beg them just to try out you will not be able to depend on them on a hot June Saturday when the beach is calling.  They simply didn't want to worry every game "how many are showing up today?"  Who can blame them.  I have seen it on coaches faces waiting for enough to show up to make out a lineup because only eight were here.  Now the long ride home and a forfeit on your schedule.  Hank and Joe didn't want to have to put up with that kind of season.

Maybe a year without Legion will be a good thing and it comes back in the future.  But 2015 will be an empty ballpark sitting on Howell street.  Progress.

Collins Cuthrell Named Peach Belt Player Of Year

   Former Rocky Mount Gryphon Collins Cuthrell was named the Peach Belt Player  of the year in baseball tonight at the Peach Belt Tournament banquet.  The redshirt senior third baseman missed becoming the second player in Peach Belt history to Win the triple crown leading the conference  in batting average, home runs and RBI.

Cuthrell hit 443 batting average which was second in the league after the leader hit 445.  He did lead in homers 25 and RBI 74.  The Peach Belt tournament starts Saturday.  Cuthrell on the year finished high up in the nation in just about every offensive category and is still in the running for the National Player of the Year.

Rocky Mount High School girls relay team took home two state championships Friday and they were lead by a freshman.  London Green a Gryphon Freshman and Nyana Edwards and Laneeja Sheppard were members of both winning teams in the 4x100.  They were joined by Teyanna Dessaure in the winning time of 49:08

They also won the 4x200 in a time of 1:43:36 and and they were teammates with Brittany Bickford in becoming state champs.  The two wins were good for 20 points and the sum total that Rocky Mount scored on the day.  The Lady Gryphons finished tenth in the team total leading the Big East.  Nash Central finished 12th.

Only three big East teams scored points for their teams.  Rocky Mount finished 21st, Hunt 13th and Fike 24th.  The most impressive performance of the day came from Fike's Ian West.  You may have seen him be the Tom Suitor Extra Effort Award winner last night and today he won the pole vault reaching 16 feet which is the state record in all classifications.

Today was not a good day for the Big East in tennis as both doubles teams from Fike lost and both singles players from Nash County lost.  Northern Nash singles player Tremel lost in the quarter finals 6-3- 6-1 while Rocky Mount singles player George Shannon lost 6-0-6-0.  The Regional doubles team of Reid Harris and Sunny Sandusky lost in the quarters 6-4-6-2.  Fike other doubles team Lee Holmes and Will Benson lost 6-0-6-3.

Former Gryphon Now A CEO

Cisco Systems announced on Wednesday that Chuck Robbins  a graduate of Rocky Mount Senior High and a member of the 1982 state championship basketball team has been named CEO of Cisco Systems.  Cisco founded in 1984  had in 2014 gross revenues of 142 billion dollars. It is a Fortune 500 company

Robbins graduated from Carolina in 1987 and has spent the last 17 years climbing the ladder at Cisco
He will take over for the retiring CEO on July 1st.

This week has turned out to be a very big week for Northern Nash.  Tonight the girls softball team won the Big East Tournament beating Southern Nash 5-0. Fike  hosted Northern Nash boys in baseball and Northern has won this year's tournament having to win three games and in the process beat Rocky Mount the second seed and the top seed Fike back to back on the road 8-0. The Fike  girls won the Big East soccer tournament which was no surprise.  The surprise was the score 2-1.  That is the first goal Fike has allowed in all 12 Big East games played this year.

This weekend the Big East will be well represented during the State Championships singles and doubles men's tennis championships.  Fike who dominated the doubles winning first and second in the Conference tournament and Regional will have both their top two teams in Burlington starting today.

Conference and Regional champs Reid Harris and Sunny Sandu will meet a team from Cardinal Gibbons Kyler Zadell and Brody Chapman.  The number two team from Fike second in the conference and Regional behind their teammates Lee Holmes and Will Benson will face off against  a doubles team from Chapel Hill Bryan Zhan and Jarad Weber.

The singles will be represented by Northern Nash and Rocky Mount as Northern's Tremel Davis will take on Cameron Union Pines singles player Will Hart.  Rocky Mount sends George Shannon to the court to face Matt Galush of Cardinal Gibbons

Have some very sad news to pass along about one of the people who I work beside covering sports in the area.  Heard Tuesday night that Jesse Nunnery and his wife  Dorea lost their three month old baby son Elijah this week.  I know if I see any of my children go before me that will be a tragic event and it seems even more so when it is with a three month old child.

I don't know if any one can express to parents when have lost a child how deep it hurts for all of us that know Jesse and  I don't know that I have ever met Dorea.  I can only leave you with these words.  The Lord has a plan. Jesse Even though we might not cross paths for a while I hurt for you during your time of stress.  God be with you.

Big Changes Coming

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association Board of Directors have set the wheel turning in order for a major change in the 2017 high school realignment.  They have adopted the 20-30-30-20 rule.  Where are we headed during the next realignments?  Let's say there are 360 schools during the next realignment.  The smallest 20 per cent or 72 schools will be classified 1-A while the next  30 per cent or 108 schools will be 2-A, the next 30 or 108 schools will be 3-A and the largest 20 percent will be classified as 4-A or 72 schools.

Get out last  years ADM's or average daily attendance figures and there may be a major shift in the Big East.    There might be some that drop to 2-A.  Too early to tell how this is going to play out but say a Washington, West Craven just might wind up associated with what is called the Big East now and gone will be this tight compact conference.

The next biggest issue is that the basketball playoff  will now have four rounds at the home of the highest seeded team instead of going to a regional sight like Fayetteville.  The regional final will be played at a neutral site suitable to host large crowds.  That will go into effect this upcoming basketball season  as a one year trial to reevaluate after seeing it done this way for a year.

Many football rules are being adjusted including only one hour of full tackling contact per week of practice  per group.  This is an obvious attempt to reduce injury but one side bar from this could lead to poor quality of tackling during games. This will go into affect August First of this year.

During preseason if you practice twice a day the two hour session cannot have full contact.  It has finally come.  10 days of spring football practice is here.  It is being called unlimited skills development.  This must be completed before ten days of final exams.

Thursday night both softball and baseball will be playing the tournament finals in the Big East.  Northern Nash boys will play at Fike while Northern Nash girls will play Southern Nash.

Looks as if Mike Fox after his Tarheel baseball team has had a week off for exams is setting up his pitching rotation for the ACC Tournament.  Tuesday Fox pitch Benton Moss in a Tuesday game against  UNC -Asheville.  The Heels won 11-2 getting Benton to 7-0 on the season and his 26th Tarheel win which is five short or now tied for eighth all time in Tar Heel wins.

Surely looks at though Fox is lining up his pitcher for possible Wednesday-Thursday-Friday ACC Tournament.  Looks as if Benton is being set to pitch the Tar Heels first Tournament game regardless of what day it is on.  The Heels still have Notre Dame and Virginia to finish ACC play the next two weekends.  The way the ACC tournament format is set up you just about have to win game one or the other two games don't matter.

Northern Clinches Playoff Spot

 Tonight Rocky Mount hosted Northern Nash in the semi finals of the Big East Tournament.  Since Rocky Mount didn't have senior night last week when the season ending NN/RM game was pushed up to last Wednesday they held it tonight for the four Gryphon seniors.

Blake Helms a senior was introduced as all four Gryphons but tonight Helms carried  a extra burden as at 5pm the new Rocky Mount Memorial Gardens was dedicated in the memory of his mother Brenda Gurganus.  That is an emotional load to put on any player the night that his team is playing their biggest game of the year, it's senior night and now a dedication to your mother who passed last year about this time.

Helms struck the first batter out but walked and hit batters two and three.  Then the cleanup hitter Chad Nelms hit a screaming line drive right at Gryphon right fielder Josh Huerta with the sun in his eyes and of course one of the few times the sun has been out at any game this year goes right through his glove and two runs score.

Now on the Northern side coach Leonard Allen made the decision to try to get by with his number three pitcher holding His ace Derrick Carter out to the possible Thursday championship game with Fike who beat Nash Central 7-0 tonight.  Boy did that decision pay off.  Whit Casper gave up an infield single to lead off batter Forest Bell in the top of the first and did not give up another until one out in the sixth when David Harrison tripled off the right centerfield wall and would score
when Logan Pearce singled driving in Harrison which was at that time Rocky Mount second run of the game and cut the Northern lead to 6-2

Northern had whittled away all night on Blake Helms who in five plus innings allowed only six hits but Northern score one in the third and three in the sixth which upped the Northern lead to 6-1 and now coach Allen more than ever wants to win this game without using Carter.  Once The Gryphons cut it to six two and one more walk by Casper, Allen made his first pitching change and by the end of the sixth Rocky Mount has cut the score to 6-5 with the bases loaded and a 2 balls  no strikes on the best power hitter the Gryphons have in Josh Carter.  Not being able to take it any more Allen brings in Carter who proceeded to strike Josh Carter out ending the Gryphon  Rally.

Northern survives a Gryphon scare and wins 6-5 as Carter pitches the seventh inning to save the Knight victory.  Northern will now play Fike Thursday night at Fike for the Big East Tournament championship.  This game will be of great interest to Rocky Mount for if Northern wins Thursday they will jump to the number two seed and Rocky Mount would fall to third and a road game in the opening round of the state playoffs instead of a home game as the number two seed.

It's Northern Rocky Mount Again

They played this 3/6 Big East Tournament playoff game at Northern Nash at 4pm this afternoon and Northern needing to advance to hold on to the third spot in the Big East seeding made quick work of the 6th seed Southern Nash winning 10-0 in five innings.

Tyler Barrett held the Firebirds in check and the Knights bats scored twice in the second and three in the third and that was all they would need but they added five more by the fifth and the mercy rule was in force.

This will send Northern to Rocky Mount to face off in the semi-finals Tuesday Night.  They split with Northern winning 7-0 early in the year at Northern while Rocky Mount shocked the Knights last Wednesday 2-1 to assume second place in the Big East seedings.    The winner Tuesday night will play for the conference Tournament championship Thursday night at the home of the top seeded team still standing after Tuesday night's games.

Tonight Nash Central traveled to Hunt in the 4/5 tournament game and Nash Central jump to a 3-0 lead and held on to win their third straight game knocking off Hunt 4-3.  Nash Central will now travel Tuesday night to Fike the Big East  number one seed at 7pm.

Since the Rocky Mount - Northern Nash Regular season finale was push up to last Wednesday Rocky Mount did not have their senior night activities so that will start at 6:45pm just before the first pitch at Rocky Mount Tuesday.

Southern Nash will be honored Thursday night at the NCHSAA Awards ceremony when they will win the Sportsmanship Award.  How did the Firebirds win this honor?  First of all they had no athlete or student ejected from any sporting event  this year.  They had every student, student athlete watch a 45 second film on how all students should act at sporting event.

All coaches during meetings went through training on how they were to act and every parent had to receive training. Southern also assigned a person to greet every official while they were at any Southern home game and to make sure their stay was as pleasant as possible while on Southern's campus.

Coach Robbie Kennedy Athletic Director at Southern  states that Southern Nash wanted to go the extra mile  to show what Southern Nash stands for.  That extra mile has made Southern Nash the North Carolina High School Sportsmanship Award for 2015.

Big East baseball Tournament Starts Tonight

Don't care what level of competition you play any end of the season tournament  means different  things for each team playing  Those already guaranteed playoff spots  Fike 8-2 13-6
first in the Big East and Rocky Mount 6-4-10-8 get to keep playing to stay in the rhythm  for next weeks state tournament and then those that are sweating of making the state tournament.

 The biggest sweater of all is Northern Nash 5-5-9-11 the number three seed.  The Big East is provided three spots in this years state tournament  but the way the conference tournaments rolls if any team seeded 4th or worse win the conference tournament they move up to the second seed in the state tournament from the Big East and second seed Rocky Mount falls to third.  Fike the number one seed keeps number one regardless but Northern sitting on the catbird seat would be out.

There is always the possibility that something like basketball could occur and every team make the tournament but that is not likely in baseball since the seedings in the state tournament after your conference slots are filled are based on best overall record of the teams hoping to get in and no team below second has a winning record and that does not  lean well for the Big East.

Then there are the bottom feeders Hunt 5-5 10-10  Hunt beat Fike Saturday 6-3 but they hold fourth but would seem to have to win tournament to get in State playoffs. They could steal third spot by winning more games in tournament than Northern Nash.  Nash Central  4-6 - 5-13.  Winners of their last two games in conference and you know they think this is their tournament for the taking. The bottom is held up by Southern Nash 2-8 -5-13.  Middle of the season were scaring everyone to death but didn't finish well. Northern Nash host Southern Nash at 4pm Today.

These three teams truly need to win tournament to make  no doubt they play next week.  If they don't baseball season could be over.

Tonight's action finds Nash Central  traveling to Hunt so for one of the teams hoping to win tournament to stay alive they will be alive Tuesday.  They will head to Fike Tuesday night  who Saturday lost their   First game since March 31st when they lost at home 8-4 to Rocky Mount.

Southern Nash will travel to Northern Nash and for the Firebirds this is their last shot.  If they lose tonight their record simply will not get them in to next week.  Northern if they win takes out one of those teams that could steal third from them.  The winner travels to Rocky Mount Tuesday for the semi finals to take on a Gryphon team winners of four of their last five conference games.

This league has been so close this year there is no reason to believe that Nash Central or the likes could not win it this year.  If baseball goes like basketball then the top dog will win.  We will find out Thursday.

Gurley Picked By Rams

I would have to say I have been a very lucky person in my life that as a high school and college sports broadcaster whether it was in a small towns like Ahoskie or Murfreesboro or a medium size North Carolina city like Rocky Mount I have covered some very good athletes in my life.

Kelvin Bryant in the 70's Tarboro, Carolina and the Redskins,, Timmy Newsome Ahoskie fullback for the Cowboys in the 80's. Nate McMillan of the Seattle Supersonics played  at Chowan.  I could make a list to cover this entire  blog today with out saying one thing about any of them.

We have no idea what an injury can do to any ball players future.  Right now injuries have slowed the progress of Brian Goodwin  from being the Washington National prize minor league player to 14th on the list.  We all hope his shoulder injury has fully healed but only time will tell whether he makes it up to the Big Leagues.

Thursday night the St Louis Rams picked Todd Gurley of the Tarboro Vikings and University of Georgia as the tenth player picked in the draft and right now he is recovering from major knee surgery.  How in the world does any team pick a player tenth in the draft coming off injuries and even before you pick him he still can't run for you to show you he still has what it takes to be a top flight runner in the NFL?

The reason is that Todd Gurley has shown throughout his high school career  that he was  a man among boys.   His college career has shown to be the best man among men.  If you recall he was the eighth fastest man in the world his senior year in high school and went to France and in a track meet over there.

There was that playoff Friday night in Edenton when Tarboro was a touchdown behind and time running out and Gurley limping after every play ran the ball on every play and Edenton even hurt could not tackle him and Tarboro won the game and eventually a state championship.

Every now and then there are players who come along that stand out above others.  If you recall he was the other running back picked from North Carolina by UGA.  The first game he was the starter and with his speed can run back kickoffs.  Pro football I doubt the Rams  wood be crazy enough to let him return kicks and be the #1 back.  That would be mighty risky with your franchise player.

I think if injuries don't curtail his career Todd Gurley is the next Adrian Peterson.  He loves at 220 pounds to put his head down and try to run over tacklers.  His speed he really doesn't have to do that but it is his mentally to if I can't run by you, run over you.  He will last longer if he runs out of bounds more than he does now.

The NFL running back of today is no more than five years of football life before the punishment delivered by the defense takes away speed and when the speed goes more tacklers will be able to front the ball carrier.

In my years of broadcasting I Haven't run across many who can dominant their sport the way he has his sport.  Jimmy Hunter pitching in high school and Legion and today is in the baseball Hall Of Fame. Gurley has a chance to be a great one.  If he can stay healthy.

Gainey Wins Top Female Award

I bet I can tell you where Rocky Mount's High's Gainey family will be next Thursday night during the NCHSAA awards night at the Dean E Smith Center in Chapel Hill. Pam Gainey Rocky Mount High school girl's basketball coach will be receiving the Doris Howard Award at the Top Female High School coach in North Carolina.

Gainey a Goldsboro native took her basketball skills to ECU where she won the Academic Award as well as best defensive player award her senior year playing for the Pirates.  So now you can tell why Pam loves to get her girls to play defense so much she is an expert having  played that way during her playing career.

Gainey came to the Rocky Mount  schools system in 1989 and took over the reins of the girls basketball program in 1994.  Her career total wins stand at 391 which is good for an average of 18.6 wins a season while losing 169 or about 8 per year.  She has had 10-20 wins seasons including one Regional final game.

She has coached in the East-West high school All Star game in Greensboro as well as she has been on the sidelines coaching the NC-SC basketball Classic held every year in Myrtle Beach.  She is married to Gryphon athletic director Michael Gainey making one of the few combo's in North Carolina high schools where the wife/husband coach their schools basketball teams.  Of course the two Gainey Children  MJ a former member of the Gryphon 2012 state Champion basketball team and Michelle a rising junior at Rocky Mount where she will be playing her third year of varsity basketball.  You think this is a basketball family or what?

Benton Moss has won the Jim Tatum Memorial Award given each year at the University of North Carolina to the student athlete who has performed in his sport with distinction and has contributed to the university community through constructive activities participation.  He has also been chosen as one of the top ten student athletes through having one of the top grade point averages.  Moss is a double major in business and economics at UNC.

You know there are times when school systems make judgement  calls about whether to have school or not base on the weather forecast.  Surely looks as if it was a great call moving the Northern Nash/Rocky Mount and Southern Nash/ Nash Central  sports that were schedule for Friday all the way up to Wednesday.

There was no way any game could have been played Thursday and now even Friday was eliminated as Fike and Hunt chose to wait out the weather and they lost. Baseball and softball between the two schools were rained out both Thursday and Friday forcing a baseball game Saturday afternoon at 2pm and softball at 3pm.

The risk moving up any game because of the weather especially when it is the top rivals meeting each other the risk is great of fans who would normally be there on the regular night  didn't hear about the change or something else was scheduled  where they couldn't make the new time.

Rocky Mount had a great gate Wednesday and the impact on the baseball game by the fifth inning included all the softball watchers who stayed to see the end of a very close baseball game.  If the sun shines as the weather forecast calls for I doubt there will be many other than mamas and papas watching Saturday afternoon when Hunt and Fike clash.  There might be more coaches scouting baseball and softball teams  from the Big East since the Big East Tournament starts Monday in both sports.

Two Big East Football Players Invited to East-West

Only two football players from the Big East were invited to play in this years' East -West All-Star game July 22nd  in Greensboro during the high school coaches association meetings.  Southern Nash's Aramans Martin and Fikes Anthony Evans will be going from the Big East.  No players for any of the three Rocky Mount High schools were invited.

The Big East boys player of the year in basketball Josh Willingham of Hunt will be invited  to play in the basketball  East -West All Star game but the rosters have not been announced as of yet.   He has also signed to play college basketball at Louisburg College.  The girls player of the year Kiana Thomas of Northern Nash is heading to play at Howard University.  Tristan Marshall of Northern Nash has been chosen to play in the All Star soccer game which will be in played on July 22nd  in Greensboro.

Tuesday was the first round of the boys Duel tennis championships and only two teams were qualified from the Big East and Fike  16-0 on the season had little trouble winning it's opening round Match 8-1 over Ledford.  They don't play again until the second round on May 5th.  Southern Nash as the # two seed from the Big East lost to Western Alamance 5-1and failed to advance to round two.
This weekend begins the process of the individual players  advancing in the playoffs so no teams are involved.

Last weekend when the Big East held their conference tennis tournament Northern Nash's  Tremel Davis   won the singles title to be the conference champion in singles.  The duo from Fike of Reid Harris-Sunny Sandhu won the doubles.

Brian Goodwin is playing baseball again but not at AAA Syracuse for the Washington Nationals.  He is playing in AA Harrisburg.  There are many times when players are injured and are sent to the minors to get in shape before being called back up.   This is what is happening here since Brian has not played since mid-July last year because of injury.  Six games played Brian is hitting 318.  It won't be long before he is sent back to Syracuse.

Hobbs Johnson is 2-0 at Buloxi Ms after winning earlier this week.  His ERA is 1.68.  Those type numbers if they continue will send Hobbs to AAA by season end.