Sunday, May 1, 2016

Nice Athletic Year At Rocky Mount

There was a point in the Rocky Mount Gryphon football season when they stood at 3-2 but won their last 11 games to win the State 3-A football championship.   The basketball season started losing the first seven games of the season.  There were a combination of reasons from  the football players had not joined the team because football went into mid December.  They also had injuries and when you add all that together just didn't play well.

By season's end the Gryphons managed to tie for first.  Now baseball starts 0-2 in conference play and were 4-6.  The modern teenager especially those that play baseball for the Gryphons  had a real adjustment in life when Pat Smith returned to Rocky Mount to be baseball coach.

To say the least Pat Smith is an old school coach that wants you to play baseball the way the game is suppose to be played.  He is a tell it like it is type of coach. Blunt might be a correct term.  Just might be that it took a little while to get use to the old man's ways.  The Gryphons finish the season winning eight out of ten.

Four of the six conference victories were shutouts. 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 2-0.  So Rocky Mount won four games scoring 5 runs.

Their two other wins they scored 25.

One odd stat on the season the outfield made more errors than the infield.  The combination of Jake Philbeck at First, Will Hedgepeth at second, Logan Pearce at shortstop and Forest Bell at third was one of the best Gryphon  Infields in a while.

Baseball, Softball and soccer all starts the conference tournaments this week.  Monday baseball has Fike at Nash Central with the winner at Rocky Mount Tuesday.  Southern Nash at Hunt with the winner at Northern Nash Tuesday.  The two winners meet Thursday at highest seed still playing.

Soccer, Monday Nash Central at Hunt with winner at Rocky Mount Tuesday.  Southern Nash at Northern Nash with winner at Fike . The two winners meet Thursday at highest seed still playing.

Softball, Monday Rocky Mount at Fike with the winner at Northern Nash.  Nash Central at Southern Nash with winner at Hunt.  The two winners meet Thursday at highest seed still playing.

This afternoon there will be a meeting at Legion Field  at 5pm of all prospects interested in playing American Legion Baseball.  This is not a tryout only a meeting to gauge the interest for bringing  Legion Baseball back  to Rocky Mount after having failed to field a team last year.


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