Can This Marvelous Pitching Contine?

There has been no mistake or rainouts so for  the Rocky Mount Gryphon baseball team schedule.  Coach Pat Smith planned it this way.  These new pitching rules he had no idea if he would have more than one arm David Harrison to pitch when day one came.  He had to find somebody who could get it across the plate and with the lack of pitching depth three games a week was pushing too many pitches for a pitching staff that was unknown.  So while others have played three games a week Rocky Mount has not.

Smith was limited for pitching arms he even brought  up a freshman Ben Seracki who had been a  dominant pitcher in Junior high but this is big boy ball now he had no idea what to expect from him. Zack Keeter had thrown innings last season but he is your main stay behind the plate guy.  To this point Centerfielder  Josh Pittman has a few innings and Joe Petway a couple.  What Smith has found that the five players who have pitched for the Gryphons to date have more that given what anyone could have expected.

The Gryphons on the season have score 37 runs in 10 games or 3.7 per outing.  Take away a 13-0 victory which most of the runs scored because of walks and errors the Gryphons have scored 24 in nine game.  That is not a winning combination scoring 2.66 per game unless you can throw 5 shutouts in your ten games.  The last time I looked it up a shutout will win 100% of every game you play.

Runs have been hard to come by but just as scarce as hits in any game.  Thursday night shutout was won with three hits.  Fike 1-0 game the Gryphons had three hits.  The Gryphons in their 7-1 loss to Hunt only scratched two hits.  The pitching in this game was ok but four errors caused seven runs to score to blow this game out of proportion. 

I don't know what happen but opening night against Nash Central the Gryphons produced 13 hits but it took ten innings to get them and a 7-6 thriller.  The non conference slate a 9-6 victory over Cleveland was another double digit day with 11 hits.  A 2-0  shutout of South Johnston had only one hit.  The Gryphons got five hits in a 6-1 loss to Bunn but the defense cost the Gryphons four runs.  A 0-0 game in the fourth inning at South Johnston walks poured 13 runs in for the Gryphons on eight hits.  Opening day  seven hits were part of a 2-0 shutout of Roanoke Rapids.

Rocky Mount has given up only 27 runs or 2.7 per game.  13 of the 27 six  came by Nash Central in a 7-6 victory and  7-1loss  to Hunt as all seven Hunt runs came off the Gryphon Defense.  How good could this team be if they started hitting the ball?  How good could this team be if they tighten up their defense? I mean two of the losses are defense related.

We haven't quite made it to the halfway point in conference play with the Easter break coming with three games in Wilson.  Only four more weeks before the end of the of the regular season and then the Big East tournament.

Today for the first time Rocky Mount plays a third game in one week as they host Tarboro in an endowment game.  Here again it is no mistake by Pat Smith that this game is on Saturday after they already have their two conference games for the week out of the way.  Game time is 1pm