Pitch Count Gamble

So far during this baseball season the Rocky Mount Gryphons have not had many innings where they put up crooked numbers in one inning.  Tonight the Gryphons put up a four spot on Northern Nash in the third inning and with David Harrison on the mound yielded two infield singles that never got out of the infield grass.  Pat Smith gambled on this new pitch count rule.

Harrison sailed for the most part through four innings but took only 42 pitches and if he comes back out to pitch the fifth he is done pitching for this week. Enter Ben Seracki who pitches the next two innings and in order to save Seracki for Thursday's game with Nash Central he is replaced in the seventh by Zack Keeter.

There were moments that maybe Smith thought have I messed up like the 6th inning. There was a grounder to short that looked routine but somehow got by Logan Pearce for a hit.  Then a fly ball to left seemed catchable but left fielder Victor Ward backed up but realized it was in front of him for a hit.

The Knights scored one run but maybe could have gotten more but with a runner on third  one run already in a grounder to shortstop Pearce faked as if to throw to first and caught the Northern runner who took off for home but tried to get back to third where Pearce nailed him.

The top of the third the Gryphons scored  after two were out.  Josh Pittman  singled followed by a Spencer Ramsey single. The next batter Jamar Ellis laced a single to score one. Logan Pearce reached on an error to load the bases and David Harrison hit the bottom of the left center field fence driving in three runs.

The Gryphons added their fifth run in the seventh when Jamar Ellis got his second rbi of the Night driving home Josh Pittman who had gotten on with his third hit of the night.

Zack Keeter finished the night but not before Northern scored with two out.  Keeter started the inning with a ground out,struck out  the next batter but reach base on a strike out throw out but the ball was dropped at first. That run came home to score when  Conner Davenport roped a double past third base.

The Knights had five hits two off Harrison two off Zeracki and Keeter one.  Devin Davenport, Silas Gonzalez hit and rbi,josh Daniels and Conner Davenport double and rbi and Aaron Gerlach a hit.

Rocky Mount collected nine hits with Josh Pittman getting three, Jamar Ellis three hits two rbi Spencer Ramsey a single, Logan Pearce a hit and David Harrison a double and three rbi.

David Harrison gets the win going four innings 2 hits, 5 strike outs  zero walks.  Josh Daniels is the hard luck loser going the distance  giving up nine hits five strikeouts, two base on balls.  Northern's two errors make three of the Gryphons five runs unearned.

Final Rocky  Mount 5-2 over Northern Nash.

Other scores

Nash Central 12 Southern Nash 7
Hunt 10 Fike 4