Big Fourth Equals Gryphon Win

The Rocky Mount Gryphons hosted the Vikings of Tarboro High School this afternoon and the Gryphons pushed across seven runs in the fourth inning and that was enough to get their third win of the season as they beat the Vikings 10-5.

Will Edwards got the start for the Grypons and he had a 1-2-3 first inning.  The second produced four walks and a single and Tarboro took the lead in the second inning 2-0.  Kent Cox replaced Edwards with two outs in the second with Spenser Ramsey and Ramsey held the Viking in check  through six innings.

Tarboro starter Timmy Walker went into the fourth inning having yielded only a single and one walk but by the end of the third seemed to be tiring.  The first batter in the fourth Spenser Ramsey walked and Tarboro's head coach Justin Smith replaced Walker with Tyler Wooten and six of the next seven Gryphons got hits leading the way for a seven run 4th inning.

The Gryphons had played error free ball through five innings but the sixth and seventh they committed three errors and had several other chances to make outs but didn't make the needed plays.  Tarboro plated two in the sixth and one in the seventh after Sam Lilley came on to replace Ramsey in the seventh.

It is only the third win on the season for the Gryphons who now stand at 3-6 and 0-1 in Big East play.  Tarboro drops to 4-3. .Ramsey picks up the win while Tyler Wooten absorbs the lost for the Vikings.

The Gryphons had their best hitting day of the season getting 12 hits and 11 came after third inning.  Logan Smith  led the way getting two hits and two rbi.  Jeremy Johnson, Collins Watson and Micah Varnell all had two hits and rbi.  Andy Morris, Sam Lilley, Ben Winstead  and Ben Yates had singles for the Gryphons.Chase Johnson, Keith Williams,Trey Radford and Drury Armstrong collected the four Viking hits.

Tonight I will be doing the Faith Christian-Rocky Mount Academy game for the All New Sports Show which will air March 25th.

Gryphons Lose Conference Opener

Nash Central's Tyler King gave up two singles in the first inning the second a rbi single by Andy Morris but he would not give up another hit until the sixth inning.  Hit number 3 would wind up being run #2 for the Gryphons as they tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Collin Watson.

Jeremy Johnson matched pitch for pitch with King until the Bulldogs plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Khalil Macklin started the fourth with an infield single,stole second and scored on a double by Jordan Taylor which was the first ball the Bulldogs had hit out of the infield.  Taylor would later score on a passed ball to give the Bulldogs the 2-1 lead.

Johnson got two outs quickly in the bottom of the sixth but walked and hit a batter which brought out Coach Kent Cox who bought in Will Edwards  to get the last out in the sixth.  Jalen Hendrick greeted Edwards with an rbi single and Kyle Taylor added another rbi plus a wild pitch plated a third run.

King goes the distanced for the Bulldogs giving up three hits and striking out 9 Gryphons.  Jalen Hendricks was the only player on either side to get two hits as Nash Central takes down the Gryphons 5-2.  Jeremy Johnson went 5 and 2/3 innings for the Gryphons allowing only two hits and striking out eight. The game was delayed in the bottom of the third for 55 minutes as lightening was in the area as it was 82 degrees at game time and this  is the last few days of winter.

North Carolina and Duke limp into the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with how far they will go totally depends on John Henson and Ryan Kelly's condition at game time.  It is one and done time and if either are held out hoping that Sunday they will be better is a gamble to take.  N c State makes it's first appearance in the NCAA in six years and they have to hope that just being there is not enough.

Alexis Hill District Player Of the Year

 The North Carolina High School Coaches Association have announced their All District Teams for girls and Alexis Hill of Northern Nash has been named the 3rd District Player of the Year.  The first team is all Rocky Mount and  Northern as she is joined by team mate Jasmine Griffin and three players from Rocky Mount.  J'Kyra Brown, Tia Hudgins and Alexus Cooper.  Northern Nash Head basketball coach Grover Battle has been named the district coach of the year.

Making up the second team all district is Nyasha Savage of Tarboro, Quanisha Battle from Hunt, Kharlil  Perry  Tarboro, Krystle Jenkins SouthWest Edgecombe and Jasmine Downy of North Edgecombe.  Chelsea  King is the only member on the third team and she played for North edgecombe.

The last month we have been preoccupied with basketball but here we are and conference baseball begins today.  You know once again this year Nash County is out of school the week before Easter and Wilson County the week after so in order to get conference in they have to play now.

Northern Nash travels to Hunt.  Rocky Mount visits Nash Central and Fike will be at Southern Nash.  If you go by the first couple of weeks no one seems to be a power house.  Rocky Mount just might be starting their youngest team ever in the last year of Gryphon Stadium.  This time Friday we get get a good look at who has what because you know everyone is pitching the best they have today.

I hope you had a chance to watch Sunday night on the All New Sports Show as the Rocky Mount State Champions were on live.  Every time  you have a live show it helps that the coach has plenty to say and Mike Gainey had no problem talking about his Gryphons.  This Sunday Edward G reen and Wes Bradshaw will be doing their live baseball show.  The following Sunday we will have our first baseball game of the spring as I will be at RMA Saturday  night when Faith meets RMA at 7pm.

I got a busy day Saturday as I will also be doing the Gryphon baseball game at 1pm Saturday on the PA.

Hilliard Named All District

The North Carolina High School basketball Coaches Association has named their All District Teams and Rocky Mount Gryphon Senoir Terrill Hilliard was Name District 3 Player of the year. Hilliard who just Saturday night won the Player of the game award for the winning Gryphons in the 3-A State Championship victory over Hickory.  Last week he was also named to the N C Preps All State team and he was voted the Player of the year in Big East Basketball.

Joining Hilliard as a member of the District 3 first team are:  Elon Edwards of Greenville Rose.  Josh Sessoms of Southern Nash.  C J Burney of South Central, and John Cox of D H Conley.

The second team is made up Gryphon Levon Brutus along with Lee Atkinson  of Eastern Wayne, Xavier Mills of South Central.  Two other Big East players are also on the second team as Jalen Hendricks of Nash Central and Parker Lamn of Wilson Hunt are on the squad.

The third teamers are Tevin Taylor of Rocky Mount and also on the third team are Marcus Hicks of Southern Nash, Nate Pittman of Nash Central and the last member of the 3rd team all District is Damarian Henderson of Goldsboro

The Rocky Mount Gryphons coach Mike Gainey as been named by his peers as the District 3 Coach of the Year.

Saturday three Senior Gryphon  players will be taking part in the North Carolina-South Carolina all star basketball game in Myrtle Beach.  Terrill Hilliard will play in the boys game and sitting on the bench as an assistant coach will be Mike Gainey.  Tia Hudgins and Alexus Cooper  will play in the girls game.

Bracketology A Bunch of Whooey

It has been going on for more than a month now, last four in -first four out.  N C State has lived on the bubble, a bubble created by a TV network that is doing all it can to keep you glued to the TV just to see where you stand.  Are we in or out.  The news has not been good for the Wolfpack as they have been in the first four out more than they wish.

Even Sunday morning they were being shown as first one out.  Yet when the NCAA Selection Show comes up they are picked as an 11 seed no where near the last team in.  They didn't have to go play today like all Wolfpack fans were lead to believe would happen if they got in.

ESPN has taken complete control of college sports.  They now have every college conference in American wanting to have 25 teams just so ESPN will pay them more money to get all their games on TV.  Basketball in order to get you to watch Sports Center they bring on experts who tell you, you are not going to make it in the basketball tournament.

I don't understand how Oregon gets credit for a good win beating Stanford and in the bad lost category Stanford is listed too.  State had Stanford listed as a bad lost.  They are either a bad lost or a good win they can't be both.  I understand why you need to beat good teams and get quality wins but in State case they played five games against the top six teams in the country and were 0-5.  The only thing that losing those games proves is they are not a top ten team.

It should only matter where a team stands at the time you play them how you are rated by whether you win or lose against any team.  Let's just say for entertainment purposes here than Carolina beat State twice during the regular season and the next Game Tyler Zeller is lost for the season with an injury and they don't win another game  and fall from #4 in the country to 84th.  State rating shouldn't fall because all that went wrong with Carolina occurred after they played State.

All of this said State is in for the first time and don't have a bargain in the first game as they play San Diego State a rather small quick team.  They play on TRU-TV Friday afternoon at 12.30.  Carolina plays Friday at 4pm  on WTBS and hopefully they have Henson back, let's face it without Henson they don't make the Final Four.  They won't know who they play until Tuesday night.  I doubt whether they need to know who they are playing Friday anyway.  Duke plays Friday night at 7.15 against Lehigh.

March madness is almost here get your brackets turned in and by the weekend your interest in who is going to win your pool will flounder as most of your final four will be out.   GOOD LUCK