Big Time Revenge

Last night Johnston County got their revenge on Post 58 for knocking JC from the ranks of the unbeatens on Tuesday night.  Johnston County beat P 58 14-2 in from of the home folks in Rocky Mount.  Like Tuesday night don't make too much out out of losing by double digits in front of the home folks.

The lost stopped a eight game winning streak. P58 is now 14-5 on the season and this was their first lost this season in Rocky Mount.  The next three playing days will tell all about this season.  Friday a single game at P13 in Wilson.  Sunday a double header in Elizabeth City and the final conference game of the season with Windsor at home.  Monday night we should have some idea who we begin the playoffs with even thought P 58 has two more home games next week.

North Carolina State has named it first Hall of Fame class of ten and it is rather obvious that basketball is king in Raleigh.  Everett Case the father of ACC basketball as we know it today heads the class along with David Thompson just maybe if their was a first team all College team he would surely be the small forward on that team.

Jim Valvano and Kay Yow basketball coaches along with Genia Beasley a player for Yow make up half the first ten.  Football is represented by Roman Gabriel who was the #1 draft pick of both the LA Rams and Oakland Raiders and even was voted MVP of the NFL in the late 60's.  Outland Trophy winner Jim Richter and Ted Brown State's all time leading rusher are in the first class.  Julie Shea who was in her day was the best long distance runner in the country and Tab Ramos a long time soccer Player make the first ten.

Big Road Win

Regular season in Legion Baseball is totally getting prepared for the playoffs.  There have been days where they played five games in four days and the test there is to see who can pitch against Legion hitters and vise versa who can hit legion pitching.

You have to remember Legion is basically the all star high school players from every area that plays legion.  It is hard sometime to wonder why would they lose to one team and turn around and beat another the next night.  The one thing I really like about baseball is the pitcher on the mound makes it  a different ga
me every night.

Last night Post 58 traveled to Selma and played Johnston County at Smithfield High School.  Going into last night JC had not lost all season.  It was predetermined that they would only play a seven inning game and of course in a non conference game why wear you pitchers out when there are more important conference games to play as July 5th approaches.

Jeremy Lucas got the start last night and Lucas went the  distance as Post 58 put four runs on the board and Lucas and his defensive teammates held JC to only one run and P58 knocks Johnston County from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 4-1 win.  Johnston County gets a chance for revenge as they play Post 58 in Rocky Mount tonight at 7PM.

P58 is riding a eight game winning streak as they are now 14-4 on the season and heading to Wilson Friday night are 9-1 in conference play. Those who are interested in seeing playoff potential caliber  baseball tonight will be a good one and of course traveling Friday night to Fleming Stadium in Wilson which is rea

lly a good place to watch baseball.

Hudgins Signs With Queens

Tia Hudgins who just in May was named the top female athlete at Rocky Mount High School signed  with Queens College in Charlotte on Monday to continue to play basketball.  She will join former Gryphon team mate Dyonna Battle.

Hudgins who played four years of varsity basketball for Pam Gainey who at only five feet seven  will probably have a new role once she hits the college hardwood.  Tia only and average outside shooter will probably have to play guard in college and while playing for the Gryphons used her jumping ability to secure rebounds and put rebounds back in the basket.

Her four years of playing Rocky Mount basketball the Gryphons won 85% of their games. She scored over 1,250 points and she is probably a better volleyball player  at 5'7" her game at the net with her jumping ability made her one of the best VB players at Rocky Mount in the last ten years but at the college level that's no where near tall enough.   If you never saw her play and only looked at her stats you would assume she is at least six feet tall  but those that did know she has the heart of a champion.

I hear that Khalil Macklin did not make the U18 USA baseball team.  You know Khalil is probably the youngest player invited to the Baseball USA Complex in Cary and he did so well he has already been invited back to try out next year.  Even then Macklin will be one of the youngest players as he is only a rising Junior at Nash Central.  Most of the team members picked graduated high school  this spring.  Getting this much attention this early by the time he graduates in two years he will have a real chance to be a top ten pick in the MLB baseball draft of 2014.  Thank Goodness he will be back in uniform soon for Coleman Pitt Post 58.

Post 58 will be in action tonight at they play Johnston County  at Smithfield Selma High School.  This game had been scheduled for the second game of the season but got shifted to tonight along the way.  P58  record has jumped to 13-4 but these next two games Wednesday  at home to Johnston County don't mean half as much as the game Friday at Wilson.  I doubt if any pitcher  pitches more than a couple of inning in each of the next two.

It's update time for Brian Goodwin as he continues to play for Hagerstown Md in A ball for the Washington Nationals.  Brian missed almost a month when he pulled a groin about a week into the season and the Nationals because they prize Brian so highly kept him on the side lines well after he was healed just to make sure he had no lingering effects from the injury.

Brian is hitting 316 in 37 games played of the 70 that Hagerstown has played.  He has hit 6 home runs and driven in 30 runs in 37 games.  Stolen 11 bases  and has ten doubles.  He is listed on the Washington Nationals website as their 7th top prospect in the minors.  Remember now he is 7th and playing A ball.  Doubt he will stay in Hagerstown much longer.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

So far this summer Post 58 is proving they are the best team in their conference  and right now with four conference games to go stand at 9-1 in conference play.  All but two they have score at least seven runs in every game.  Once they scored nine and lost by giving up ten.  That one they gave up ten was the sixth game in six days and the pitching staff was slam worn out.  Oddly enough the two they didn't score seven they won any way.

Saturday night P58 got a good home test from their arch rival Wilson in which P58 lead the entire way but the last few innings Wilson kept coming but the relief staff would not give in.  Blowing out Edenton in game one of a DH last night Edenton got the lead in the fifth inning and once again the relief staff would not give in the next five innings until finally the winning run scored in the tenth.

P58 needs some close games just to be in the atmosphere so they will be use to it come playoff time that is now just around the corner.  The quarter finals start July 12th which is slightly over two weeks away.  They still play at Johnston County Tuesday, home against Johnston County Wednesday.  Their only regular season trip to Wilson is Friday, then a DH in Elizabeth City Sunday against Albemarle.  Three straight home games end the regular season July 2 against Windsor. July 3 they play Pitt County  a team they very well might meet in the playoffs.  The final game of the regular season is July 5 against Wayne County another potential playoff foe.

You can best better believe of the games left Albemarle, Windsor and Wilson will see  P58 best pitchers while coach Hank Jones may not want to tire his staff in the non conference games this close to the playoffs plus he may not want to show his pitching hand to possible teams he may face in three weeks.

This team has added a very good bat last week when Jay Aparicio played for the first time after being injured during his high school season.  This kid can fly and his added bat only aids a team capable of scoring near ten runs a game.

North Carolina is the only Legion State in the country that still plays nine inning games so P 58 starting pitching needs to go at least six or more innings every outing and then let the Relievers shut the door.

Night Cap A Barn Burner

Post 58 has proven so far this year that they love playing in Gryphon Stadium.  They are 7-0 outscoring their foes 70-27.  That's an average win of 10-4 per game.  Road games they are now 6-4 after defeating Edenton in a doubleheader tonight 15-5 in game one..  P58 scored 4 in the sixth inning and added seven more in the seventh to secure the victory.  Game two saw P 58 jump out to a 3-1 lead but by the 7th inning Edenton held a 5-4 advantage.  Post 58 scored once and held Edenton to send the game into extra innings. Finally plating a run in the 10th Post 58 won their seventh game in a row sweeping Edenton in the night cap 6-5.  P58 has not lost since they took the week off for graduation and are 7-0 since.  It gives them a 13-4 record for the season.  

Tonight while P58 was playing game one of their doubleheader with Edenton Khalil Macklin was being interviewed on Ch 5 sports. He is one of only a few North Carolina players in Cary trying to make the U18 National team.You can go on line on WRAL.com  and see it if you missed it during the Sunday news..  Nice Job Khalil.

I think this years team is better than last year but not as good as either team that made the state tournament in the past few years.  I would also like to point out that even Rocky Mount High's State Championship Baseball team is 2008.  I thought both the 2007 and 2009 teams were better but they didn't win the championship.  Comparing one year to the next is hard because we don't know what anybody else across the state has compared to what they have been in the past.

I see in the Rocky Mount Telegram today that former North Edgecombe basketball player Montrezl Harrell was a member  the USA U18 basketball team that won the World Championships in Brazil.  NC Wesleyan Coach John Thompson was one of the coaches on that team.  There is a segment of people who say that we put too much emphasis on sports  but how many people have ever been able to go on a trip to Brazil.  Talk about learning something.  Sports can be very important education tool when used properly.

This area sure has had a run in recent years of athletes going on to bigger and better things beyond high school.  Harrell is heading to Louisville to play Big East basketball, Xavier Macklin playing pro baseball in the minors for Oakland A's. Brian Goodwin in the minors of the Washington Nationals. Andrew Morales starting for Duke soccer will be a sophomore this year.  Both Benton Moss and Hobbs Johnson playing baseball at Carolina.  Tyler Joyner making an impact at ECU on the baseball diamond. Ben Fish  at Campbell.  That is just a few on those that have reached beyond the Twin Counties.

Strangle Hold

Tonight Coleman Pitt Post 58 has put a strangle hold on first place in  the Area 1 Northern Division of  Eastern North Carolina American Legion baseball.  P 58 beat Wilson Post 13 for the second time this season  6-4.  The victory gives Coleman Pitt and 8-1 conference record while that is the fourth conference loss for P13.

There is an old saying always be ready for you never know when your chance comes up and tonight Tyler King found out after the lineup cards  had already been sent to the other dugout that he was pitching.  He hit the opening batter of the game Corey Nygard who scored before the inning was up.  Post 13 was a gracious visitor tonight as P 58 scored 4 times in the first after P13 committed 4errors.

King would get into the sixth inning before he was relieved by Cam Webb and King left the game leading 6-3.  Webb would give up a run in his 1.2 innings and Jeremy Trevathan shut the door on P 13 with the final two innngs  of scoreless baseball.

Post 13 out hit CP 58 12-6 but they also made more errors 6-1  and P58 took advantage of every extra batter.  Jay Aparicio tripled in a run for one of his two hits.  Matthew Berry's first of two hits drove home a run.  Jeremy Lucas and Tyler Wooten collect the other P 58 hits.

Post 13 had several players with at least two hits. Logan Butts was 3-5.  Then Corey Nygard had two singles, Spencer Boykin two, Charlie Vaughn two hits, and Nathan Boykin two.

Post 58 plays  two Sunday afternoon at 5PM at Edenton.They have six conference games left and three  non conference games to go in the season which ends on July 5th.  They play at Johnston County Tuesday and are home Wednesday against Johnston County.  P 58 has now won five games in a row and stand at 11-4 on the season.

Khalil Macklin missed tonight's game  as he was invited to complete for a spot on Team USA U18 team which invited 50 players from around the country to the USA Baseball complex in Cary

Dumb Luck Or What?

We might have been disappointed when we heard the news that Friday night's Legion game with Wilson had been moved to Saturday night.  Now with 20-20 hindsight with us the weather outside would have washed the game out any way.   The weather forecast is much better for Saturday night so expect to see you at the Legion game when Post 58 Host Wilson Post 13 7PM.


Everyone can get off his back now as LeBron has won his first NBA title.  You have to give him credit since about the sixth game against the Celtics he's been playing like a man in a different body.  Well now let me see.  I had predicted just before the season ended that San Antonio would win it all.  When it got down to SA and OKC I said the winner of that series would win the finals. 0-2.


I am like many other people and was not happy when LeBron left Cleveland in a circus  like he did with a live 30 minute show on ESPN.  Like all of us who grow into what we become and you can just see from this year to last how much James took it more on his shoulders to make sure they won this year.  You know we can never say the word never like LeBron will never win the title because  we change every day.  Sometimes for the worse in his case he has gotten better every year.  Anybody who averages a triple double in any series has got to be the MVP and he was.

The Charlotte ---Cats as they will be know now have a new coach and who knows whether this is good for the Cats or not.  Seems to me Michael Jordan Micro manages so much that just to make you think he is intelligent in his thinking.  I think he is just like Jerry Jones is in the NFL.  He knows just enough about how to run the team to run it in the ground.