Gryphons Clinch Second

Rocky Mount beat arch rival Northern Nash on a cold blustery night 6-1 in the final regular season game of the year.  Over at Hunt the Warriors were beating Fike and combined with the Rocky Mount win and Fike loss the Gryphons capture second place in the Big East and in doing so get a first round home game next week.

Spencer Ramsey pitched a complete game five hitter for the Gryphons walked four and struck out 12 in securing the 2nd spot for Rocky Mount.  Ramsey served up a base hit on the first pitch of the game but before the first inning was over had picked a runner off first and second base.  In all my years of watching baseball I have never seen two picked off in one inning.

The Gryphons wasted little time getting three straight hits in the bottom of the first  but could score but once on a fielders choice by Trevor Hayworth.  Rocky Mount scored again in the third but in a quite unusual way.  The scored on a bases loaded walk after two were out and three straight men walked to give them a 2-0 lead.

Northern touched home their only time in the top of the fourth when Dylan Hodges drove in a run after there were two outs and no one on base.  Rocky Mount got two in the bottom of the fourth on another three hits in a row with Micah Varnell getting a rbi.  Rocky Mount added two more in the fifth  one scored on a Jeremy Johnson double  and another on a Knight error.

Jeremy Johnson had three hits and an rbi and Ben Yates had another three hits. Three other singles were added by Andy Morris,Micah Varnell and Josh Carter.  Northern was lead by Dylan Hodges who had two hits and the lone rbi.  Garth Daniel also had two hits and Jacob Green had a single.  Northern season ends while Rocky Mount will wait and see who they draw in the opening round of the playoffs.  Playoffs start next Thursday.

There are a lot of people who go to NASCAR races just to watch the wrecks.  In the first year of the new high school baseball stadium with a full house tonight  there were plenty of fan reactions every time a foul ball headed to the parking lot.  I think at least three cars have either broken windshields or rearranged fenders at the game tonight.

On The Line

Tonight is the final game of the regular season in Big East Baseball.  Only thing settled so far this year is who will not play next week.  The four teams that have earned playoff spots it is now down to who wins Friday and where does that stack them in the conference standings and who gets the home games and who is on the road.

The game where outright first place could take place is at Hunt.  They control their own destiny.  Win and they are the champs. Lose and no telling where they might land.   Fike could  tie with a win and Rocky Mount lost so they still have as much to play for as Hunt.  If Fike and Rocky Mount wins get out the short straws for there will be a three way tie for first.

Rocky Mount is hosting Northern who has nothing to play for other than a chance to really stick it to the Gryphons.  It is Rocky Mount's senior night so no one ever knows how emotions act  on Senior night.  A Rocky Mount win and they can still take first if all the coins come up heads for them.  A loss and for sure they hit the road next week in round one of the playoffs.

Nash Central needs to beat Southern Nash.  They also need both Fike and Rocky Mount to lose in order that they still get a shot at second place.  Any thing is possible for all four teams who will be continuing their seasons next week.

It is possible that a Hunt lost and they could fall to third in the tie breakers.  It is possible for Fike to win a tie for first in the tie breakers.  It is possible for Rocky Mount to still finish first in the tie breakers.  It is still possible for Nash Central to finish second in a tie breaker.  It is possible for Fike and Rocky Mount to still fall to the fourth seed.

One thing is for sure tonight that wins can only help and losses hurt all four playoff bound teams.  The All New Sports Show with Wes Bradshaw will be taping the RM/NN game.  If it is as good as the last one 1-0 there will be a real game for sure to see.

A Catch 22 Income Versus Inconvenience

We live in a world now where when we go get on a plane you just about have to strip down to your underwear to get on a plane.  Just to go to a high school sporting event you have to empty your pockets and go through a detector.  The Boston Marathon has shown us once again why we have to do these things.

High schools do any and every thing they can to create income in order to provide players in any sport with new uniforms where possible and equipment on a yearly basis.  This spring the athletic directors decided that a good way to bring in more income was to play both the JV and Varsity in the same location the same day.  I think if you ask any school whether their income has gone up from this they will tell you it has.  Not only the ticket sales but the hot dog stand  has had a better year than those of the past because people will stay from one game to the next.

JV Softball and baseball plays starting at 4.30 and are suppose top be finished by 6:15.  How do you stop a game in the last ending with the home team losing without a chance to get their last bat.  About 50% of the time the JV baseball doesn't make the 6:15 dead line.  A week ago  the Rocky Mount at Nash central varsity baseball game didn't start until 7:35.

Once the JV game is complete the field is raked and the batters box repainted.  If you are really good at it you might get that done in 40 minutes.  Then both teams get infield practice and if it is done properly each team gets 10 minutes for that practice.  The meeting at home plate and then the lineups and National Anthem.  Not many games this year have started by 7pm.

A normal high school baseball game takes about and hour and forty five minutes.  You get a game when the pitchers walk eight or nine and it  take two and a half hours to complete.  When that happens you are pushing 10pm on a school night  and one team has to drive home.  it is really good that 22 miles is the longest conference road trip for any team in the Big East.

I think next year we need to start the JV games at 4pm.  One reason when they moved them to 4:30 so kids would not need to get out of school before the end of the day in order to get to the game.  Every consequence in life  in order to fix one problem  in many cases creates another.  We need to be able to honestly answer this question.  Where do we hold back our children's education?  Letting them get out of class early to go to a 4:30 game or making them wait until 10pm to go home and go to bed  in order to go back to school the next day.  Neither answer is perfect?  Which would you choose?

Clear As Mud

Here is what we know to be true from Big East baseball action on Tuesday.  Jacob Williams pitched a complete game for Hunt and they beat Nash Central 3-1.  Jeremy Johnson pitched a complete game for Rocky Mount and they beat Southern Nash 4-0.  Fike beat Northern Nash 5-0 and anytime you can't score it is hard to win.

Here are the facts from the results of Tuesday night.  Northern Nash is out of the playoffs. Hunt, Fike, Rocky Mount and Nash Central will be in the playoffs next week.  Right now we just don't know what seed each will be.

If Hunt wins Friday over Fike they are the conference champs. Rocky Mount can get second with a win Friday and a Hunt win.  Fike can tie for first if they beat Hunt and Northern Beats Rocky Mount.  There will be a three way tie for first if Fike wins and Rocky Mount wins.  They would tie Hunt who would have lost to Fike.  There will be a three way tie for second if Fike loses, Rocky Mount loses and Nash Central wins.

Gryphons fans I think should hope for Hunt to win the title and then they beat Northern on Friday night.  That would give Rocky Mount second and a home game in the first round of the playoffs.  Any kind of three way tie for first and there is always a chance to lose in the draw or ever how a three way is decided  and get knocked down to third and a road game in the playoffs. If it should wind up a three way tie for second then who knows how that scramble works out for second and the home game in the playoffs.

Everybody tonight took the Tuesday game as a game they all had to have. There was no hoping we win tonight and lets pitch our best Friday.  Everyone played tonight as a must win night. Jacob Williams tossed for Hunt, Tyler King for Nash Central, Jeremy Johnson for Rocky Mount and Derrick Carter for Northern.  Friday will be put in the hands of the second best pitcher on each team and that to me favors Rocky Mount against Northern Nash on Senior night.  Nash Central should be ok against Southern Nash  and I suspect Hunt has the edge with Fike for Friday.

All we know for sure right now is without knowing who wins on Friday we don't know where anybody sits as far as seeding for next week which makes it as clear as mud.

Weather Could Be A Factor

Big East baseball heads down to the wire and the weather forecast for the first few days this week could have showers in and out and all about. Most of the area has received at least an inch of rain  since Sunday night and regardless of how much falls Tuesday not much has had a chance to disappear before Tuesday.

Looking at the state playoffs next week the playoffs don't start until next Thursday which puts any teams making it to the fourth round probable  of having to play four games to win the East Regional.  I don't understand why the state continues to not play two games the first week.  If however weather prevents the completion of this weeks conference games Monday could be available.  The problem there is who do you pitch Monday knowing you might start the playoffs Thursday.  Especially if home home field is still up for grabs.

If games are played tonight Rocky Mount travels to Southern Nash.  If you recall last year Southern beat Rocky Mount when all the Gryphons had to do was win one of their final two for a playoff spot which they did not do it.  They are faced with the same scenario but two wins they just might finish in first with help.  You know Southern really would love to ruin Rocky Mount's season again if Rocky Mount should lose to Southern and Northern beats Fike then Northern is still alive for a playoff spot should they beat Rocky Mount.

Northern Nash travels to Fike and a Fike victory and Northern's playoff dreams already on life support will be dashed regardless of what anybody else does. Fike like Rocky Mount can't afford to let Northern ruin their season.  Should Fike beat Northern they could beat Hunt Friday and tie or win first depending on what else happens  this week.

The game of Tuesday will happen at Nash Central.  The Bulldogs with a victory will have a clear shot with Southern on Friday to be in the drivers seat. A lost would just about relegate the Bulldogs to a road game in the first round of the playoffs.  Hunt with  two victories this week against  Nash Central and Fike and they are conference champs and home the first round. A loss in either game and they may be on the road next week in the first round of the playoffs.

Remember the top two get home games in the first round while three and four seed will be on the road.  Remember this also, should Big East two seed and three seed win their first round games then they meet in round two.

The Man On The Mound

Those that had tickets this weekend have had the pleasure to watch baseball on the college level between two of the top teams in the country.  One of the the really big differences that I like about baseball over all other sports is every game is completely different just because of who is on the mound.

Football the same quarterback unless injury plays every game.  It comes down to who makes the plays.  Basketball you always play the same players  and it  comes down to who puts the ball in the hole the most.  Baseball can be completely different every game just because of who is pitching.

Friday Carolina put Kent Immanuel on the mound and the left hander kept N C State at bay.  24 hours later home grown Benton Moss couldn't match  Immanuel's dominance.  The other starter kept throwing pitches that Carolina couldn't touch.  Carlos Rodon not only is huge standing on the mound but when he lets it go it sometimes hits the plate in the upper 90's.  Even after throwing 125 pitches he was bringing it up to the plate in the mid 90's. If you are a left handed batter Rodon has a curve that starts out behind your back and finishes up in the third base dugout.

You are scared he's going to throw that fastball past you and he tosses that slider at you instead. Carolina finally got Rodon out of the game and hit a home run off the next State pitcher. Football those quarterbacks get the big money and in baseball pitchers who only work every four or five days get a gracious plenty.

Sunday night's rain out was a disappointment because of the hype this game carried.  Who it will hurt most no one will ever know because the team that a rain out hurts the most is the team that would have won the game.  It is a blessing for the loser. Since we will never see a winner will will have to hope them wind up in different brackets in the ACC Tournament and play each other for the championship.

If you are a long time reader of this blog you would know from the past that my favorite Gryphon baseball player from the past is Dillon Cockrell.  Dillon still plays on the Carolina club baseball team and I am proud to report in two weeks he will graduate from Carolina.  He majored in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry.  He will graduate on time which I know makes his parents happy.

The Rivalry Is Back

The last two nights the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University  have played baseball in front of the third largest crowd and the largest ever to watch a baseball game in Raleigh. The game Friday night was the second until last night when the crowd beat Friday.

North Carolina with a coach who has a background in Rocky Mount and State a coach from Nash County. Mike Fox won a national title for NCW while here in Rocky Mount has had Carolina on the cusp of winning the national title in Chapel Hill.  I see no reason why right now Carolina can't win it this year.  Elliot Avent (Northern Nash) has had a solid program in Raleigh but since Debbie Yow has been the Athletic Director baseball has stepped up the pace.

Tonight at 7pm the rubber game in the match between two bitter rivals will turn to Rocky Mount once again. Carolina a 7-1 winner Friday.  State a 7-3 winner last night so who wins the series will fall for Carolina in the hands of junior left hander Hobbs Johnson.  Three years removed from Rocky Mount High. Even though record crowds have been at the Doak more have been watching on ESPN3.  Tonight's game will be on ESPNU.

Saturday night's match up between maybe the best pitcher in college baseball Carlos Rodon and one of Carolina's top Rocky Mount's Benton Moss came down to a simple fact of umpiring behind the plate.  I found myself in a pickle rooting for Benton to pitch well and for the Wolfpack to win.  My hope was that after seven innings the score would be 0-0 and Carolina change pitchers and State win by games end.

Both Rodon and Moss have curve balls that break five feet and the umpire behind the plate sets up between the batter and inside the catcher.  He never called one pitch all night from the middle of the plate to outside corner a strike.  The reason he never called it from where he sets up he can't see the outside part of the plate.  The next time you notice on any level and umpire that works behind the plate like that they never call and outside corner pitch because they can't see it.

Moss wasn't hit that hard all night but the ump made him keep throwing more pitches.  Rodon got the same treatment more pitches when batters were taking pitches over the outer corners of the plate.  Benton loses his first game of the year and falls to 7-1.  So far in his less than two year career at Carolina  he is 13-3.  There is no doubt that Carlos Rodon if he stays healthy through the end of next season will be the #1 draft pick in 2014.

Tonight I am faced with another dilemma.  I want the Wolfpack to win but I want Hobbs to pitch well for Carolina.  Once again I will hope for a 0-0 game through seven and a pitching change for Carolina will lead to a Wolfpack Victory.

If tonight's game is as good as the first two we got another dandy coming.