Got Their Monies Worth

Tonight Southern Nash paid a visit to Rocky Mount sporting and 0-3 record and would face a 1-2 Gryphon team.  Both playing their third conference game of the week and since each has one really good pitcher and they have already pitched this week we might be in for a 16-15 type game but what we got was much more than anyone expected.

First of all let me tell you about the starting pitcher for Southern.  Leroy Edwards while warming up I thought he was a left handed but noticed he threw the ball right handed.  Leroy has a handicap  of only having a partial left hand.  He holds his glove with his left hand throws the ball right handed and quickly switches his glove to the right hand and if he catches a ball on a play then must switch back to his other hand to throw to ball.  He does it so smoothly I doubt many people even noticed. Later when taken out of the game played a splendid first base.  It is a pleasure to see a player who has a handicap play with great heart and passion.

The Gryphons started Liki Whitaker who last season was the number two pitcher on JVs and has tossed very little so far this season.  His teammates did him no favors in the first creating three errors while Southern could get only one hit and one run.  Rocky Mount got three runs on three hits and Southern contributed an error to give  Rocky Mount a 3-1 first inning lead.

Firebird Kendall Parker's double in the third tie the game at three.  The top of the fifth Southern took a five three lead when Kent Cox brought in Short stop Forest Bell and Bell proceeded to give up only three hits and strike out 12 over the next eight innings.  The Gryphons tied the game in the bottom of the sixth at five and had chances to take the lead.  Todd Brewer countered with two outs in the sixth with his ace Lucas Overman who pitched the rest of the way for Southern.  The rest of the way would
be with two outs in the bottom of the 12th.

There was a point when complete control was lost by the umpiring crew.  Rocky Mount had a runner on first with one out and Josh Carter batting and everyone hollering foul ball when Gryphon base runner Battle Shannon was called out stealing.  Southern ran off the field thinking three outs and Kent Cox arguing about a foul ball.  The umpires had no idea how many outs there were  and had to consult a score book to see that the third batter of the inning was at bat.

Rocky Mount started the bottom of the 12th with two easy outs but Blake Helms managed a walk after he had two strikes and the final batter of the game Channing a Green stepped to the plate and the left handed batter lashed a double deep in the left field corner and there was never any doubt that Blake Helms rounding second was heading home with the winning run.  6-5 Rocky Mount with two outs in the bottom of the 12th.

Rocky Mount jumps to 2-2 and Southern drops to 0-4.  There is nobody in this league that will want to play the much improved Firebirds and Rocky Mount found out they have more pitching than they thought.

Baseball Not Acting Like Football And Basketball

Football season and basketball season in the Big East was every week there was a new leader and some weeks every body was either leading or tied for last.  Baseball with all the calamity of the weather that has occurred so far this spring is not sending the same signals as the others sports have.






Nash Central finds themselves 2-0 and in first place.  The way their first week has played out they have used the same pitcher winning against Rocky Mount and Northern Nash but what have they got when they have to play three in a week and that is coming?






Hunt after dropping their opener to Northern Nash has responded with two shut out wins over Southern Nash and Rocky Mount and stand at 2-1 in the league.




Fike is 2-1 with wins over Southern Nash and Northern Nash and a home loss to Rocky Mount.






Northern Nash whitewashed Hunt and beat Southern but fell to Nash Central and Fike  to stand at 2-2 in the standings. Northern's three straight games this week are concerning to Northern coach Leonard Allen as his team has looked tired all week.









Rocky Mount finally crossed home plate in a conference game against Fike  but were shutout twice  to Hunt and Nash Central stand at 1-2.






Southern Nash is 0-3 losing to Fike , Northern and Hunt.




So far this season there is no bottom of the standings is as good as the top.  I think what we are seeing is all this weather this spring has teams playing games instead of practicing and practice is where you get into playing shape.  Next week is Easter break and by the time everyone  returns to conference play on April 14 we hope the weather is more in the 60's every day and teams will have had time to practice.  The final six conference games will go by quickly as the regular season ends May 1.

Score And Win

One night after being shutout for the second night in a row the Rocky Mount Gryphons plate five runs in the fifth inning and sting Fike 8-4 to win their first conference game of the year.  The Gryphons got but a single hit in the fifth but once taking the lead added two more by games in.

Fike had taken a 4-1 lead into the top of the fifth when the bottom fell out for them as far as they were concerned.  Blake Helms went the distance scattering 10 hits  while the Gryphons could get only three.  The Gryphons got a much needed win getting out of an 0-2 record and now Fike drops to 1-1 in  the Big East.  Next game for the Gryphons is Thursday night as they host Southern Nash at 7pm.

Received a news flash from Pembroke tonight while stealing second base in a game Collins Cuthrell pulled a hamstring muscle and depending on the severity of the injury his quest to lead the DII baseball in home runs is in jeopardy. We will keep you updated.

Brian Goodwin will begin the 2015 baseball season in Syracuse the same place he ended last season on the injured list.  Because of his injuries he has fallen to the 14th prospect on the Nationals prospects list.  The National's roster is loaded with talent and don't be surprised to see Brian be trade bait sometime during the season.

Hobbs Johnson looks as if he will start in the upper A level Manatees  in Florida again this year.  If he pitches early as well as he pitched toward the end of the season last year he will move to double A soon?

Carlos Rodon the NC State pitching star will start his first full year in AAA Charlotte.  The White Sox decision was send  him to AAA to develop all of his pitches and be a starting pitcher.  There were thoughts leaving him on the big club being a relief pitcher but Rodon''s long range  plans is for him to be  a starter.

No Run Gryphons Shutout Again

The opening two conference games of the year for the Rocky Mount Gryphons have been at home.  Last week they lost 2-0 to Nash Central and tonight a 0-0 game in the fifth inning turns into a six nothing Hunt win.

Sophomore David Harrison got the Gryphon start and through four innings you can't blame the pitching for the Gryphons two losses.  Four innings tonight and seven against Nash central  eleven innings in conference play and the Gryphons had given up just two runs and one of those was unearned.

The Hunt fifth started with two easy  outs and the dreaded base on balls put a runner on first. The Warriors pitcher Jacob Williamson hits a ball in the gap between Center and left field which Gryphon centerfielder Channing Green cuts it off from going all the way to the wall.  He then throws to his cutoff man shortstop Forest Bell who throws a strike to home where the ball is waiting on the runner who was rounding third and heading home. The play at the plate the ball is dropped by the catcher and Hunt has their first run with Williamson advancing to third on the throw home.  The next batter a slow grounder is hit at shortstop Forest Bell and his throw to first is a one hopper which got by first baseman Wesley Drake and the second Hunt run scored.

The only real threat all night for the Gryphons happened in the sixth after one out Forest Bell and Tyler Brown got back to back singles but Williamson struck out a batter and a lazy fly ball to center to end the inning.  Hunt added four runs in the seventh on four base on balls  and a single and double and Williamson completed the 6-0 shutout with a three up and three down in the seventh.

Hunt could only collect five hits but they were timely to go along with miscues by Rocky Mount.  Rocky Mount also had five hits but none got a runners past second base.  Hunt is now 1-1 while Rocky Mount drops to 0-2 in conference play.  Since this was last Friday nights rainout makeup the Gryphons get on the bus and travel to Fike Tuesday and host Southern Nash Thursday this week in conference play.

So far this year in two conference games the pitching has been better than expect from Blake Helms and David Harrison.  The hitting and run scoring  when you have not scored in two games is awful.  If you can't score runs then the defense has to be perfect and every little mistake by the defense is compounded when a run scores just one run and you are in trouble.

Tarleton State where former Gryphon TaShaun Mabry was playing basketball made it all the way to the semi finals of DII basketball where they lost last Thursday to Indiana of Pennsylvania 72-68.  Indiana lost the championship game Saturday.  Tarleton was 31-4 on the season and it was only the second time in school history to make it to the final four of DII.  Mabry on the season averaged 12.4 points per game.

K Ties Final Four Record

Thirty six years of coaching  Coach K has taken a Duke team to the Final Four eleven times.  This Saturday it will be twelve.  Fourteen times K has taken a Duke team to the Regional finals and after Sunday's win over Gonzaga he has won twelve times.  Now this is teams playing for the right to go to final four not opening round wins.

If there is one thing they proved this weekend they showed they can win when teams wrap up Okafor. Okafor has proven that he likes it when his teammates help him out because the teams are occupied with the Duke big man it is up to the outside guys to step up and Duke has four outside guys as good as anybody left  in the tournament. Okafor did not sulk not being the star of the show.

Duke had too many athletes for both the taller Utah and Gonzaga.  Neither team could guard the Duke shooters outside and when they drove to the basket couldn't keep in front of the Duke man driving.  Against Michigan State there will be no European front like and this will be a game of two closely matched teams. 

If Duke advances and plays Wisconsin they two have the European style big men who shoot threes but will have a hard time with Duke's quickness.  If Duke advances and plays Kentucky the key to who wins that one will be Okafor staying on the court and not in foul trouble.  Yes, Kentucky has big men and are lot more athletic than Wisconsin but Notre dame showed their ACC partner make  threes and share the ball late Duke just might win it all again.

Has Montrezl Harrell played his last college basketball game for Louisvile?  The Cardinals being knocked out of the NCAA final four by Michigan State 76-70 in overtime.  Harrell had a really great first half but  wasn't very effective in the second half.  Louisville is one of the worse outside shooting teams that made the tournament and outside shooting was their second half down fall.

Having been recognized during Louisville's senior night as Coach Pitino expects him to go pro now as a junior.  I think his pro career would be greatly  increased  if he came back and got stronger.  He needs to improve outside shooting and free throws.  Don't care what pro sport it is they all draft on potential and Montrezl's apex is unlimited. He has a chance to be a great pro and he will be in the top five picks and that is lottery winning kind of money and I think I would turn pro too!  But in the NBA every big man is six feet ten or more and weights 300 pounds.  Montrezl will not be able to rely on dunks in the NBA.  He will need at least a 15 foot shot to open up the middle.

Our weekly Collins Cuthrell update and do we have information for you this week.  Cuthrell hit a homer on Saturday which was his 17th and it broke the UNC Pembroke season record.  Sunday he hit another to go to 18 on the year.  The NCAA stats are not updated until Monday so it is no way at this point to know if he is first or second in the nation in D II home runs.

Benton Moss started out the season winning his first two games for UNC  and then missed three weeks with a sprained elbow.  His last two starts both have come in conference play and Sunday Mossed pitched Carolina to their only win of the weekend over Miami 10-3. Moss for the year is now 4-0 and has won 23 in his career at Carolina.

Gryphon baseball will try once again to play baseball Monday night.  Hunt will be in the house at 7pm for a conference game.  Both teams lost their openers last week and the loser will be in dire straits with two more conference games rest of the week.  Rocky Mount plays Tuesday at Fike and have Southern Nash home Friday.

Almost For Irish

Question of whether Kentucky would go undefeated in the ACC got answered Saturday night even though they won a great Elite Eight game with Notre Dame the answer is no.  Those of you Roy Williams haters the two big questions for Mike Brey is why did he not double team the Kentucky big man all night.  Why did they decide during the last minute keep the ball in Grant's hand to make one on one moves three straight trips including the desperation heave at the buzzer when all night long they had scored sharing the ball?

Notre Dame was even in rebounding something no one expected.  Every close game there is what ifs every where and the last three trips to the foul line the Irish made only one out of two every time after they had made 9/11 at one time.

Duke has no easy assignment against Gonzaga but They beat the Irish twice by four at Notre Dame and 30 in Durham.  The Irish clipped the Dookies in the ACC Tournament.  So the question must be if Notre Dame takes Kentucky to the wire why can't Duke beat them if they make it that far?  Any tournament teams luck out when somebody else whips the team capable of beating you.

In order for Duke to make it to the final game they have to beat Gonzaga, either Michigan State or Louisville.  Kentucky will have to make it past Wisconsin who if Notre Dame can take Kentucky to the Wire why can't Wisconsin?

You know every great team can have a burst at some  point in every game where they play out of this world.  Friday night Duke had one of those runs that gave them a 14 point lead but with six minutes to go they looked tire and Utah made a come back and that worries me for the Devils.

I think at the start of the tournament I picked Louisville to go out first but they are a good match for Michigan State.  Should Duke and Louisville win that would guarantee the ACC a team in the final game.  Regardless of what happens Sunday the ACC has had a super tournament.  They are 13-3 with two games Sunday

Duke Survives

If you saw the first game when NC State beat Louisville in Louisville the script of the game last night was going just about the same as five weeks ago until Blackshear got his fourth foul.  The team that Louisville finished the game with from that point was a better team that what the WolfPack could do.

Louisville drove almost at will because they were not making anything from outside.  State had just like Carolina that late in the game they had a minute when they to didn't have good shots in fact they had two possible slam dunks mishandled in the lane.  Game becomes catch up late and in order to catch up you need to score every time down and get stops and the Pack consistently got neither down the stretch.

Carolina fans upset with Roy Williams have to remember despite how well he played down the stretch Marcus Paige was hurt the entire year.  Most of this season Carolina didn't look very good and yet they made the Sweet 16.  State was up and down all year and yet they to made Sweet 16.  If everyone that could come back for both next year do come back both could be preseason top 10 next season.

I wish Duke had one more guy inside and they would be in right to the end in this national title race.  I just don't see Duke being as good as Zona or Kentucky.  I think they are just as good as Wisconsin because as good as their big men are outside they are slow defending a quick player driving from outside toward basket.  Duke has plenty of outside shooters who can drive.  Duke Gonzaga will be a great game but I think the Devils will win because they have better athletes just like against Utah.

The ACC has three teams in final eight.  Louisville might have caught a bracket where they may be able to sneak in the final four.  Notre Dame needs to make all their threes and only say nice things about Kentucky.  Duke will have a toughie with the Zags.

A couple of items that I have a hard time explaining .  Why when a game starts at 7:15 and another at 7:37 do both games have time outs at the same time?  I am not really sure referees even called the Duke /Utah game.  I don't understand if you are going to let it be a physical game  and let them play, why would you call fouls whe a player has all ball?  I don't understand this new college game where the team with the lead fouls and the game is extended when the team trailing gets points without the clock running.