So TV Has The Say

If you were interested in the golf this afternoon on TV you got a chance to see Professional Golf played the way it use to be before all the pros made it to the big time.  Just them an the golf course no throng of people watching.  Last night's super storm in Washington DC made a mess of the Congressional Country Club where this week's pro tour stop is played.  Several trees and limbs were down and for public safety they decided to not let any paying customers on the course only the players and a few others.

Tees times were delayed to after lunch so TV gave us only up to 6PM on CBS.  Normally when they over run their time slot Golf Channel would pick up the coverage till dark but today they had the LPGA on so TV wasn't able to have control like they want during any event.  The man upstairs was in charge today.

Anybody remember that we had a mild winter and a cool spring?  I believe all the weird weather is over and it is summer time now.  Thank goodness my air condition still works.

Sunday is July first which means we are one month from High School Football practice.

I have heard from somebody that knows somebody else and the word is Moving day for the new Rocky Mount High School is July 16th.

Post 58 won their 15th game of the season last night in the sweltering heat in Wilson 16-12 over  Post 13.  Where has all the pitching gone.  Didn't see a lot in the Big East and Legion pitching has been hard to find.  Post 58 has given up 26 runs in the last two games and yet they are 15-5 and 10-1 on the season.  The good news is they seem to be able to score every inning  some way some how.

Carolina got four players drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft while Duke had two.  I thought the ACC was down this year.

Post 58 will travel to Elizabeth City to Northeastern High School where they will play a double header with Albemarle  Sunday at 5PM.  They are home Monday for their last conference game of the season and play Windsor the only team to beat them in conference play.  Once again home Tuesday with Pitt County and Thursday against Wayne County.  Playoffs starts July 12th and Post 58 the #1 seed from the Area one Eastern Division will play the #4 from the western division whom ever that might be.

Hot,Heated And Treated

If you go to enough baseball games I don't care how many you have ever been to every now and then you come home  and say "I've never seen that at a baseball game before".  Tonight Post 58 traveled to Wilson Post 13 to meet for the final time during the regular season.  Post 58 already has clinched first after P13 split a double header earlier this week so tonight night's game has no bearing what so ever on the out come of the standings other than the fact Rocky Mount and Wilson are playing and Wilson wants to keep P58 from sweeping P13 during the regular season.

Even at 7PM the thermostat sat at 98 degrees and by the games end  it was still over 90.  I can't remember if ever I have seen a game end after dark and the temp still in the 90's.  Whether it was the heat, but tempers flared and at one point Wilson's catcher is tossed from the game.  As the game  continued the umpire behind the plate went the ground and had to have medical attention.  Don Johnson came out of the stands to umpire the bases while the umpire on the bases went behind the plate.  Can this game get any weirder or what?

Now for the game, Rocky Mount opened the first by scoring three times and P 13 got two back in the bottom of the first. P 58 got another in the second but Wilson plated four in the bottom of the second to lead 4-6.  Rocky Mount scores twice in the third to tie the game at 6 all after three.  P 13 finally kept P58 off the score board in the fourth but added three more themselves in the bottom of the fourth to lead 9-6.  Rocky Mount hits P13 with a five spot in the fifth to retake the lead 11-9.  P13 gets one more in the sixth to cut the Coleman Pitt lead to 11-10.  Wilson scores twice in the seventh to retake the lead 12-11 and then the ump went down.

Rocky Mount scores twice in the eighth and  and Jordan Taylor who is now pitching for P58 holds P 13 scoreless with the score now 13-12 Rocky Mount.  P 58 adds three more in the ninth and Taylor finishes off Wilson with the final score of 16-12.

John Spears was the umpire behind the plate   tonight and as far as we know at this hour  is waiting to be carried home to New Bern as suffering from dehydration.  We pray that everything will be fine. The game ended near 11pm and the game ending temperature was 94 degrees.  All those who stuck to the end tonight were able to go home and tell others "you will not believe the game I saw tonight".

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.