Well Worth The Trip

I had plenty of conversation after last night's NCAA game in Raleigh that I might ride to Raleigh pick up my son Brooks and see if we could buy a ticket to tonight's Pack- William and Mary game.  One of the determining factors for me  was wife Pat came home from work sick Friday afternoon and today she is in the bed with the covers over her head.  Good way for me to get out of the house. Made arrangements with Brooks that we would go Saturday morning and Saturday was a workday for so by 3pm I'm home getting ready to go.

Brooks calls and has an issue with one of his athletes racing in the Triathlon  Sunday in Raleigh and he needs to take care of that so it is down to me only.  I ask Morgan whether she wanted to go but a teenager home for the summer from college doesn't want to get caught within a 100 miles of her father on a Saturday night.Ok then I will go by myself. Phone rings and it is Brooks he's back on again .  Off to Raleigh to Pick up Brooks on the way.

We hit the parking lot about 5:50 and walk up to the ticket window and they are down to about 20 seats left in the bleacher and spaces  on the grass hill. We choose the bleacher and buy the tickets and go stand in the line waiting for the gate to open to let everyone in.  By the time we get to the end of the line the gates open and quickly we are inside the Doak.  First stop the bathroom.  I had not taken two steps out of the bathroom and I hear my name.  I look five feet in front of me is Richard Sarmiento and a conversation breaks out.  Richards has been to Mudcat Stadium and seen game two of the 4-A playoffs and now is here to see Rodon like everyone else.

Richard asked where you sitting and we tell him the bleacher and he says come on over and sit with me down the third base line in the shade.  Richard has two seats but there is now three of us and the place is sold out so don't know whether this will work or not.  Richard's seats are the last two seats near the first base dug out where we can watch Carlos Rodon pregame warmup but only this game State is the visiting team and  across the field ,oh well.

Rodon starts the game not allowing a base runner for the first four innings.  The Speed gun says he is hitting on the gun between 88-90 miles per hour.  Top of fifth he hits the lead off runner.  Top of the sixth William and Mary get their second runner of the game on base when Rodon hits another batter.  The very next batter hits a ground ball where the first baseman should be if he were not holding the base runner on and Bill and Mary have their first hit. No problem as the speed gun is now showing Rodon is hitting 92 miles per hour.  The seventh is almost a repeat of the sixth as Rodon hits his third batter of the game and the very next  bloops a single to right field.  No problem as the speed gun is now popping 94.

No one gets on base in the eighth or ninth but now Rodon is touching 95 an after every pitch everyone in the stadium looks to the out field to see how fast that one was.  The last batter in the bottom of the ninth since William and Mary is  the home team has to look at the two pitches that hit 96 on the radar gun.

State wins 1-0 and advances to the Sunday night possible Regional Championship game.  Carlos Rodan in the last weekend of the regular season gave up six runs to Duke through the first three innings.  They didn't get a hit after that as State won 7-6.  Last Saturday Rodan gave up one hit in the ten innings he pitched against Carolina and tonight gave up two hits and struck out ten  as he goes the distance for the win.  His last 25 innings he has given up 3 hits and no earned runs. It seemed as if he didn't get loose until about the fifth inning.   It is a beautiful thing to watch any athlete that has that groove and tonight Carlos Rodon was in the groove.

Tar Heels-Wolfpack Win -Legion Loses

North Carolina playing their first baseball game as the top seed in the NCAA Tournament ever wins their opening night game 6-3.  Mike Fox elected like many coaches to hold his best pitcher for the winners bracket game Saturday night  didn't quite get five innings from his second best pitcher Benton Moss but the Heels win and advance to the winners bracket in their Region and play Towson a surprise winner over Florida Atlantic at 6pm Saturday night..

Over in Raleigh State scored all they would need in the first inning scoring twice but Binghamton didn't fold under the pressure and gave the Pack a game before faltering 4-1.  Elliot Avent has his big horse Carlos Rodon set to pitch the winners bracket game and they will play William and Mary who shocked Mississippi who held their top pitcher  to play in the winners bracket game but now must pitch in the lose and go home game against Binghamton.  State and William and Mary play at 7pm

The ACC went 5-3  on the day.  Virginia Tech was one of the three losses losing at home an will play in the the losers bracket on their home field Saturday afternoon.  Georgia Tech and Clemson will be playing to extend their baseball seasons in loser bracket games .  Florida State, Miami and Virginia  also will be playing in the winners bracket games in their Regional Saturday night.  The other two North Carolina teams playing in this year's NCAA Tournament played each other and Elon Beat UNC W 10-7.  Elon draws Virginia Saturday night while UNCW plays Army in the Virginia Region losers bracket game.

I don't care what sport it is these days there are no such games that are blow outs any more.  There have been times when a #1 seed would ten run rule a #4 seed but there were very few high scoring games in the NCAA Tournament.  Carolina won 6-3 and State won 4-1 but there were moments in each where fans we uncomfortable with the tightness of the games.  Seems like everybody has at least one good starting pitching  and if that one guy is on  any body can lose.  Let's see as we get to Sunday and see if the scores don't start going up as the pitching for the weekend begins to run low.

I heard that Post 58 was scrambling to get enough players to suit up tonight as a couple of high school graduations depleted the Post 58 roster.  Post 58 lost 13-1 in Garner to lose their first game of the season.  They play again Saturday afternoon in Garner.

State-Carolina Get It Going Today

The Pack and Heels start  their quest to make it to Omaha today when the NCAA Regional baseball tournaments begin all across the country and two in the Triangle.  Carolina as the top seed in the Tournament opens at 6pm against Canisius while State begins play against Bingham at 7.  So two New York schools come south neither carrying much of a resume's to put fear in the hearts of Pack and Heel fans.

This is the first playoff game ever for Canisius who comes into this Chapel Hill tournament 41-15 and an RPI of 90.  Last week Carolina played four games in winning the ACC tournament and all for teams RPI rankings don't add up to 90.  N C State may not be happy making the top 8 in the field but they open against Bingham making their second NCAA appearance and an RPI of 171.  State has only played two teams all year that have a higher RPI than Bingham.

There is no reason to feel that these two games today should be any more than a good practice for both teams but  in sports no one makes tackles for you in football, no one puts it in the basket for you in basketball and no one can hit it for you in baseball they both have to earn their way to the winners bracket of their tournaments.

If you would like to go to either Chapel Hill or Raleigh this weekend here is how it works .  Both school have been selling an all games package all week and there is a chance of it taking seven games if the winners bracket team loses once.  If you would like to go to a single game be at the park sometime before the game you want to see and they will be selling single game tickets.  They clear the stadium out after every game including people who have tickets for all games and then let people back in.  Those that bought the entire package will be sitting between the dugouts and the single tickets are where ever you seat is at the time you bought it.

Coleman Pitt Post 58 begins a five games in five days tonight in Garner.  The fifth game is a home game Tuesday night at Legion Field.  If you have followed Legion Hank Jones will play any body the first couple of weeks not really caring about wins and losses only looking to see who he can count on once conference starts.

Hardly Ever Noticed Sportsmanship

Duke won their second Lacrosse title Monday beating Syracuse 16-10 after they were trailing in the second quarter 5-0.  By games end Duke was in control and the last couple of minutes for them were the sweetest any athlete can have.  Even while the game is in progress you know towards the end you have done what you set out to do win it all.

Duke like all teams had the national championship tee shirts and hats all printed and ready to distribute to each member when the game ended but coach John Danowski made his players remove the tee shirts and hats until after the end of the game handshake.  He didn't want to insult Syracuse to have to look at the gear while they waded through the handshake line.  Boy, when was the last time you saw sportsmanship like that.

If there was ever a coach that came to a team at the right time Danowski is it.  If you remember he became coach after the Rape scandal hit the Blue Devils.  The program for all intent and purpose was dropped like a hot cake only to find out lies had been told a coach fired who later sued Duke and won.  In walks Danowski and seven years later Duke has two national championships under their belt.

Who would have ever thought that the Triangle area would be the center of the college Lacrosse world.  UNC women won the championship giving the Triangle the top two trophies.  Two is exactly two more than what the Big Three won in basketball.

UNC and N C State begin play in their respective baseball Regional Friday night.  Carolina plays at 6pm and State will begin at 7.  By the way all eight ACC teams that played last weekend in the ACC Baseball Tournament are all seeded no lower than #2 in the regional that each is playing.  Five are hosting  UNC, Virginia, Florida State, N C State and Virginia Tech.  Clemson. Georgia Tech and Miami are traveling to other Regional sites.  If the ACC doesn't get five to the Super Regional this weekend will be a big disappointment

THE CASE: The NCAA Versus Campbell

Every year when the NCAA basketball brackets come out there is always someone who thinks that they should be part of the 68 teams that make the tournament.  Every case the NCAA can throw at you statistics and in some case facts as to why a certain team did not get in.  Monday when the NCAA baseball brackets were announced N C State had every reason to think that according to the numbers they could have been as high as a five seed because those higher in the final bracket at least four don't have the stats and facts that the Pack has this year.  The one thing the Pack has is it is in the tournament and will host a Regional this weekend.  On the other hand Campbell who had every reason to plan on practice Monday afternoon was left to pack up the equipment and call it a season.

Campbell has only been to the baseball tournament once since they have gone to division 1 baseball.  This years was the best in the history of the school when they won 49 and lost ten.  Their winning percentage is the fifth best in the country.  You have heard me within the past month preach about RPI and there's is 38 well within the top 64 in the land.  They won their division of the Big South with a 19-5 record..  The biggest objection the NCAA can have is they have a strength of schedule of 237.  No one who made the tournament that didn't automatically get in has a worse SOS.

The curious problem with not allowing Campbell in is they gave the #3 team in the Big South Coastal Carolina an invite.  They trailed CU in RPI  38 to 50  and behind them in the division of the Big South.  The only winning point for CC was their SOS was 76 to CU's 237.  I can see where Campbell was bumped but here is where I am really disappointed for Ben Fish.  The former Rocky Mount Gryphon like every one at Campbell wanted to find out what it is like playing any where country in the NCAA Tournament.

They beat ECU twice this year but as the year has unfolded that didn't help Campbell's RPI with the year ECU had.  The real kicker is that Coastal Carolina and Campbell did not meet during the regular season so there is no  face to face battle to decide who goes.  The bottom line the writing was on the wall for Campbell when they lost their tournament final to Liberty who got in.  A victory on Saturday and the Fighting Camels  would be playing this weekend.

The Northern Nash football program is sponsoring  a Bar-b-que chicken dinner at the high school on June 14th.  Plates are selling for $7 and all the profits will go to the football program at Northern.  The time is from 11am -2pm and if you company would like to order at least ten plates they will deliver.  Help support the Knights as they try to get new coach Randy Raper off and running at Northern Nash.

Carolina Top Seed In NCAA Baseball

 UNC fresh off the ACC baseball Tournament title has earned the top spot in this year NCAA Baseball Tournament.  N C State is seeded ninth which means they will join Carolina in hosting a Regional this weekend but will have to hit the road in two weeks if they survive their  Regional.  Elon and UNC Wimington are the only other two teams from North Carolina in the field.

That leaves Campbell with their greatest season ever at home after they played for their conference title on Saturday and lost to Liberty who made the tournament.  Campbell was in the winners bracket and Liberty in the double elimination tournament survived to play Campbell in a one game winner take all and Liberty won 2-1.  So Campbell lost only once in their conference tournament and that one loss knocked them out of the Tournament.

Eddie Loesner the baseball coach at Northern Nash has resigned and will not return next season as baseball coach.  Thinking out loud here but if he turns in an application I think Greg Clifton the former Northern assistant and now the head coach at Faith Christian would be a very good choice.  He has been within the program before and has in his two years at Faith raised baseball up at Faith.

I am surprised some what that there has not been an up roar from those that attended the State -Carolina game last Saturday night in Durham.  Any tournament you go too theses days will clear the stadium out between games because they sell individual tickets and there are those who buy tickets for all games.  They clear everyone out to get the single game ticket holders out so the new batch of single game ticket holders don't have to fight for their seat.

Since TV wanted to get the game started as close as possible to 7pm and the two earlier games had the 7pm game late all 11,000 fans going to the State -Carolina game had to get their tickets scanned and through the gates after everyone from the second game got out.  The normal procedure between games is 51 minutes there was not enough time to get the previous crowd out and the monster crowd in by 51 minutes.  A couple of thousand who had already been waiting outside a couple of hours to get in didn't get to see the first pitch.

There is one advantage for North Carolina teams playing close to home and of course their fans flock to see the games where hardly any other team has any.  The disadvantage is knowing that State-Carolina will draw huge crowds and Saturday's game ending at near 2am Carolina had little time to rest before Sunday's championship game at 1pm.

Legion Wins Opener

Hank Jones  has shaken the bushes all over the area and then some to find the Coleman Pitt Post 58 American Legion team for 2013.  Rocky Mount High and Rocky Mount Academy lead the way with 4 players each.  Corinth Holder High from Wendell has three players on this years squad.Two players each from Northern Nash and Faith Christian.  East Wake, Roanoke Rapids and Hobgood Academy each have one player.  Corinth Holder's players come courtesy of Raleigh Area Legion teams having full rosters and these players want to play Legion ball.

This being the first game of the season and Hank Jones wanting to look as many pitchers as possible went three innings each with three different pitchers. Jeremy Johnson got the start but he was greeted in the first inning by a two run homer by Apex's Alex Malinsky.  Johnson finished out his three innings not giving up another run and when he left it was tied 2-2.  Post 58 struck back in the bottom of the first after Jonathan Aparicio double home Linwood Jones who lead off with a hit.  Aparicio scored on an infield single by Abel Hernandez.

Sam Burman pitched innings 4-7 and Apex touched him for three runs on three hits in the fifth. Alex Malinsky rbi single and  Alex Yarem single lead to getting three runs home.   Just like the first Rocky Mount responded but got only two to trail 5-4 after five.  Nick Vester singled and a David Williams double got the first run and Williams scored on an error at third.

Innings 7-8-9 belonged to Northern's Derrick Carter at he shut the door on Apex striking out 5 and allowed only one hit and walked one batter.  Finally in the bottom of the eighth P58 scored six times  Andy Morris singled with one out, Spenser Ramsey walked, Linwood Jones hit a come backer to the pitcher who fielded the ball but while trying to throw to first dropped the ball loading the bases.  Corey Shirk slapped a single up the middle  scoring one.  Jonathan Aparicio's single plated two more runs.  Adam Bayless walked and Nick Vester single brought home two more.  A wild pitch scored run number 10.

Nick Vester who did not start got three hits and 2 rbi. Jonathan Aparicio another three hits and three rbi.  Linwood Jones had two hits along with Spenser Ramsey Corey Shirk, Abel Hernanadez legged out an infield hit but was injured at first and left the game in the first inning.   Andy Morris and David Williams had the other hits.  P58 starts 2013 off with a win 10-5 over Apex.

Derrick Carter did his job keeping Apex at the five run mark and was rewarded for his effort with the win .  P58 produced 14 hits on the night while P 58 pitching held Apex to hit hits.

Most folks have Monday Memorial day off and I would like to remind everyone that Memorial Day is the day to remember those who have fallen in battle and did not come home from defending our country.  We are able to do the things that we want to because of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Coleman Pitt Post 58 begins the Memorial Holiday with it's first win.