Harrison tosses complete-game shutout as Gryphons beat Wilson Hunt

Beware, Wilson County schools, when Rocky Mount High’s David Harrison is on the mound.

Harrison shut down Wilson Fike in a 1-0 Gryphons victory on April 5, holding the Golden Demons to two hits in that outing.

On Tuesday night, Harrison, a junior lefty, was up to his same tricks. The N.C. State commit breezed through a complete-game shutout, allowing two hits and walking two while striking out 10, as Rocky Mount High beat Wilson Hunt, 1-0, to move into a tie for first place in the Big East.

Logan Pearce drove home the game’s only run, flaring a two-out single to left-center on an 0-2 pitch from Hunt starter Jacob Williamson to score Isaiah Stewart in the third.

“David, I mean, what more can that kid really do?” Gryphons coach Pat Smith said. “It looked like the Fike game all over again. Had to work hard there a little bit, but he shut ’em down.”

Harrison was only in serious trouble one time on Tuesday night, through no fault of his own. Hunt shortstop Bryson Worrell, an ECU commit, led off the fourth with a sky-high fly ball to shallow center field that Gryphons (10-7, 4-3 Big East) center fielder Isaiah Stewart and left fielder Josh Pittman lost in the lights and let drop for a double that counted as one of Harrison’s two hits allowed.

Harrison, though, struck out Hunt (8-12, 3-4) cleanup hitter Greg Lamm on a 3-2 pitch and got consecutive groundouts to second base from Neal Lewis and Thomas Helms to strand Worrell at third. Hunt only had one other batter reach second base, and that was because of an error by Stewart in the second inning that allowed Helms to advance to second on a single.

“That first out, that was the big one for me,” Harrison said. “I had to put that (double) behind me, because I knew he shouldn’t have been standing there, but it was my job then to make sure he didn’t score. So to be able to get that first out and not let him advance was the big out.”

The strikeout of Lamm started a stretch of 11 consecutive batters retired by Harrison. A two-out walk of Helms in the seventh ended that stretch, but Harrison induced a ground ball to second base by Joel Taylor for the game’s final out.

“He was the same, shutdown David Harrison that I’ve known since I’ve been playing with him,” Pearce said. “He got ahead of those guys and made it look pretty simple.”

Pearce, the Gryphons’ No. 3 hitter, came through with a crucial hit that provided the lone run that Harrison would need to win on Tuesday.

Stewart led off the bottom of the third with a walk, fighting back from a 1-2 count to reach first. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on another wild pitch, as Williamson went to another 3-2 count against Pittman before getting the first out on a grounder. Will Hedgepeth struck out looking for the second out, and Pearce got in an 0-2 hole.

Williamson threw his curveball, hoping to get Pearce to go fishing, but it caught too much of the plate and Pearce looped it into left-center for an RBI.

“It was that mentality of just wanting to put it in play, and fight to stay alive,” Pearce said. “I went up there looking for that curveball and was pretty sure that was what he would throw 0-2.”

After an 0-2 start in Big East play, the Gryphons are now tied for first atop the jumbled and tightly-packed Big East standings, and a trip to Fike awaits this Friday. Nash Central beat Fike, 12-7, on Tuesday night, preventing the Golden Demons from staying in first place alone.

By Foster Lander
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, April 19, 2016