Rocky Mount High knocked out of baseball playoffs by Erwin Triton

There was no way around it, Rocky Mount High coach Pat Smith said: When you don’t have the horses, you just don’t have ‘em.

The eighth-seeded Gryphons had the horses to advance out of the first round of the 3-A baseball playoffs, but with ace left-hander David Harrison not on the mound for Saturday’s second-round game, Smith knew his team could be in for a long night.

Erwin Triton, the No. 24 seed in the 3-A East, jumped on Rocky Mount High right-hander Zach Keeter for four runs in the first inning and three more in the second and out-hit the Gryphons, 14-3, en route to a 10-0 mercy-rule victory in five innings on Saturday afternoon.

“We’ve got a long, long way to go, to be able to compete with a team like that,” Smith said. “I mean, to me, that’s embarrassing. That’s not Rocky Mount High baseball. That’s why this summer, we’ve got to get a lot better.”

Triton took a 2-0 lead after just four batters on Aaron Hedgepeth’s 2-RBI double. Tanner McLeod made it 3-0 moments later on an RBI double to right-center, and Triton took a 4-0 lead on a two-out error by Rocky Mount High third baseman Forrest Bell on a hard ground ball that took a nasty hop on the infield dirt.

Rocky Mount High, however, had a chance to breathe life back into the game in the bottom half of the first. Josh Pittman, Bell, and David Harrison all drew walks to load the bases with one out for first baseman Jake Philbeck.

Philbeck hit a sharp ground ball up the middle but only a few steps to the right of Triton second baseman Bryce Starling, who fielded cleanly and flipped to shortstop Tyler Vaughn, who completed an easy 4-6-3 double play to help Tanner McLeod escape the inning unscathed.

“That’s been the case all year, where we ain’t got the big hit when we have a big chance to do so,” Smith said. “Jake hit that ball hard, but it was right at someone, and plus he doesn’t run too well. We could’ve gotten right back in it there with one hit.”

McLeod, a Campbell commit who sat in the mid-to-high-80s most of the day, held Rocky Mount High to just one (infield) hit through four innings.

Rocky Mount High had a chance to avoid the mercy rule and prolong Saturday’s game. The Gryphons had the bases loaded with two outs after two singles by Logan Pearce and Harrison, and Philbeck reached on an error by Starling, but Keeter grounded out to Vaughn to end the game and Rocky Mount High’s season.

As if Triton’s four first-inning runs were not enough, the Hawks came right back in the top of the second and went to work with the bats again. Adam Capps, Vaughn, and Hedgepeth notched three consecutive doubles off Keeter, and McLeod’s RBI single with two outs made it 7-0 in Triton’s favor.

“Look, that Triton team is big, strong, physical, and they can swing it,” Smith said. “That’s the best group they have had there in a long time, and it’s a team that could make the Eastern Final or go even further.”

Triton added two more in the third and one run in the fourth. The Hawks were only held scoreless in the fifth and final inning.

Keeter worked three innings for Rocky Mount High, giving up 11 hits and nine runs. He walked one and struck out none. Will Hedgepeth pitched the final two frames for the Gryphons and allowed one run on three hits.

“We don’t have but three boys who can pitch and have been pitching for a long time,” Smith said. “If David (Harrison) is out there tonight, maybe he holds them to one or two or three runs and gives us a chance, but that’s no excuse.”

Rocky Mount High finished its season with a 13-9 record. Triton advances to the third round, where they will take on No. 17 seed Topsail, which pulled a big upset in the second round by beating top-seeded Cleveland.

PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Rocky Mount High 3, Richlands 1

Sarah Bland notched a hat trick for Rocky Mount High, moving her total for the season to 61 goals, as Rocky Mount High moved on to the third round of the 3-A playoffs with a 3-1 victory over Richlands on Saturday afternoon.

The 10th-seeded Gryphons and 26th-seeded Richlands were tied, 1-1, at halftime, but Bland netted twice in the final 40 minutes to help the Gryphons advance.

Rocky Mount High will travel to No. 2 seed Jacksonville for a third-round game on Wednesday.

By Foster Lander
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Saturday, May 14, 2016