Rocky Mount High School | Archive | March, 2016

The 2015-16 Telegram All-Area Swimmer of the Year Wyatt Phillips, of Rocky Mount High School, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at Rocky Mount High School.

The 2015-16 Telegram All-Area Swimmer of the Year Wyatt Phillips, of Rocky Mount High School, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at Rocky Mount High School.

The 2015-16 Telegram All-Area Swimmer of the Year Wyatt Phillips, of Rocky Mount High School, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at Rocky Mount High School.

When people talk about players taking ownership of a team, they are talking about athletes like Wyatt Phillips.

The Rocky Mount High senior is not only a four-year captain of the Gryphons’ swim team, he is also one of its bigger advocates in the community. With sports like football and basketball garnering most of the attention of the male athletes around school, Phillips took it upon himself to help ensure the swimming program had enough members to be competitive.

The result, a squad that Phillips in a weird way felt personally responsible for helping reach its full potential.

“A lot of the guys that are on the swim team right now I kind of helped to recruit,” Phillips said. ”I recognized that there aren’t very many boys who are interested in swimming, so I encouraged guys to come out. … I kind of feel like I’m obligated to help them if they need assistance just because they’ve never swam before competitively.”

In the pool though, Phillips set himself apart from his peers with his performance. He was named the Big East Male Swimmer of the Year, an honor that he said surprised him, after winning the conference’s 200-yard freestyle title and finishing as the runner-up at 100 yards. He qualified for the 3-A state meet in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing 18th with a time of 23.37 seconds.

Those accomplishments alone were enough for Phillips to be named the 2015-16 All-Area Boys’ Swimmer of the Year, but he was also a tremendous leader for the Gryphons.

“Over the last four years, you had this sense of trust,” coach Julie Baggett said. “He took time out of just him swimming to help other swimmers, whether it be with flip turns or a particular stroke. He was able to do what we couldn’t do on the pool deck … we could always count on him to be that person.”

Phillips learned how to swim before he could walk, taking after his father who swam competitively in college. By the age of four Phillips was swimming competitively on a club team, and he quickly became too good for his own age group.

His coaches in Florida, where he lived until moving to Rocky Mount in the fourth grade, convinced him to try and compete against the older swimmers, an experiment that did not go well the first few times.

“I remember it was so intense that step up that I really couldn’t handle it,” Phillips said. ”My coach kept on encouraging me, and eventually I was able to compete with the older kids and that was one of my fondest memories of swimming as a kid.”

That was far from the only setback Phillips has had in the water. While swimming for the Harrison Family YMCA a few years ago, he slipped off the block during the 200-yard freestyle and he drained himself just trying to catch up to the rest of the field.

Even this year, Phillips was disappointed in how he swam during the state championship meet. He had set the goal of finishing in the top-16 and racing in the consolation final at the worst.

But while many might be discouraged by those performances, Phillips turned his attention to the success of his teammates.

“As a team … we performed better than I was expecting,” Phillips said. ”Everyone really stepped up to the plate. … As far as the regional championship goes, I couldn’t ask the guys to perform any better. I’m definitely not disappointed in how the boys did collectively.”

That sort of mentality is exactly why Baggett said she will miss Phillips next year. He might have been the best technical swimmer the Gryphons had this season, but more importantly he was the leader Rocky Mount High needed to be successful this year.

“He’s a dedicated person and he is someone you can always count on,” Baggett said. “He’s made a mark on my coaching career not because of his talent, but because of his dedication and personality.”

FIRST TEAM

WYATT PHILLIPS, SR., ROCKY MOUNT HIGH — The Big East Swimmer of the Year was the heart and soul of the Gryphons’ swim team this season. His 18th-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle wasn’t his best effort, but it was a satisfying conclusion to his high school career as he heads off to Chapel Hill to swim for the club team.

LANGDON NORRIS, SO., NASH CENTRAL — Norris was the only other local Big East swimmer to qualify for the state championships. finishing 21st in the 200-yard individual medley. The sophomore finished 13th in the region in the 500-yard freestyle and also swam on several relays.

ALEX KING, SR., TARBORO — Tarboro’s only individual male qualifier for the state championships, King finished 16th in the 50-yard freestyle. He was also a critical part of both the 200-yard freestlye and 200-yard medley relays that qualified for the state championships.

JACKSON LAVELY, JR., ROCKY MOUNT HIGH — Lavely was a critical component of the Gryphons’ relay teams as the leadoff swimmer on the 200- and 400-yard freestyle squads. The junior also competed in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, finishing behind Phillips in both races.

SETH DUPREE, SO., TARBORO — Part of the two relays that qualified for the state competition, Dupree also cut time in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke at the regional competition.

HONORABLE MENTION

Cameron Beal, Jr., Nash Central; Cameron Flora, Sr., Nash Central; Dawson Harris, Jr., Tarboro; Trevor Joyner, Jr., Southern Nash; Trey Lancaster, So., Tarboro; Cal Lewis, Sr., Nash Central; Sam Phillips, Fr., Rocky Mount High;

by Josh Walfish
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

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Nash Central’s John Michael Kelly (7) reaches to tag out Rocky Mount High’s David Harrison (1) on Tuesday at Nash Central High School.

Rocky Mount High’s Forrest Bell (2) and Will Hedgepeth (6) fumble a ground ball against Nash Central on Tuesday at Nash Central High School.

Rocky Mount High had chance after chance to put Nash Central away and earn a victory in the Big East conference opener for both county rivals, but the Gryphons missed those chances.

The Gryphons had two chances to close out Tuesday’s game, provided they could get through a scoreless half inning, but couldn’t do it.

Nash Central made them pay, tying the game in the seventh on a single by Tyler Sherrod and scoring two in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 5-4 triumph over Rocky Mount High. Bulldogs third baseman Colby Carter tied it at 4-4 with a sacrifice fly to right field, and courtesy runner Cody Cooke, on for catcher Chase Minshew, scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Gryphons pitcher Wesley Drake with two outs in the 10th.

“We’ve had a tough start to the year, losing games to some really good teams, but we’ve been right there at the end with chances to win games late and haven’t done it,” Bulldogs coach Willie Langley said. “But I kept preaching to the guys, get runners on base and let’s see what happens.”

Langley, who coached Nash Central’s junior varsity and was a varsity assistant, took over for Tony Guzzo, who decided to call it quits in January. Langley said he’s a small-ball coach, but the Bulldogs haven’t exactly been adept at playing small ball just yet.

Langley said he added up the 60 innings that Nash Central had played this season, and found that the Bulldogs had managed to get the leadoff batter on base only seven times.

In the two innings that turned Tuesday’s contest in the Bulldogs’ favor, the leadoff man reached. Carter led off the seventh with a single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Noah Shrock and scored on Sherrod’s game-tying single.

John Michael Kelly led off the 10th by drawing a walk off Drake (Loss, 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 7 K). Drake then hit Minshew and struck out Hunter Robinson before walking Peyton Bass to load the bases with one out. Carter came through with a sacrifice fly to right, deep enough to score Kelly and let Cooke advance to third. With Shrock at the plate, Drake’s pitch went to the backstop and Cooke scored standing up for the win.

“We’re just not getting it done right now,” Rocky Mount High coach Pat Smith said. “We had guys in scoring position and our middle of the order bats had opportunities to drive them in, but went up there and struck out and things like that. (Nash Central) has got some good pitching, so that was part of it and they deserve credit. But, I mean, what can you really say? We’re not doing it.”

Nash Central junior Zach Patterson worked seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits. Patterson walked three and struck out eight Gryphons, though he also hit three Gryphons with pitches.

Patterson, who played fall baseball for the Dirtbags and had dealt with some arm soreness over the winter, finally got back to feeling like himself 10 days ago, when he threw a bullpen session and felt like his normal velocity was returning. He backed that up with a strong outing in a loss to North Johnston last Wednesday, and the usual zip on his pitches was there on Tuesday.

“I think it’s starting to come back, even if it’s not totally there yet,” Patterson said. “I think the secondary stuff, the slider and curveball, was the best it’s been this season for me.”

David Harrison worked six innings for Rocky Mount High, though he wasn’t involved in the decision. Harrison allowed eight hits and struck out nine and also went 3-for-5 at the plate with a walk. Jake Philbeck had three hits and an RBI for Rocky Mount High, which left 14 men on base and committed four errors (Nash Central made five).

“That was a classic ace vs. ace game in the Big East, where a run here or there makes the difference,” Langley said. “I don’t know that either guy was really close to their best tonight, but we’ll take all the wins we can get when it’s our best guy against their best guy, and when it’s Rocky Mount and Nash Central.”

By Foster Lander
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

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Tyler Brice sat on a bench after the first set of his singles match, analyzing what exactly went wrong during those 13 hard-fought games.

Knowing every point against Big East favorites Wilson Fike was valuable to springing a potential upset, the Rocky Mount High sophomore dug in and tried to change the momentum. He became more aggressive on the court and pinned his opponent, John Gliarmis, deep with his forehands, forcing error after error en route to a 6-0 romp.

But the battle had just begun for Brice, who saved a pair of match points in the third-set tiebreaker to win the match before letting out a giant grunt in celebration. It proved to be a critical point in the Gryphons’ tight 5-4 victory over the Golden Demons.

“After the first set, it was just ‘what am I doing?,’” Brice said. ”I tried to sit on the bench and think about what I was doing, going through everything. I came up and just realized I needed to play my game.

“I was just struggling to be consistent and finally after calming down and starting to breath and exhale on my shots more, I was able to play deeper on the court and get him on his back and then I could come in and attack.”

Brice’s victory was a major boost for the Gryphons (7-0, 3-0), who huddled in a bathroom near the baseball field to further energize themselves for doubles. Brice and classmate George Shannon used the momentum from Brice’s singles win to capture their doubles match, the only one the Gryphons ended up winning.

After falling behind 3-2, the duo stormed back to take a 4-3 lead, and then captured the final three games as well to win the match, 8-6.

“Everyone was extremely excited about it,” Brice said. ”It really pumped me up and George and I knew we had to go out there and get that doubles win. It was a great feeling, honestly, to be rolling into doubles.”

Although Brice’s victory was an important trendsetter for the team, it was far from the only important match the Gryphons captured Tuesday.

Langley Salter won his first set 7-5 before struggling in a 6-2 second-set loss that set up a third-set tiebreaker. With most of his teammates peering through the fence surrounding the court, the senior hit clutch shot after clutch shot to win the match, 7-5, 2-6, 10-6.

Coach Barry Nethercutt said Salter’s win and the straight-set triumph of Sam Phillips were other critical victories for Rocky Mount High.

“Langley and Sam, early on in their first sets, they were missing way too much and were just beating ourselves,” Nethercutt said. ”Those guys picking up their level of consistency (really stood out).”

Shannon had no problem with his singles opponent, cruising past Walker Gliarmis, 6-1, 6-1, to put the Gryphons on the board early. But Fike struck right back with Michael Anders and Matt Brown winning within a few minutes of one another to take a brief 2-1 lead. Phillips knotted the score at 2 before Salter and Brice put Rocky Mount High in a position where it only needed to win one doubles match.

It became evident quickly the burden of that win would fall onto Brice and Shannon’s shoulders when Fike raced out to commanding leads at both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The Golden Demons eventually won both matches by identical 8-2 scores.

The Gryphons entered the season believing they could potentially capture their first conference crown since 2010, but knew it would be a tough battle at the top. With a bit of luck — Fike’s No. 1 player Sunny Sandhu sat out singles due to an illness — Rocky Mount High earned a victory that should instill belief in the team that the Big East title is within reach.

“We should be building in confidence with each match,” Nethercutt said, ”… if we’re not building in confidence then we’re not doing something right. Having said that we have our nemesis (Southern Nash) on Thursday … so we need to be just as determined Thursday as we were (Tuesday).”

by Josh Walfish
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

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Rocky Mount High’s Sarah Bland (1) shoots the ball against Nash Central goalkeeper Anna Shaye Thompson (24) on Monday at Nash Central High School. Catalano’s goal was Rocky Mount High’s ninth, which ended the match with 15:21 left on the clock.

Rocky Mount High’s Schuyler Moss (11) maneuvers through the Nash Central defense Monday at Nash Central High School.

Just when it felt like all its momentum was halted, Rocky Mount High found its mojo again.

A frustrating performance Friday night in a loss to Greenville Rose was redeemed by what coach Jordan Musselwhite described as one of the better performances of the season as the Gryphons trounced Nash Central, 9-0, to win their conference opener Monday.

Rocky Mount High (7-3, 1-0)  dominated the game for almost all 65 minutes, scoring three times in the opening 10 minutes and finishing it with two goals in three minutes.

“Coming back after not playing so well Friday, it was nice to come out a couple of days after that and put a complete game out there,” Musselwhite said.

The Gryphons’ success stemmed from a dominance in the midfield with juniors Barkley Browder and Erin Cooke leading the way in the middle. The pair seemed to have all the right answers in the first half, distributing the ball at will to the forwards and wings to create numerous scoring chances.

“Our midfield is one of the strengths of this team, especially with Erin and Barkley in the middle,” Musselwhite said. ”When we play most teams this year, I feel like we’ll have the upperhand in the midfield because of those two.”

Cooke said the midfield’s performance was a credit to the team’s ability to have all three position groups connecting fluidly with the ball moving from the defenders to the midfielders to the forwards with ease. That efficiency kept the Bulldogs (3-4-1, 0-1) off kilter and chasing the ball around the field for most of the day.

“We possessed well from the back up instead of having a kickball sense of a game,” Cooke said. ”We went from the back to the mid to the wing, and we didn’t try to force it on the outside, we went back in and that’s how we created shots.”

A sibling connection created the first goal of the game as senior Schuyler Moss found her sister, Katie, in  front of the goal for an easy strike. Within eight minutes, the lead swelled to 4-0 as the Gryphons’ attack overwhelmed the Bulldogs’ defense.

Anna Shaye Thompson did her best to keep the door shut for the Bulldogs, but the sophomore was left alone to deal with the attack a few times. She made two diving stops in the first half that led to goals due to poor clearances, and Sarah Bland got the better of Thompson on one-on-one situations to score the final two goals.

Thompson finished with 15 saves.

Although Rocky Mount High found plenty of space to operate in the middle and took advantage numerous times, the Gryphons also utilized their speed on the wings effectively with eight of the nine goals starting with a pass from a player on the outside.

“We did a lot of damage on the wings,” Musselwhite said. ”We didn’t necessarily finish a lot of them, but we played down the wings a lot, which will help us a lot transitioning to Wednesday.”

The increased confidence will be helpful as Rocky Mount High prepares to battle Wilson Hunt on the road Wednesday. The Gryphons lost three hard-fought games last year to the Warriors during the regular season and conference tournament, but finally clipped them in the first round of the state playoffs.

With the step up in the level of competition, there are certain tactics that worked against Nash Central that won’t work against Hunt. The Gryphons will need to use the wings more against the Warriors with the space in the middle of the field being hotly-contested.

Regardless, the victory proved to be a confidence builder for a team looking to find some consistency at the midpoint of the season.

“We can learn that we can’t take as many shots outside,” Cooke said, ”but if we possess the ball into the box and hit it low and to the corner like we did (Monday), we’ll have a better opportunity to win.”

Rocky Mount High 9

Nash Central 0

Goals: RMH — Katie Moss (5’), Schuyler Moss (8’), Sarah Bland (9’, 20’, 62’, 65’), Mary McCall Leland (13’), Erin Cooke (37’, 39’)

Shots: RMH — 38 (28 on goal); NC — 1 (0 on goal)

Saves: NC — Anna Shaye Thompson 15

by Josh Walfish
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Monday, March 21, 2016

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Rocky Mount High’s Isaiah Stewart (11) is tagged out by Greenville Rose’s Gregory Hardison (8) on Wednesday at Rocky Mount High School.

Rocky Mount High pitcher David Harrison (1) delivers to Greenville Rose on Wednesday at Rocky Mount High School.

Rocky Mount High’s Forrest Bell (2) reaches for the ball as Greenville Rose’s Cornell Powell (34) slides into second base Wednesday at Rocky Mount High School.

Pat Smith is not one for moral victories.

There are two ways to view Rocky Mount High’s 11-9 loss to Greenville Rose on Wednesday evening. Either the Gryphons gave their fans hope by coming as close as they have been to beating the Rampants in five years or they blew a great chance at a marquee victory.

Smith chooses the latter.

The Gryphons coach was at a loss for words at times to describe what happened as he team relinquished a three-run lead in the seventh inning, but at the end of the day it came down to the three fundamentals of baseball.

“They’re not as good as Rose teams have been in the past,” Smith said. ”Sure, we would like to beat Rose for their reputation and all that, but it goes back to the little things that we do. … We out-hit them, but we didn’t out-pitch them and we didn’t out-field them, so we got beat. It’s a game that we could have very easily won, so it makes it mighty tough to take.

“This is one you don’t forget, and we won’t forget for a long time.”

The game seemed to be getting away from the Gryphons (3-3) early as Rose pounded David Harrison for six runs in just four innings, but Forrest Bell entered to save the day. The senior threw perfect innings in the fifth and sixth to set the table for the Gryphons to tack on six runs and reclaim the lead.

Rocky Mount High’s four-run sixth inning was energized by a string of three hits in four batters to lead off the inning with a Rampants error allowing Harrison to reach base as well. From there, Rose (5-2) changed pitchers and cooled off the momentum.

Bell came unraveled in the seventh, issuing five walks around a pair of doubles to allow Rose the opportunity to not only tie the game, but take the lead. Bell came within one strike of ending the game on two consecutive batters, but issued a bases-loading walk on a 3-2 offering and then Greg Hardison lined a 1-2 pitch down the right field line for a bases-clearing double.

“It just all went to pieces in that inning,” Smith said. ”If we would have held on to win this game … we would be 4-2 and everyone would be happy as all ****. And now we’re 3-3 and lose a game like this and we’re down in the dumps.”

Rocky Mount High sent its best pitcher to the mound against Rose, but for the third time in three starts, Harrison struggled. The N.C. State-committed hurler threw more than 80 pitches in just four innings of work, surrendering six runs and six hits.

Smith said he is not sure what is going wrong with Harrison in game, adding he expected the junior to be ready to throw a complete game by now and not waste pitches with poor command.

But the junior more than made up for it at the plate, earning two of the Gryphons’ 14 hits against the Rampants pitching staff. Smith chuckled when he tried to figure out the difference between Wednesday’s performance at the plate and the one Rocky Mount High had last Friday against Wendell Corinth-Holders, when it amassed just two hits.

“We hit a lot Saturday morning, we hit a lot Monday, we hit a lot Tuesday and we hit batting practice before the game,” Smith said, ”Somehow or another a few of them fell in (Wednesday).”

Logan Pearce, who had hits in his first three plate appearances, credited the new coaching staff with helping to groom the Gryphons’ batters into hitting machines.

“Our new coaches have helped out a bunch with our hitting,” Pearce said, ”they’ve worked with us every day to improve.”

Greenville Rose 11

Rocky Mount High 9

GR    2 0 3 1 0 0 5 — 11 9 1

RMH 1 2 0 0 2 4 0 — 9 14 3

WP: Matt Burne (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K). LP: Forrest Bell (2.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K)

by Josh Walfish
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

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Rocky Mount High’s Tyler Brice hits the ball against Nash Central’s Chandler Johnson on Tuesday at Nash Central High School.

Rocky Mount High’s George Shannon serves the ball against Nash Central’s Austin Luper on Tuesday at Nash Central High School.

A veteran coach like Barry Nethercutt knows when he needs to add a little extra motivation to his team.

With Rocky Mount High facing Nash Central, projected to finish last in the conference, on Tuesday, Nethercutt offered a simple proposition to his team — first singles player to win his match would earn the game ball.

It was a close call for the distinction, but sophomore George Shannon blitzed through his match in about 30 minutes to claim the prize. It was the first of many for the Gryphons, who easily beat the Bulldogs, 9-0, in the Big East opener for both schools.

“That was a motivational thing,” Nethercutt said. ”I figured if I could get the guys focused on coming out, getting a quick start and an early lead, building on it, that would keep them into the match as opposed to just coming out here and (going through the motions). It was a motivational thing to try and get them to come out and work hard.”

Nethercutt’s goal worked well for singles play with the first four matches over within 40 minutes, but its effects began to wear off for doubles play. At one point, the coach had to scold his No. 3 doubles team for being too lackadaisical on the court and not playing hard every point.

With such a young team, Nethercutt said it is important his players learn to focus in these blowouts so they can build up their stamina for the more difficult matches.

“We’ve played matches that we won comfortably, and they need to understand, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, I want the same amount of effort and intensity,” Nethercutt said. ”They just need to learn to do it. I think a little bit of it is a lot of freshmen … but I’m trying to convince them that we take everything seriously and we play as hard as we can on every point no matter what the score is.”

Shannon used his singles match to work on his forehand, a shot that he had been struggling with in recent matches. He said he was pleased with how well he hit that shot to the crosscourt and ended points earlier with his aggressiveness.

His goal is ultimately to try and unseat classmate Tyler Brice, the Gryphons’ No. 1 singles player and Shannon’s doubles partner. The two don’t have a contentious relationship and Shannon said their constant battles in practice have been beneficial for both players this year.

“Tyler plays at such a high pace and a high level, it just makes me a better player,” Shannon said. ”I really don’t think it’s a rivalry though because we’re doubles partners and we have to stay together as a team.”

Nash Central’s best chance at a win came at No. 3 where Landen Norwood struggled in the second set before capturing the final three games to polish off a 6-3, 7-5 victory. The Bulldogs won at least three games in a set only once in the other five matches.

It was a stark improvement for the Gryphons, who are aiming to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2010.

“Based on last year, any winning is good,” Nethercutt said. ”We only won four times last year, and we’ve already surpassed that this year thanks to how hard the guys have worked over the summer. Feeling like we’re headed in the right direction.”

by Josh Walfish
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

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Wesley Drake tosses the ball to a teammate against Corinth Holders on Friday at Rocky Mount High School.

Rocky Mount High’s Forrest Bell throws the ball against Corinth Holders on Friday at Rocky Mount High School.

Corinth Holders catcher Carson Sakowski, left, tags out Rocky Mount High’s Deangelo Collins on Friday at Rocky Mount High School.

Since his first day back with Rocky Mount High’s baseball team last September, Gryphons coach Pat Smith has been trying to change the culture and attitude surrounding his program.

He knew it wasn’t going to happen in the first few months, or even in the first season. It’s going to be a process, and Smith knows that as well as anyone.

After Friday’s game, a 7-1 Gryphons loss to Wendell Corinth-Holders, well,  the process is still in its infancy.

Rocky Mount High was out-hit, 10-2, and struggled to retire Pirates hitters in favorable counts and with two outs. The Pirates scored five of their seven runs with two outs.

“We’ve got a long, long way to go,” Smith said. “We’ve known that was the case since I took over here. We’re trying to find the nine, 10, 11 guys that can do things the right way and can play hard.”

David Harrison (5 IP, 6 H, 5 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 6 K) took the loss for Rocky Mount High (3-2 overall), but his outing could have been far different if not for some two-out magic by Corinth-Holders and a few self-inflicted wounds.

Harrison, a junior left-hander who committed to N.C. State over the summer, retired the first two Pirates batters he saw on Friday, before Kahlil Hodge laced a two-out double into the gap in left-center. The next batter, Will Jones, roped a ground ball down the third-base line and past the out-stretched glove of Jake Philbeck for a 1-0 Corinth-Holders lead.

Smith pulled Harrison and catcher Zach Keeter aside before they reached the dugout for a quick conversation about giving Hodge and Jones pitches to hit on 0-2 counts.

“They told me the (Corinth-Holders) kids reached out to hit pitches off the plate, but it can’t be close enough for them to even have a chance to do that,” Smith said. “That’s not even an excuse, either, is what I told them. Because if they can do that and drive runs in, why can’t we?”

In the second inning, Harrison struck out the first two hitters, but ran into two-out trouble again. Carson Sakowski lofted a double into the right-field corner that fell just fair, and No. 9 hitter Hunter Sullivan drove in Sakowski by pulling a double into the left-field corner.

Corinth-Holders added three runs in the third. Mason Cooper led off the inning by hitting a tapper in front of the plate but reached on a throwing error by Harrison and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Harrison then walked Hodge, and Jones followed by tapping a ball back to Harrison, who again threw the ball into right field, allowing Cooper to score from second.

Josh Jarman broke the game open with a two-run single through the hole past second baseman Will Hedgepeth, who was playing up the middle to hold Jones near the base, giving the Pirates a 5-0 lead.

“I thought my command was a little bit better than my first start (a 10-3 Gryphons loss to Bunn on March 1), and I was looser this time because it wasn’t my first time out there on the season,” Harrison said. “The breaking ball definitely was a little better. They just hit some good pitches tonight.”

Rocky Mount High scored its only run of the game in the fifth inning. Keeter struck out swinging with two outs on a ball in the dirt, but Sakowski bounced his throw wide of Cooper at first base, allowing Wesley Drake, who had led off the inning with a walk, to score from third with a head-first slide. Only one other Gryphons runner reached third base all night.

“Corinth-Holders had chances to really bust that one open and put a big number on us,” Smith said. “We hung around there for a while. They pitched really good against us and didn’t let us square any balls up or string a few hits together.”

Harrison and Jamar Ellis had the only two hits for Rocky Mount High, both singles.

“A big part of it was that we were swinging at pitches that we shouldn’t have gone for,” Harrison said. “They were working us up in the zone and most of us aren’t high-ball hitters, but we swung anyway.”

By Foster Lander
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Friday, March 11, 2016

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Rocky Mount High pitcher Wesley Drake delivers to SouthWest Edgecombe on Wednesday at Rocky Mount High School.

Isaiah Stewart takes a lead off of second base against SouthWest Edgecombe on Wednesday at Rocky Mount High School.

There has been no beginning of the year rust on Rocky Mount High’s bats so far.

After routing Tarboro, 16-0, on Tuesday evening, the Gryphons were right back at it Wednesday against SouthWest Edgecombe, shellacking the Cougars, 13-1, in five innings. Rocky Mount High accumulated 11 hits, most of which were well-struck and placed perfectly between defenders.

“We’ve been pleased with how we’re swinging the bats lately,” coach Pat Smith said. ”(Our assistants) have worked extremely hard with our hitters, and we think some of them are improving. I would like them to be a little more selective … but that comes with experience. It takes a lot of at-bats to learn lessons.”

Rocky Mount High took advantage of three SouthWest Edgecombe errors in the second inning to blow open the game. After a leadoff walk, the Cougars had errors on three straight plays and those lost outs came back to hurt. The Gryphons (3-1) scored seven times on six hits in the inning to transform a 1-0 lead into an 8-0 blowout.

Senior Jarratt Mobley started for the Cougars (1-3), but only lasted two innings, allowing eight runs — only four of which were earned -— and striking out three batters. Coach Shelton Langley said it seemed the early errors put more pressure on Mobley and he started trying to overpower hitters instead of trusting his defense.

“Any pitcher will tell you, if your defense starts making a lot of mistakes behind you, you start to think you have to do it all yourself,” Langley said. ”It got to the point where after the fourth error, he felt like he had to throw it past everybody. … But he’s human and you’re going to have a start that isn’t your best.”

The Cougars’ offense was able to get sporadic hits off Rocky Mount High starter Wesley Drake, but only Dylan Hodges’ leadoff homer in the fourth did any damage. Drake struck out seven batters and looked just as comfortable with men on base as he did when the bases were empty.

He started a inning-ending double play in the first inning, struck out two batters to strand a runner in the second and then struck out three our of four batters after Hodges’ home run.

“As long as he throws strikes, he’s going to be effective,” Smith said. ”His ball moves a little bit … We’re pleased with how he’s thrown in his two starts.”

These types of blowouts don’t do much for teams like Rocky Mount High, which has games coming up against Wendell Corinth-Holders and Greenville Rose. Smith said he has taken time after the game the past few days to highlight both the little things that will serve the Gryphons well in the future and the mistakes that will be far more costly against better competition.

Regardless, Smith is hopeful that these wins will instill some confidence in his group.

“I hope it builds a little bit of confidence and a little bit of belief in what we’re trying to do,” Smith said. ”When you’re successful it allows you to believe in it.”

ROCKY MOUNT HIGH 13

SOUTHWEST EDGECOMBE 1

SWE 0 0 0 1 0 —  1   5 4

RMH 1 7 5 0 X — 13 11 0

WP: Wesley Drake, 5 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 0 BB

LP: Jarratt Mobley, 2 IP, 8 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 3 K, 2 BB

2B: Logan Pearce (1st and 2nd off Mobley), Josh Pittman (1st off Mobley), David Harrison (2nd off Mobley)

HR: Dylan Hodges (4th off Drake)

by Josh Walfish
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

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Rocky Mount High’s Barkley Browder, right, moves the ball past Conley defenders Tuesday at Rocky Mount High School.

When the clock struck zero Tuesday afternoon, Rocky Mount High saw a familiar scoreline plastered on the scoreboard.

The Gryphons opened the season at Greenville Conley and lost, 4-1. The Vikings made the return tripTuesday and once again walked away 4-1 victors.

Yet Jordan Musselwhite felt a lot differently about Tuesday’s result afterward than he did last week’s.

“It was the same scoreline as last time, but I’m not feeling as pleased as I was after last week’s 4-1 scoreline,” Musselwhite said. ”They definitely played a lot better than we did. They were a lot more crisp in the middle. … We didn’t play very well.”

Rocky Mount High expected to be the fresher team after Conley played Monday night in Wilson, but was sluggish all around the field from the start. After a fairly even first 10 minutes, the Vikings seized control of the game and the ball and imposed their will on the Gryphons.

One of the few things that kept Rocky Mount High close for most of the day was Conley’s struggles to really test Ty Arrington in goal. The Vikings sent six shots either wide or high from close range and had three others easily within reach of Arrington’s grasp in the first half alone.

The Gryphons’ sophomore goalie made a good save in the 22nd minute, sprawling to her left to punch out a shot, but she could not corral the rebound and Sam McLaughlin was in position to fire home Conley’s first goal.  The Vikings doubled their lead minutes later when Analee Reed sent a screamer into the upper corner of the goal, well out of Arrington’s reach.

“With the amount of possession they had in that game, if I were them, I wouldn’t be happy with just four,” Musselwhite said. ”We got lucky in that aspect.”

Arrington was one of the only bright spots for the Gryphons, making 11 saves in Tuesday’s defeat including a diving stop in the closing moments of the game. It was a performance that helped give her a leg up in the competition to be Rocky Mount High’s starting goalie for the rest of the season.

The few times the Gryphons did secure possession, their passes were sent to places where nobody was and the process of chasing the Vikings restarted anew. Musselwhite said the poor passing was a combination of lacking poise in possession and the team not moving to the correct positions on the field.

“We had to be more calm on the ball,” Musselwhite said. ”It helps a lot when there’s somewhere to go with the ball, and a lot of times there wasn’t anywhere to go with the ball because we weren’t making the right runs. We need to be smarter in the middle, more calm on the ball in the middle, but their teammates need to help them out a little bit to give us a good place to go with the ball.”

Conley put the finishing touches on the game with a penalty kick 12 minutes into the second half and then extended the lead again when a cross eluded everyone around the goal and found its way into the side netting.

The Gryphons did get one back when Erin Cooke executed a beautiful free kick play that left Schuyler Moss open near the goal for an easy header, providing consolation for a team looking to build confidence and prepare for a battle in the Big East.

“I hope they learn that although we lost these games, we can play with the 4-A schools and the girls that like to possess the ball,” Musselwhite said. ”We can learn how to defend like this better and have some confidence in our own playing abilities.”

GREENVILLE CONLEY 4

ROCKY MOUNT HIGH 1

Goals: GC – Sam McLaughlin (22’), Analee Reed (26’), Sam McLaughlin (52’ PK), Conley Player (59’); RMH – Schuyler Moss (75’)

Shots: GC – 26 (16 on goal); RMH – 3 (2 on goal)

Saves: RMH – Ty Arrington, 11;

by Josh Walfish

Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

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