East Rowan vs. Rocky Mount Game 3

Coach Smith won a state championship his senior year back in the '60s.

 

Congrats To ER

Hell of a baseball team you guys put on the field. Rolland may be the best player we saw all year, and we saw some good ones. He is an absolute bulldog and the scariest guy to be at the plate or on the basepaths.

But I really want to congratulate my boys. Rocky Mount. The Gryphons. All we were told all year was that we didn't have the pitching. Well, we got it somewhere. These boys are the best group I have ever been around. I love every one of them to death. Not only a great group of ball players, but high quality young men to the highest caliber. It's been a 28 year wait, but finally, we're back...

 

Way to go RM

As a RMount Grad and player, '83, me> makes you proud to be a Gryphon....

I have 3 girls now, so softball is the sport....

Any seniors going to play college ball?

Thanks for the play by play....I just "saw" the game in about 5 minutes..

 

Congrats to RM on the victory. You can't say the play at the plate cost East Rowan the game, but it definately squashed a rally. If Roland scores, its 8-7 with runners on 2nd and 3rd with clean-up hitter Trey Holmes at the plate. RM coach said they were "very fortunate" the call went their way. I didn' t know you could slide out of the baseline at home plate. How can you slide out of the baseline and still be able to touch the base?
I've seen players completely go past or around homeplate and not be able to reach it and retreat to the plate before a catcher can tag them and not be called out. Didn't really understand the call, but RM was the better team on these two days and congrats to them and East on two very successful seasons.

I would not be suprised to see the exact same two teams back battling for the State Championship again next season.

 

Pat Smith was a member of Robersonville's 1967 1-A state champs who defeated Crest High two straight. This was back when the East and West would alternate years hosting the championships on their home fields. Robersonville HS cosolidated with Oak City HS to form Roanoke HS in the early 80's.

Ironically Smith played American Legion baseball at Rocky Mount (40 miles away) due to no other Legion team in his home area. Among his teammates were Mike Caldwell of Tarboro HS who went on to a long major league career as well as Northern Nash's Mike Tyson who went on to play SS and 2B for the Cardinals and Cubs for seven years.

 

RM Seniors

For most of the seniors, this was their last time ever putting on the uniform. Jim Leggett has signed with Belmont-Abbey. Grant Johnson may play somewhere, but the rest of the boys are done. And what a hell of a way to go out..

 

Its interesting to see Brian Goodwin called overrated by a fan of a team that intentionally walked him 3 or 4 times in the span of a three game series.

 

observed your boys get it handed to em...

dont start w/ me kid

 

I too would like to know why you view Goodwin as overrated.

 

back in the day

Thanks for the historical perspective. The old high school from my area in Johnston County (Cleveland High School) lost to Crest High in the state championship the previous year in 1966.

I think I saw in a state record book that Pat Smith pitched a perfect game in high school and so did Johnnie King of Cleveland in '66.