Friday, July 10, 2009

Rocky Mount's Jr. Legion baseball squad makes state tournament


CARY - Rocky Mount's Junior American Legion baseball team won two games Friday at the Eastern Qualifier at the USA Baseball Training Complex to advance to the the eight-team N.C. American Legion State Tournament. The event is set to start Friday in Asheboro at McCrary Park, home of the Coastal Plain League's Asheboro Copperheads.

No. 2 seeded Rocky Mount (23-3), beat the No. 11-seed Beaufort 6-1 in its opener. In game two, Rocky Mount downed West Johnston, the No. 6 seed, 10-1.

Nash Central (16-6), seeded seventh, topped Kinston 6-1 in its first contest, but got belted 15-0 in five innings by No. 1 seed Cary Bulls (42-2). Nash Central will have to advance through the loser's bracket Saturday and Sunday to grab the last remaining berth in the East. It will start that march by facing either Jacksonville or Beaufort Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Only the top four teams advance.

Pinetops (Edgecombe County), the No. 12 seed, fell in its opener 9-3 to Cary. There was no report on its second contest of the day.

The seedings so far have held true as the top three (Cary, Rocky Mount, Pikeville), by virtue of their 2-0 records Friday, have all qualified for a state berth.

The Rocky Mount team is coached byHank Jones and Tom Jones. It's comprised of several Gryphon varsity and JV players and even a few Edwards Middle School kids.

Congrats, guys, and good luck in Asheboro! Let's bring a another baseball title back to RM!
Here is Rocky Mount's roster:
Thomas Berry
Benton Moss
Taylor Clontz
Spencer Bell
Carter Varnell
Brandon Amerson
Jeremy Johnson
Parker Helms
Michael Whitehead
Collin Watson
Matthew Berry
Jeremy Trevathan
Elijah Blount