Post 58 makes it two in-a-row over Post 13

- Post 58's Matthew Berry

ROCKY MOUNT - You might say Wilson Post 13 has suffered a twin killing from Rocky Mount Post 58 - literally.

Not only has Post 58 taken two straight from Post 13, its twin combo of Matthew and Thomas Berry provided the important ammo.

Last week, Thomas' solo bomb in the 10th garnered Post 58 an 8-7 Area 1 East victory. Monday night, Matthew had the honor of slamming a three-run homer in the first to stake Rocky Mount to a 4-0 lead and an eventual 9-3 win.

Jeremy Sloop got the win for Rocky Mount as he went 7 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on nine hits - eight of which were singles. His defense also helped him out by turning four double plays through five innings of action.

Bill Clark came on in relief in the eighth and allowed just one base runner on a single in the ninth.

Michael McLawhorn got the loss for Post 13. Mitchell Wheeler and Avery Harper also time on the mound for Wilson.

Also homering for Post 58 was center fielder T.J. Taylor. He hit a solo shot to dead center field in the sixth. Collins Cuthrell had three hits on the night and scored three times,

N.C. Wesleyan's Tyler Clark joined the team Monday evening and responded with a 1-for-3 effort with a double and two runs scored.

Post 58 will host Pitt County Post 39 Wednesday at 7 p.m.


Rocky Mount Post 58 - 9
Wilson Post 13 - 3

Post 13 000 020 010 - 3 10 3
Post 58 401 100 21x - 9 11 1

WP - Jeremy Sloop (7.1IP, 9H, 3R, 3ER, 3R, 0BB, 2K)
LP - Michael McLawhorn (2IP, 3H, 5R, 5ER, 1BB, 0K)

Leading hitters:

Post 13 - Seth Wiggs 2-3, R; Zach Houchins 2-4, 2B; Cody Britt 2-4, David Gibbons 1-3, RBI.

Post 58 - Collins Cuthrell 3-4, 2B, RBI, 3R; Matthew Berry 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, R; T.J. Taylor 2-4, HR, RBI, 2R; Spencer Bell 2-2, 2 RBI; Tyler Clark 1-3, 2B, 2R; Thomas Berry 1-5, RBI, R

Record - Post 13 2-4, 0-2 Area I East; Post 58 7-3, 2-0

Cuthrell signs with Barton College

Rocky Mount senior Collins Cuthrell signs to play baseball for Barton College next season. Seated with Cuthrell are (front, l-r) are father J.C., sister Hunter and mother Dawn. Standing in the rear are RMHS athletic director Mike Gainey and head baseball coach Kent Cox. (Photo/David Hahula) - Click on picture to enlarge

Thursday was a big day for Rocky Mount senior Collins Cuthrell.

The two-sport star decided to concentrate on one sport at the next level as he signed to play baseball at Div. II Barton College in Wilson.

He is the third Gryphon in this decade to play of the Bulldogs (Michael Parker, RMHS Class of '03, Will Johnson, '05). Both became starters in the program.

Cuthrell had entertained ideas of playing both baseball and football at Div. III and USA South Conference member Methodist University, a fellow league member with N.C. Wesleyan College. But he felt that playing both would be problematic with all the preparation required for both sports.

Cuthrell led the Gryphon baseball team with a school-record of home runs (7), RBI (27) and runs scored (29) while batting .385, second highest average on the team. A three-year starter (third base and shortstop), he concluded his career with a .333 batting average (81-for-233), knocked in 67 runs (second all-time behind Ben Fish's 82) and scored 70 runs.

He also piled up 10 career home runs - just one behind Fish's career mark of 11.

His stats on the gridiron were impressive, too.

He amassed up just over 2,500 yards passing to rank third all-time in yardage behind Terrell Hudgins and Eddie Coats. He also tossed 16 touchdown passes in completing 51 percent of his attempts. He helped guide the Gryphons to a 21-6 record in his two seasons as the starting quarterback.