Now that spring break and its prep baseball and softball tournaments are a thing of the past, area teams can focus on conference play from here on out.
But it is lessons learned from said tournaments that will fuel teams the rest of the way.
League play in baseball and softball resumes today. For some, it’s a welcomed sight after a disastrous spring break, and for others it’s a time to continue the run they’ve been on for a while.
But for all, spring break was a time to learn which areas need the most improvement moving forward.
Only Ayden-Grifton’s baseball team and South Lenoir’s softball team made it through their respective tournaments unscathed. The Chargers won their own Ray Avery Easter Tournament on an emotional night for longtime head coach Chris Ross, who announced afterwards he was stepping down at season’s end, and the Blue Devils won their pool in the Grand Strand Softball Classic at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Ayden-Grifton travels tonight to North Duplin. The Rebels (9-4, 2-0) are tied with Goldsboro Rosewood for the league lead while the Chargers (11-4, 1-1 Carolina 1A), who have won five of their last six games, are tied for third with Spring Creek.
“We hope we can take a little of this momentum from here into the conference,” said Ross, whose team defeated South Lenoir, 7-2, last week to win the title. “This was a quality win for us. (South Lenoir’s) got some players.”
The Blue Devils (5-7, 2-4 East Central 2A) went 1-2 in the Ray Avery Easter Tournament, with their only win coming against Farmville Central.
South Lenoir’s softball team entered its tournament on a five-game win streak, and knocked off teams from Ohio, New York and Charleston, S.C., by a combined score of 36-1 to win its pool. The Blue Devils haven’t lost since falling at Topsail, 13-0, on March 15.
During the string of wins South Lenoir (11-2, 5-1) has outscored its opponents 75-7 with five shutouts.
The second-place Blue Devils recommence league play tonight at rival East Duplin.
“The players have been working extremely hard, doing the little things and playing as a team,” head coach Lisa Smith said.
Kinston’s baseball team went through its portion of the Pitt County Classic with two wins in three games — the best showing of any local team which participated in the event.
The Vikings (4-9, 0-5 Eastern Plains 2A) hope to ride the momentum of last week as they head to SouthWest Edgecombe today in search of their first conference win.
“It’s a lot better than last year,” said second-year coach Michael Ellsworth, whose team went 4-20 last season and dropped two of three in the Pitt County Classic. “The guys are working hard and it’s starting to show.”
Two baseball teams who are glad to put spring break behind them are Greene Central and North Lenoir.
The Hawks (3-9, 2-5 Eastern Carolina 3A) committed a total of 13 errors in their first two games of the Pitt County Classic and lost all three. The Rams (6-6, 4-2 EP2A) were able to win one, but they were done in by poor execution in their final game in an 8-0 loss to Rocky Mount in the finale.
“We’re going to do the same things we’ve been doing all season — work on the little things in practice and try to get better,” said North Lenoir assistant coach Donnell Garris, whose team hosts C.B. Aycock today. “We know what we need to work on. Now we just need to do it.”
Like Garris, Greene Central coach Scott Jones, whose team resumes league play at Wilson Beddingfield on Friday, wants a better effort in the field of play.
“We’ll try to get some of that stuff straightened out when we get back (to work),” he said. “It’s always good to come over here and to see some other teams and some of the other talent that’s out there. Maybe that’s opened up some of our guys’ eyes.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.