Special Delivery: Roberts Throws No-No For Hot Jrs.
Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 18, 2013
By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record
The Mocksville Junior Legion baseball team has been amazingly good in the late innings.
The latest clutch hitting came in the bottom of the sixth, when Mocksville broke open a 0-0 game with four runs against visiting Concord last week.
The latest heroics were provided by pitcher Tyler Roberts and slugger Ryan Heath as Post 54 extended its winning streak to four.
The 4-0 win was a testament to Roberts, who pitched a no-hitter with three walks and six strikeouts. He allowed four base runners. That’s pretty darn impressive for a kid who is coming off his eighth-grade year at Ellis.
“We gave him the game ball,” coach Robbie Fox said after Mocksville improved to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the division.
In terms of pitching, Roberts had not been heard from a great deal this season. That’s about to change. Roberts will fit nicely in the rotation right behind ace Colby Cranfill.
“Every time we’ve had him in the rotation he’s either had something to do with family or something else, so we’ve gone with somebody else,” Fox said. “He is definitely the second man in the rotation the rest of the way.”
But it was Heath who stole the spotlight in Mocksville’s final at-bat in the bottom of the sixth. The score was 0-0 before a four-run explosion.
First, give credit to the 8-9 batters. Mitchell McGee reached on an error and Roberts walked. One out later, Tyler Cox coaxed a walk.
With the bases full and two outs, Heath got down 0-2 in the count. He stayed alive, then smacked a three-run double to right-center. The next batter, Cranfill, added a run-scoring single to right.
This was just the latest late-inning outburst by Mocksville. There have been Mocksville heroics in three straight games, including a 5-4 win over the Mooresville Legends and a 3-2, nine-inning win over Stanly County.
“I told them we’ve got to win this inning,” Fox said of his pep talk before the bottom of the sixth. “I …