Rocky Mount's Moss commits to UNC
August 18, 2009 By Charles Alston of Rocky Mount High School
ROCKY MOUNT - Three seasons from now, Mike Fox's North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team will feature not one, not two, but three players from Rocky Mount High School. Former Gryphon Brian Goodwin will be a junior by then and current Gryphon senior lefty Hobbs Johnson will be starting his sophomore season.
Last weekend, a third Gryphon decided that Chapel Hill was the place where he wanted to play collegiately as junior hurler Benton Moss verbally committed to play for Fox.
The 6-foot-2, 165-pound right hander said yes to Fox's scholarship offer after turning down East Carolina, N.C. State and South Carolina. Moss got extensive looks from coaches over the summer as he played in the N.C. State Games, participated in the Junior American Legion baseball tournament and toured the southeast with Impact Baseball's showcase team, the Dirtbags.
"I made my decision last week," said Moss, who won the deciding game that gave the Gryphons the 2008 NCHSAA 3-A state championship. "Their (UNC's) interest in me started in the middle of the summer and it just grew. My family and I visited the campus on Aug. 5. The campus was unbelievable, the coaches were great and the program .. well, what can you say about the program. It's one of the best around. I have a lot of respect for Coach Fox and his staff.
"When it really came down to it, I had it narrowed down to the state's big three. And UNC topped the list. I wanted to get the selection over with."
Both Goodwin and Johnson committed to UNC early, too.
Moss enters his junior season with a sparkling 14-1 career record with 102 strikeouts - all done while pitching as the Gryphons' No. 2 staffer the last two seasons. A starter as a freshman, he went 7-0 - including that decisive 3-A state championship series victory. Last season, he nearly cut his ERA in half (2.30 to 1.20) in posting a 7-1 mark - five wins coming during the NEW 6 Conference season.
He may have a chance to become Rocky Mount's all-time winner in pitching victories while possibly playing only one of his four seasons as the ace of the Gryphons' staff. He says he has been so fortunate to pitch behind players like Jim Leggett (RM's all-time winning pitcher with 28 victories) and Johnson.
"I was real blessed that the No. 2 spot was open for me as a freshman and Coach (Pat) Smith took a chance on me," said Moss, who has hit the high 80s with his velocity. "I learned so much playing with Jim and playing with Hobbs this past season was just awesome. They really know how to pitch."
Academics were really on Moss' mind, too, while picking the UNC. He's a member of Rocky Mount's International Baccalaureate program and sports a weighed GPA of 4.75.
Moss knows that the hard work will have to continue even though the hardest decision of his life, so far, has been made.
"I know I have to continue working hard to get stronger and become a better athlete," said Moss, who is foregoing playing varsity soccer which he played the last two seasons. "I really would like to put on about 10 more pounds.
"I don't really have a money pitch, but I know I have to keep improving on all my pitches and not rely on one to get an out. Playing good defense is something Coach Smith has always stressed and it's the main reason why we won a title a year ago.
"I wouldn't mind getting another ring," he said. |
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