I visited Stoner-White Stadium at Jaycee Park last night and got to see Clint Moore’s last game in uniform for the Shockers a team made up mostly of Grimsley and Southeast Guilford players.
Clint will wearing the uniform at West Point later this weekend and he left the local scene on good note with the Shockers topping the TC Spirits 8-4. Clint Moore pitched strong and got good support from Austin Moyer with 2 home runs and Cam Cockman hit one too.
Clint must have been bringing the ball to the plate at 85-88 mhp and he is one talented young man. Consider this, his high school, Grimsley, received 8.3 million dollars in scholarship money for the senior class and Clint acquired $450.000.00 of that total and that speaks well for the value of his committment to West Point. Northwest Guilford was the only Guilford County school to surpass Grimsley in scholarship money with 8.5 million going to their graduates.
I never get much of chance to speak with Clint but I did have the opportunity last night to shake his hand and to be among the many to wish him well as he hits the road or the air on Saturday for the Banks of the Hudson up in New York.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw that little red-headed kid coming out of T. Cooper’s Deli on Randleman Road. I knew he was playing a lot of baseball and that he was pretty good, but I don’t know if anyone really believed it could take him this far. He deserves it, he is a good kid and very well-mannered. This young man can go far and he will.
The Moores; Kevan, Sharon, Megan, Larry, and Patsy were all there to see his last game and his coach at Grimsley, Alan Ashkinazy was there too. There will be a big send-off at his Uncle Rick’s house in High Point tonight and then it’s off to West Point on Saturday. Palomino President Bob Doss made a nice farewell speech for Clint Moore and I just found out last night that Bob is sick with stomach cancer and we wish him the best.
In game number two at Stoner-White the Guilford Patriots were roughing up the Challengers 10-0 when I pulled out at the end of the 4th inning. The Patriots are in first place and they have a big re-match with the Shockers on Saturday afternoon at 3pm. Justin Smith is pointing to this game as one of the biggest of the year and he just might have a few tricks up his sleeves. The Patriots got a boost from the bat of John Neese last night when he connected for a two-run homer in the third.
Page HS athletic director Rusty Lee was at the ballpark to see his son Cole get in a good workout and we also saw Smith HS coach Derrick Johnson in action down in the third base coach’s box. The wildest and maybe the nicest thing I saw was Jason Smith playing catch with young son Tucker.
Tucker is probably all of three or four years old and he can already throw the ball with power. You can tell that Jason has done a good job of working with little Tucker and that this kid will one day be someone to watch on the local baseball scene. Remember this little fellow, Tucker Durham Smith. I will give this kid all the space he needs because with a middle name like his he will need a few breaks. Jason is doing a great job with Tucker and he will be a fan favorite at Latham Park in about four years.
That’s the word from Stoner-White. Be sure to check out the game on Saturday afternoon at 3pm between the Guilford Patriots and the Shockers and again best of luck to Clint Moore and family as they head off to West Point.