The End Is Near

I guess when we hear that statement, we all think of that cartoon where the guy is holding or wearing a sign walking down the sidewalk telling everyone that the "end is near."

But if you're a college student, you know exactly what I'm talking about and hearing that the end is near is sweet music to your ears.

Another semester of college is over, and for some, graduation is on the horizon and the quote on quote "real world" (because we all live in a fake world now) is about to rear its' ugly head.

Others, like myself, have one more college semester to stress, pull all-nighters, write ten page papers at the last minute, go to games and yell till your lungs can't stand it, and simply have unrestricted and unlimitted amounts of fun.

Although we all are praying that we do great on our finals and get these last minute projects and papers turned in. We are really glad to see the semester come to an end. It might be cliche, but time certainly does fly, even when you're not having fun.

We will cherish our summers, as we should, because they will not last long. Another semester of college will be back to haunt, I mean enrich our lives before we know it. So enjoy your summer all you college students, cause as Darius Rucker says, "It won't be like this for long."

Round 2 goes to............

The West Rowan Falcons. Forgive me if this is all I have to say for the time being, but that is how the game went from the very beginning, all West, all the time.

A shell-shocked East Rowan team and crowd watched as West took advantage of 5 uncharacteristic Mustang errors. East starter Preston Troutman had to leave the game due to leg cramps and reliever Cody Laws was roughed up to say the least by the Falcon onslaught.

Hernan Bautista helped West draw first blood with a solo shot in the top of the 2nd inning and the Falcons never looked back building a 7-0 lead before East got on the board with a Casey Little homer.

Randy Shepherd, inserted into the game in the 4th inning, was nearly untouchable with his hard slider and fastball. Mustang fans pleaded and growned to their team to start a rally, but there was little that could be done to stop the Falcon momentum.

When all was said and done, the 9-1 drubbing had West's NPC record at 4-4 following a surpring loss at the hands of North Iredell, and East had dropped to 7-2, two games back of league leading Lake Norman.

The North Piedmont Conference is living up to its' billing as the year progresses, proving that no team is a pushover.


Garrett White held East to three singles in the first three innings but was relieved by Shepherd after two walks in the 4th inning.

Every Falcon recorded a hit except second baseman Tyler King.

Falcons vs. Mustangs Round 2

High expectations usually accompany the baseball hotbed that is Rowan County, but West Rowan's Baseball team came into the season with unusually higher than normal expectations.

The Falcons were preseason ranked # 3 in the Impact Baseball poll. After starting the season 0-6, West is on a roll recently winning the Wilmington-Ashley Easter Tournament defeating some top notch competition.

With a North Piedmont Conference (NPC) victory on Monday, the Falcons have squared their conference record at 3-3.

High expectations are always on the tradition-rich East Rowan Mustangs whose only blip on the conference radar so far is a loss at the hands of Nick Lomascola and Lake Norman.

Both teams will have to play back to back nights thanks to Mother Nature's "kindness" on Tuesday. Both teams also figure to counter with good arms in this highly anticipated match-up Friday night in Granite Quarry.

A West Rowan win would surely shake up the conference standings and a East Rowan win would keep the Mustangs at pace with Lake Norman.

So with all the high expectations aside (yeah right), it should be a hotly contested game Friday night.

West Rowan Baseball off the Schneid

An old baseball adage, "off the schneid" is completely appropriate when talking about the West Rowan High School Baseball team after their 8-5 victory over the South Rowan High School Raiders Tuesday night in Mt. Ulla. After zero wins in six trys, the Falcons finally broke through the win column with a strong relief performance from pitcher D.J. Webb.
West Rowan starting pitcher Zack Simpson was ineffective and Webb entered the game in the top of the third inning with bases loaded and a 4-4 tie. Webb proceeded to fan Jacob Dietz leaving the bases loaded.
West led early 4-0 but South rallied to tie the score at 4-4 with a four-run third inning thanks to two run scoring wild pitches and a bases loaded walk. But instead of maybe panicking and folding in the clutch, the Falcons responded and got the big hits when they needed them to pull out their first North Piedmont Conference (NPC) win of the season. West took the lead for good in the fifth on a Jon Crucitti double to right-center.
It may be hard for West Rowan to win the NPC this year with East Rowan and Lake Norman still undefeated, but the Falcons are going to be no pushover for any of the opponents left on the schedule.