How an old jersey represents Roberson baseball's grit in NCHSAA 4A state title defense

Roberson baseball carries around an old jersey to its games, part of a tradition that’s been around longer than coach Eric Filipek. Junior Micah Simpson isn’t sure what year it’s from, but they chose it for the No. 24 on the back.

In sharpie on the front, it spells out the acronym RAMP – Respect the Journey. Accountability. Mission. Perseverance. On the back, with little organization, are the scribbled names of each game’s RAMP player. Filipek selects a player or two each game who made a crucial play in a big moment. At the end of the season, whoever is selected the most gets his picture up on a wall at Roberson’s field.

Junior Zeb Swangim has been selected 10 times. Simpson, last year’s RAMP player of the year, has his name written down nine times.

“Baseball is a unique sport because you’re inconsistent,” Simpson said. “You can’t be the man every day, but you’ve got a team with a bunch of guys who have an opportunity to be great that day and it works out.”

It’s worked out well for Roberson, which clinched its third Mountain Athletic Conference title in four years by beating Asheville High on May 1.

While a conference title isn’t the end goal for the Rams, who are looking to defend last year’s NCHSAA 4A state championship, Filipek reminded his team after the game that winning the conference still means a lot.

“Sometimes you do take things for granted, and you’ve gotta celebrate your victories,” Filipek said.

Roberson stays loose during gamedays, chanting and dancing in the dugout during big moments. Senior Reno Jeter said the relaxed atmosphere has made gamedays more fun.

On the field, though, the Rams lock in and focus on RAMP. In the win over Asheville, Simpson was named one of the RAMP players after he threw a seven-inning two-hitter on the mound and homered at the plate. Junior Jake Parham also was selected for a well-placed bunt single and a smart baserunning play.

“Every game it seems to be a different guy (selected),” Simpson said. “Honestly, the games we have the most guys get on the shirt means we’re playing good as a team.”

By sweeping Asheville, Roberson locked itself into the No. 1 seed in the West, based on the NCHSAA’s RPI standings. That’s a big deal for the Rams, Filipek said, who will now play at home all the way through the state championship.

That means teams will have to travel to Asheville, throwing off their routines, and the Rams will be able to play in front of the home crowd on the field they’re accustomed to.

“We have so many routines in place at our place,” Filipek said. “The ultimate thing about baseball, you want to have the last chance in the bottom half to win it.”

To get the No. 1 seed, the Rams (20-4) scheduled a gauntlet of nonconference games against top-notch competition.

They narrowly lost on the road to Parkview, one of Georgia’s top teams. They swept a spring break road trip, beating South Brunswick, New Hanover and J.H. Rose, Class 3A East’s No. 1 team. They also swept West Henderson, including a 15-3 victory early in the year.

By making that schedule, Filipek said it prepares his team for postseason play, when games are single elimination for four rounds and their backs are against the wall. Ideally, he said, playing harder competition will teach his players not to fold when the pressure is higher.

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“(Filipek) told us at the beginning of the year, it would be easy to schedule a season where we could win every game,” Simpson said. “But he’s trying to put losses on the schedule. You learn from losses.”

Roberson will enter the playoffs with a six-game win streak and the momentum flowing at the right time.

“When you get the momentum on your side, it’s hard to stop it,” Jeter said.

Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NCHSAA baseball: How old jersey has Robinson ready to defend 4A title