North Linn earns doubleheader split in emotional high school baseball season opening night

TROY MILLS — North Linn Coach Travis Griffith recalled bus rides and growing up around Nashua baseball teams coached by his late father, Cary.

The bond through baseball began to form on those trips to away games, eventually influencing the younger Griffith to follow in his dad’s teaching and coaching footsteps.

“He was a single father, raising two kids,” Travis Griffith said. “I did everything with him. He drove the bus to baseball games and I rode the bus with him. The crowd babysat me.”

Cary Griffith died at the age of 77 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease last Wednesday, marking a tough week that included a funeral Sunday and North Linn’s season opener with Tri-Rivers Conference rival Alburnett Monday at home. In fitting fashion, the Lynx earned a split, winning the nightcap, 1-0, with Griffith’s son, Cole, scoring the lone run. The win came on the heels of an 11-2 loss in Game 1.

“I knew it was going to be emotional,” Travis Griffith said. “I knew we were going to have some ups and downs, but I was very happy. It was probably our best second game after a first-game defeat we’ve had, especially when you talk about our age.”

Cary Griffth coached multiple sports at Nashua and Nashua-Plainfield during his 42-year educational career. He won 387 baseball games from 1974-1998. He also was a Hall of Fame basketball official and will be posthumously inducted into the Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association softball officials Hall of Fame this summer.

“He was a great influence,” Travis Griffith said. “He was a great man.”

Griffith employs a similar brand of baseball. Bunting, baserunning and manufacturing runs is a staple of the Lynx program, resembling his dad’s teams. Griffith said he learned everything he knows from his dad, using the same signs and plays.

Griffith was surrounded by former high school teammates at the funeral.

“We were a small-ball team at Nashua,” Travis Griffith said. “A big suicide squeeze team.

“My friends keep teasing me. They hear North Linn and small ball with squeeze bunts. They laugh because you should have seen the 1980s and 1990s teams in Nashua because they did the same thing.”

Griffith possesses many fond memories and reflects on the knowledge he gained from his dad. The same can be said for Cole, one of three junior starters on a team with no seniors.

“All three of us shared a lot of things,” Cole Griffith said. “My grandpa taught my dad and my dad is teaching me, so it keeps getting passed down.”

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The diamond seemed to be a perfect place to honor their dad and grandfather. The sport also was a respite of sorts. A chance for normalcy for the Griffiths and the Lynx, who attended the funeral to support their coach and teammate.

“It’s definitely a good change of pace,” Cole Griffith said. “Just get your mind off things and go play baseball. He loved baseball, so it was fun to play.”

Travis said he missed more practices in recent weeks than his entire career due to his father’s failing health. He said assistant coach Justin Kress and middle school coach Brian Wheatley stepped in to help. The players remained on task and that was key in the win.

“The kids weren’t here dinking around,” Travis Griffith said. “They were prepared because they came every day and practiced hard. That helps and means a whole lot to me.”

The Lynx (1-1) produced a run in the first and pitched a shutout. Cole Griffith led off the game with a walk and stole second. Cael Benesh’s single moved him to third, setting up Macoy Winn’s sacrifice fly to drive in a run.

“It means a lot,” Cole Griffith said to score the decisive run. “One of our eighth-graders had the big hit, so it was a team effort the whole night.”

Waylon Raue, Levi Benesh and Winn combined for a three-hitter, getting support from a young defense including an inning-ending double play in the fourth. The Lynx played three eighth-graders and five freshmen during the twinbill.

“It’s a lot of fun to coach these guys,” Travis Griffith said. “You’re going to see so much growth.”

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