C.B. Aycock baseball coach Charles Davis still preaching fundamentals in final season

C.B. Aycock baseball coach Charles Davis has built his program into a perennial power over his 27-year career, but he said he didn’t realize this season, his last before retirement, would include his 500th career win.

“I wasn’t even aware of it,” he said, immediately heaping praise on his supporting cast. “I’ve been very fortunate and very blessed to not only have some very good players, but good assistants.”

It’s the team-player type of modesty you would expect from a coach who has built a contender on fundamentals. The Golden Falcons won the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A title in 2007 under Davis and were runners-up in 2012 and 2015.

“We get the bunts down, we run the bases aggressively and try to score some runs,” he said. “Basically that philosophy – pitching and defense – is what I’ve been doing for 27 years. So we don’t get away from that.”

Davis has his team (11-4, 4-3) in the playoff hunt again this year, and he has high praise for a team that hit its stride in the second half of the Eastern Carolina 3A/4A Conference schedule and shows no signs of taking a day off.

“We’re just trying to improve each and every day,” he said.

Davis has coached champions and many of his players have gone on to play at the next level, but he still preaches the basics; a winning formula that hasn’t changed much in nearly three decades

“As long as we do the little things – we pitch it well, we play defense, we use our speed and get timely hits – we’ll be OK,” he said.

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 2:27 PM with the headline "C.B. Aycock baseball coach Charles Davis still preaching fundamentals in final season."