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GRANITE FALLS — Record-breaking Brian Hatley and NickLefko drove in more than half the runs as Rowan County’s AmericanLegion baseball team eliminated Area III rival Kannapolis 12-6 Tuesday evening in the state tournament.
Rowan, now 6-1 against its local rival this season, used the victory to advance to the losers bracket finals Tuesday night. Coach Jim DeHart’s Rowan club won a 3-2 thriller over Cherryville to earn a berth opposite host Caldwell County in the championship game today.
Hatley, who drove in four runs, went 2-for-5, giving him 211 career hits for a new Rowan club record. Keith Knight, who closed out his career helping Rowan win the state title in 1993, held the old record of 210.
Hatley was excited to know he had broken Knight’s record, but more concerned about getting the state championship Knight won seven years ago.
“It feels good to know that I’m up there ... much less leading it, especially in a county that’s as big on baseball as Rowan is. It’s one of the biggest Legion programs around and it’s been here for awhile.It’s a good feeling to know I’m up there, but I want to win this state tournament,” said the 18-year-old fourth-year starter.
To have a shot at the state title, Rowan had to get past a friendly rival, Kannapolis. The Rowan and Kannapolis players had spent a lot of time together in the hotel since Friday night, and they pulled for each other all week. Until yesterday.
Rowan served notice early that it was going to continue its regular-season and Area III playoff success against coach Joe Hubbard’s Kannapolis club, scoring five runs in the opening inning and three more in the second.
The big blow in the first inning was Lefko’s fourth homer of the season, a three-run shot to left field.It capped off the five-run inning against Kannapolis ace Bobby Helms, who moved to shortstop after that inning.
“I kind of struggled the last game a little bit,” said Lefko, referring to an 0-for-4 outing during Monday’s 5-4 win over Wilmington. “I wanted to get back on a roll.I remembered the last time when Helms pitched up at home, he kind of had me there for awhile.I’m glad I got that hit (homer) off him to start the game.”
Lefko has power, but is usually a singles and doubles hitter.
“I was just trying to hit the ball and put the ball in play somehow. I got jammed; I didn’t even think I hit it good. I saw where it landed (past the 334-foot sign). Coach (Jason)Kluttz gave me the high five, and it went over the wall,” said Lefko.
Rowan’s lead was cut to 8-4 in the third inning, when Kannapolis scored three runs, but red-hot Cal Hayes Jr. regained the momentum for Rowan when he crushed his fourth homer of the season over the left-field fence, making it 10-4.
Kannapolis did its share of hitting, too, collecting 17 hits off Rowan starter Brandon Doby, who went 513 innings, and reliever Philip Goodman, but the hurlers from North Rowan High School combined to allow only two runs over the final six innings.
“I think, under these circumstances, I went as far as I would have liked to have went, but in a normal game, I don’t think that I’d be satisfied with six innings,” said Doby, who got the win, improving his record to 4-1.
“Philip came in and did good,” he said of the North connection.
Goodman, whose best pitch is usually a knuckleball, got his first save by pitching six-hit, one-run ball over the final 323 innings. But he wasn’t sharp with the knuckler.
“The knuckleball wasn’t really working that great today. It was kind of sliding off my fingers,” explained Goodman, who said his fastball was most effective.
“Everybody here wants to win this, so I’m just trying to help them out so we can go all the way,” he added.
Kannapolis aided Rowan’s cause by committing eight errors — four by Helms after he moved to shortstop in the second inning.
“Uncharacteristically, Bobby made about four errors at shortstop,” said DeHart. “Bobby wasn’t right today on the mound.He’s a tough pitcher; he just didn’t have it. I thought they made a great moving bringing him out, then if they won this game, they could come back with him tonight. We were hitting him pretty well. Bobby’s a quality kid and quality player:He just didn’t have it.”
DeHart said there was not a great feeling of accomplishment beating the Area III runner-up for the sixth time.
“We felt like going in we could beat them. It didn’t matter who they pitched, we thought we could beat them. I’m not trying to be arrogant about it, because they’re a great club. They’re one of the four left in the state. We just felt like we matched up pretty well with them.”
DeHart said of his team’s pitching, “I wanted Doby to go six, and he gave me 513. He gave me everything I needed to get to Goodman. Then, if I got in real deep trouble in the ninth inning,I could always go to Moore for two or three outs.”
He was ecstatic about Goodman’s performance in relief.
“He’s earned my respect. He’s earned a spot out there. Anytime we get in trouble, that’s whoI go to, ever since he proved to me he could do it. He’s tough. North Rowan is going to be blessed again next year with two quality pitchers in Doby and Goodman,” said the Rowan coach.
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