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MOCKSVILLE — Turning a rare triple play figured to be a positive for the Asheboro American Legion baseball team.
It wasn’t. It only made Mocksville slugger Steve LeFaivre mad. And an angry LeFaivre proceeded to lead Mocksville to a 12-5 pounding of Asheboro at Mando Field and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five Area III quarterfinals playoff series.
LeFaivre, batting with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth inning, smoked a liner that Asheboro first baseman Mike Stefanacci stabbed in self-defense. Then Stefanacci stepped on the bag for out two.
Then he fired down to second to erase a diving Skipp Crider for out three.
“It happened so fast I didn’t even know they got three outs,” said Mocksville coach Mike Lovelace. “It was just banger here, banger there — inning over. Steve was a little upset, but that’s just baseball.”
To hear LeFaivre tell it, “a little upset” doesn’t adequately describe his ire.
“I hit that ball good, figured I’d get a few ribbies out of it,” said the smooth lefty swinger who has signed with Wake Forest. “When they got a triple play that ticked me off, because I’ve never hit into a triple play.
“ I sort of killed that inning. But I hit better when I’m mad. After that, I just took things out on the baseball.”
In the sixth, LeFaivre relieved some frustrations by lashing a three-run homer to left-center.
In the seventh, LeFaivre soothed frayed nerves by creaming a two-run homer to right-center that traveled over 400 feet.
“It cleared the top of the light pole,” said an impressed Lovelace. “I don’t know if they’ve found that one yet. It might be in Cooleemee or something.”
Actually, Cooleemee lies in another direction. LeFaivre’s tape-measure blast landed on Rich Park’s distant softball field, finally settling to earth like a visitor from another planet.
“It’s the longest one I’ve hit in Legion this year,” said a pleased
LeFaivre. “I got it all.”
“We got ourselves in situations where we had to pitch to LeFaivre,” said Asheboro coach Eric Allen with a laugh that contained no mirth. “Then we were so careful we got behind in the count. Then we threw balls over the plate and he got every bit of ‘em.”
LeFaivre provided enough fireworks for Mocksville pitchers Travis Allen and Andrew Daywalt to ease the game into the win column. The hurlers combined to strand 14 Asheboro runners.
Allen hadn’t started in three weeks, but took his team into the seventh.
Daywalt, a second baseman who is also the “fifth man” on Mocksville’s five-man pitching staff, got the last seven outs. His biggest one was a bases-loaded K of Asheboro slugger Lane Hunt in the seventh, when the visitors were trying to make a move.
‘Travis pitched well,” said Lovelace, “but he got really tired late in the game. Then Daywalt gave us quality innings.”
It was a huge win for No. 4 seed Mocksville. Lovelace’s charges can wrap things up tonight on the road. If not, at least they know they’ll be on home turf for a decisive fifth game.
“I’ve said all along this series might go five,” said Lovelace, “and I’ve told the team that we have to win the games in our park. Those are the critical ones.”
Mocksville (21-7) got hefty offensive contributions from Matt Dellacona, who fought off his flu bug long enough to spank a bases-loaded triple in the first inning, and Drew Ridenhour, who stroked four singles and scored three runs. Ridenhour walked home twice when LeFaivre’s bombs cleared the fences. Chris Brake chipped in with a 2-for-3 night.
“They got four runs in the first with two outs,” said Allen. “When that happens, the night’s not going to be a whole lotta fun.”
Especially when you tick off LeFaivre.
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NOTES: Mocksville leadoff man Zach Greene went hitless for the first time all season. He went 0-for-4 and was on deck when Willie Infante made the last out of the bottom of the eighth. “I’ll trade the streak for the win,” said Greene, who vowed to start a new one. ... Hunt hit a two-run homer for No. 5 seed Asheboro. .... The series winner takes on the Kannapolis-Eastern Randolph winner in the Legion playoff semifinals.
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