Kannapolis hasn’t dropped a playoff series yet, but Joe Hubbard’s team finally suffered a loss:

The ability to sneak up on people.

When the American Legion baseball Area III finals begin tonight at 7:15 at Newman Park, Rowan County will know exactly what to expect — a juggernaut.

Ninth-seeded Kannapolis beat Lexington three games to two, top seed Eastern Randolph 3-1 and Mocksville 3-2 with a four-run comeback in the top of the ninth inning Saturday. Every time Kannapolis looked dead in the water, an amazing comeback revived the team and took it all the way to the state playoffs.

That’s where Rowan and Kannapolis head after the Area III final, as a new state playoff system brings the top two teams from the four areas together for a double-elimination tournament.

“They’ve earned our attention and our respect,” Rowan head coach Jim DeHart said. “It’s no fluke. You don’t fluke your way through three series.”

Rowan County, 25-10 and the area’s No. 3 seed, knows it is next on Kannapolis’ hit list.

“They knocked off No. 8, No. 1 and No. 4, then they come after No. 3. I’d say they’re doing pretty good,” DeHart said. “They’d like to add us to their trophy list.

“My hat’s off to them,” DeHart added. “If I had to vote for a coach of the year, it certainly would be Joe. He’s done a great job with those guys, made believers out of them.”

Hubbard still faces a tough task, though, in convincing his team it can hit Rowan’s ace pitchers. Brian Hatley and Daniel Moore already own wins over Kannapolis this year.

Hatley beat Kannapolis 4-3 in the first game of the season. He’ll pitch tonight in Game 1 because Moore is in Chapel Hill for freshman orientation at the University of North Carolina, where he’ll pitch next year.

Moore instead goes in Game 2. The last time he pitched in Kannapolis, he took a no-hitter to the last out of the game in the seventh inning. He struck out 18 and allowed one ball to be hit in fair territory in a 21-0 thrashing.

With the way Kannapolis is playing right now, though, those games seem like ancient history.

“We’re just not the type of team that concerns ourselves with past history or what the other team does,” DeHart said. “If we don’t play the way we’re capable of playing, we’re not going to win anyway.”

Rowan breezed past Mooresville and King for three-game sweeps before finally losing once to Concord in the playoffs.

Now that Rowan is in the state tournament, its goal of winning the state title can be reached. But adding an Area III crown first takes priority.

“Our goal was not to get to the state playoffs. It was to win. We still have a long way to go,” DeHart said. “We won’t be laid back. We have some work ahead of us.”

The only question mark for Rowan right now is the starter for Game 3.

Left-hander Julian Sides came down with a slight case of mono, and DeHart will probably hold him out until state. That means Nate Woodburn, who won the clincher against Concord, 15-year-old lefty Spencer Steedley or North Rowan junior Brandon Doby could all see time against Kannapolis.