Was it the mob that had packed its way into Newman Park, hurriedly munching hot dogs and peanuts because this was supposed to be one of those ho-hum, seven-inning, 10-run mercy rule blowouts?

Or was it the talented Moore, who had allowed only one homer (a solo job) during the entire high school season?

Or was it Cornelius, who batted a modest .222 with no homers and all of four RBIs for East Rowan High this spring?

Had to be Cornelius.

“That (homer) was off a draft pick right there,” gushed the normally reserved Cornelius. “That — that was something special.”

Anyone with a heart — regardless of the colors they wore last night — had to feel a little tug in the chest for Cornelius.

A couple of days ago, Rowan coach Jim DeHart granted Cornelius (0-for-5 while playing sparingly for Rowan) his release — permitting him to suit up for South. DeHart is well aware that Cornelius is fast and is a terrific defensive outfielder, but DeHart has Brett Peiffer, Nate Woodburn and Nick Lefko and Cornelius has no track record as a hitter.

At least he didn’t until last night. Besides his slam, Cornelius had a two-run single, driving in six runs against Moore, who hadn’t allowed more than two runs in a contest since the calendar turned to 2000.

“For me,” shouted Cornelius, smiling between bites of a hot dog, “this is a brand new season.”

“Adam had fun,” said South coach Allen Wilson, who said there was no magic formula for Cornelius’ mystifying night other than some hard work by assistant Michael Lowman. “It was great to see him do that, because he’s a great kid. I haven’t seen him with a smile that big in a long time. Does Adam fit in with our team? A kid like this can fit in anywhere. He could fit in, in Russia.”

It was simply one of those crazy old baseball nights. Rowan, which made four errors, probably can’t play worse. South, which made none, probably can’t play better. The combination led to a romp by South (which lost by seven runs to Kannapolis on Tuesday at home) that was more spooky than fluky. South thoroughly dominated its tradition rich and talent-laden neighbors.

“We had a bad game,” shrugged Rowan’s Nathan Woodburn.

“Hats off to South,” said a gracious DeHart. “They out-hit us, out-pitched us, out-thought us and out-coached us. They were in the right positions and they made every play.

“It’s a long season and we should keep this game in perspective,” he added. “We’re 7-1, they’re 3-4. But tonight they were the better team. Daniel just didn’t have his good stuff and they knocked the crap out of him. They whipped us.”

It was the first time South had ever beaten Rowan in any fashion— whipped, or otherwise — at Newman Park. It was also South’s first win over Rowan in a regular season game. South’s only previous win over Rowan in its five-year history had come in the first round of the Area III playoffs on June 24, 1997, by a 3-2 margin.

“Nothing special. I just told them to play to win,” he said. “I told them a few thousand people were going to pay money to yell at them (or for them). I told them they were going to yell at me and Lowman, too. I told them to enjoy it. I could see in their eyes that they were going to play well. I won’t say I knew we were going to win against a team as good as Rowan, but I did know we were going to play as hard as we could.”

South seemed to have an emotional edge, even with the virtually unbeatable Moore making his debut for Rowan. And while South was on fire, the Rowan players couldn’t seem to get excited about a game that everyone said would be a breeze. Everyone that is, except DeHart. The coach said all the right things all week — that South was talented, that South was improving, that South was well-coached, that South was a “formidable foe.” Few took him seriously.

Rowan scored two in the first for a quick lead, but Moore, who fanned nine, struggled in the third. Drew Callicutt reached him for an RBI double. Then Cornelius dumped a two-out, two-run single to center and scored on some aggressive baserunning after an error to give South a 4-2 lead.

Ryan Schenk’s patient leadoff walk and Ronnie Shore’s beauty of a hit-and-run single got South going in the fifth, but it still wouldn’t have scored in the inning had Rowan’s Brian Hatley fielded Callicutt’s two-out wobbler to third base. But the ball went right through him to plate a run. Now it was 5-2. More important, now Moore had to pitch to Cornelius with the bases full.

The ensuing shot heard ‘round the county may have been the single greatest moment ever for the SouthLegion squad.

“Five unearned runs after the two-out error,” groaned DeHart. “That was pretty much it.”

Rowan came back for two in its half of the fourth when South starter Chris Morris issued five walks, but South turned the first of its three double plays behind reliever Drew Lyerly to end the threat.

Jared Barnette’s two-run homer in the seventh and some clutch pitching by Lyerly (another player that Dehart recently released to South) over the final innings, wrapped it up.

“I guess Cornelius and Lyerly came back to haunt me,” smiled DeHart ruefully. “But they’re nice kids and I’m happy for them.”