Forget all the adversity. Mocksville-Davie head coach Mike Lovelace was just happy to finally beat Rowan County.

“It wasn’t one of the prettiest games, but we beat a very good Rowan County team,” Lovelace said. “A lot of things happened tonight and the kids battled through them.”

Mocksville’s offensive firepower battered Rowan pitchers for 15 runs on 16 hits, 13 walks and five hit batsmen for a 15-9 win Friday night at Newman Park.

Mocksville had lost 21 of its last 22 games to Rowan, which dropped from first place in the American Legion’s Western Division Southern District standings. Rowan dropped to 10-3, three wins behind tonight’s foe Concord. Mocksville improved to 9-4 and leads the Northern District.

“We came into this ballgame ready to win it and go to 4-0 at home,” said Rowan first baseman Ben Hampton, referring to his team’s three-game home winning streak. “It got out of hand. We just didn’t show up to play tonight.”

Mocksville sluggers Drew Ridenhour and Steve LeFaivre each knocked two-run homers as Rowan gave up three runs in the first and second innings and four more in the fifth.

Rowan starter Nate Woodburn got into trouble early with a sluggish defense behind him. In the first inning, Ridenhour sent a grounder to Tad Ogg, who started a double play to second. But Hampton couldn’t hold onto the relay at first, keeping the inning alive.

After a LeFaivre single, Andrew Daywalt sent a chopper to third that skipped under Ogg’s glove to load the bases. Matt Dellacona delivered with a ringing double to left-center for a 3-0 lead.

Another extra out came into play in the second. Zach Greene singled, but left for second early on a stolen base attempt. Woodburn threw low to first and Hampton couldn’t handle it in time to get the out at second. After an RBI groundout that would have ended the inning, Ridenhour sent a fastball screaming over the left-field fence for a 6-2 lead.

“Our failure to turn some double plays got Woodburn in trouble,” Rowan head coach Jim DeHart said. “But you can’t throw fastballs down the middle because those guys will hurt you.”

Ridenhour opened the fifth inning with a single and scored on LeFaivre’s homer, which seemed to still be going up as it rocketed over the wall in center at the 360-foot mark.

Woodburn walked Daywalt and gave way to three relievers, who ended the inning after allowing two more runs on two walks, two singles and another botched inning-ending double play ball.

Shawn Trosper, Philip Goodman and Julian Sides each pitched in the fifth, then Brandon Doby, Bobby Parnell, Drew Davis and Ben Hampton took turns over the final four frames.

Davis actually pitched in the eighth inning, gave way to Hampton in the ninth, then relieved for the last three outs, leaving the bases loaded.

It was the only time a Rowan pitcher got out of a jam.

“They couldn’t find the plate and when they did, we took advantage and hit it,” Greene said. “We just jumped on them.”

Mocksville starter Skipp Crider gave Rowan plenty of chances to get back in the game. The left-hander with a variety of off-speed pitches walked seven, allowed seven hits and five hit batters in his six innings of work.

Rowan scored twice in the first inning on Hampton’s triple. Cal Hayes Jr. led off the inning with a routine grounder to second that Kevin Shuping played a little too routinely — the second baseman watched in disbelief as his casual throw got to first a second after the mercurial Hayes did.

Rowan added a pair of unearned runs in the second and scored one in the fourth after a controversial balk call led to Mocksville ejections in the dugout.

Instead of worrying about the distractions, Mocksville went to the plate in the top of the fifth and added four more runs.

“We had a couple of plays with the umpires, but we didn’t let that take us out of the game,” Greene said.

Rowan left the bases loaded in the fifth without scoring. Aaron Safrit, who entered the game in the sixth inning, got his first hit of the year in the seventh with a two-run homer to center, but Rowan again stranded three.

For the game, Rowan left 17 runners on base. That number, all the walks by all the pitchers and Mocksville’s explosive offense helped Lovelace’s team finally break Rowan’s spell.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” the Mocksville coach said. “It’s just one of those games where everything happens and we somehow got the winning end of it.”

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NOTES: LeFaivre, a Wake Forest signee, lost a hit in the second inning when Hayes made a diving stop up the middle and threw him out by a step. … Ridenhour, bound for Western Carolina, finished 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs … Mocksville’s third big name, future UNC Charlotte catcher Chris Brake, silenced Rowan’s running game. … He was the only Davie player without a hit, but Brake was hit by two pitches, walked once and scored and sent a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to the warning track in center.