|
LEXINGTON — South Rowan Legion coach Allen Wilson grits his teeth and makes a sound a bit like a weed-eater whenever his team has an off game. After the one on Tuesday night, Wilson sounded like a full-fledged lawn mower.
South struggled mightily in an 11-0, seven-inning loss to Lexington at Holt-Moffitt Field. Either South (6-13 overall, 6-11 in league play) was really bad or Lexington was awfully, awfully good.
Probably it was a little bit of both.
The game didn’t count in the league standings for either team. But it meant a great deal more to Lexington (12-10), because it had dedicated the game to fallen comrade Matt Barbee, an 18-year-old pitcher who succumbed to leukemia on Sunday night.
“Lexington played this one for the kid (Barbee),” said Wilson. “I know it had to be a tough night for them. I was real impressed with the way they focused in spite of everything and made the plays.”
Wilson tried to think of some positives his team could take back on the bus to Landis, but it was a very short list.
OK, he was glad to see Jeremy Teague bounce back from a bad outing on Monday with two scoreless innings. He was also pleased that he at least got to look at young hurler Stephen Ashby, even though the West Rowan jayvee was rudely treated in his first Legion start.
“If we got Teague back it was still a pretty good night,” said Wilson. “But other than that ...”
Don’t ask.
South was outhit 12-5 and was never really in the contest. It was already 7-0 before Greg Deal finally broke up Lexington lefty Chase Younts’ no-hitter in the fourth inning. It really could have been much, much worse. Lexington, which received seven walks and three hit batsmen, stranded 12 in the abbreviated game.
After Ashby’s early KO, Wilson turned to Josh Carson, who got South through two innings. Then he got a solid frame out of Jared Barnette and two scoreless ones from Teague.
Lexington coach Tom McCarthy, on the other hand, didn’t need to make a pitching change. Younts, son of former Lexington Legion coach Steve Younts, had things under control. He didn’t walk a batter until the seventh and scattered five singles. Only Drew Callicutt, Daniel Pinyan, Adam Cornelius and Barnette joined Deal in the South hit column.
“Younts kept us off balance,” said Wilson. “He threw some nice changeups in fastball counts and he threw his deuce (curve) in the dirt when he was ahead and got us to swing at it. He was tough.”
The game-breaker came before late-arriving patrons were even in their seats— a three-run first-inning homer to dead center by red-hot Chris Sotriffer. That made it 5-0.
Matt Coleman had three RBIs for Lexington, while Tripp Lockhart added three hits. Lexington hardly missed its biggest stick of all — Nick Lockhart, the state’s co-player of the year in the 3A prep ranks — who was away on a trip.
“We’re disappointed,” said Wilson. “We came over here to win, but Lexington just swung the bats better.”
The big question for South fans is how much the down game will affect tonight’s rematch with Rowan — a draw that is expected to double the population of Landis for several exciting hours.
“This one won’t affect the Rowan game at all,” said Wilson. “It’s probably better that we lost the way we did, rather than dropping a 2-1 game. We’ll flush this one quick and be ready for Rowan. That’s a big one no matter what anyone says. There will be a lot of pride at stake. They’re gonna try to get us back for beating them at their place (11-4), and we’re going to be defending our turf.
“It’s going to be a great night for baseball in Rowan county and I hope everyone in the county shows up for it. I hope we have to rope off the outfield to find room.”
n
NOTES: Lexington is a good team. It’s gone 12-4 since an 0-6 start, including a 10-9 win over Rowan at Holt-Moffitt. ... Callicutt left in the fifth after slightly injuring his back on a swing, but Wilson says it won’t affect his status tonight. ... Wilson has lefty Chris Morris and right-hander Drew Lyerly, the same pitchers who were successful against Rowan in the first meeting, ready for what he hopes will be a repeat upset. Rowan is expected to pitch Julian Sides, a smart lefty who’s very similar to Younts.
|
Today's News