KANNAPOLIS — Rowan County catcher Brad Canipe has said on several occasions that he’s glad that some day he’ll be able to tell his kids he once caught a fellow named Daniel Moore.

Canipe’s already impressive collection of bed-time stories grew a bit more on Friday night when Moore blew away Kannapolis 21-0 in a seven-inning fairy tale of a game at Veterans Field. By all accounts, it was one of the most dominating Legion performances in history.

There are no-hitters and there are perfect games. What Moore did right up until the last out was beyond perfection.

Moore — get this — did not allow Kannapolis to even hit a fair ball until young Ryan Petty singled on a 2-and-2 pitch with two outs in the seventh. Until then the game had literally been “no fair.” Two Kannapolis hitters managed to make outs by popping up in foul ground, but no one got one between the lines until Petty’s dramatic hit brought a mixed roar of cheers and moans.

“That last pitch was terrible, just unbelievable,” said Rowan’s Brian Hatley, who watched helplessly from the dugout as Petty’s soft liner settled in right field. “Daniel was trying to pump up and blow that last one by, and the kid just stuck his bat out. Daniel pitched great. He should have gotten the no-hitter.”

“I guess it’s frustrating,” said Moore, who realized he had a no-hitter going, but had no idea that Kannapolis hadn’t put a ball in play. “But you can’t be mad about it. Last year maybe I would’ve been. Now, I realize that stuff like that happens. Hey, there are a lot of guys in the Hall of Fame who never threw a no-hitter.”

It looked like Cooperstown might place a collect call to the Rowan dugout any second last night. Moore (3-1) fanned 18 batters, while walking two. At one electric point, he fanned 13 straight, conjuring up images of the magic fellow Rowan left-hander Brian Boltz performed a dozen summers ago.

The game was well in hand after Rowan (15-4 in league play) scored seven runs in the third inning, so fans did weird things like yelling at Canipe to drop the ball on purpose when Chris Florence skied one behind the plate in the sixth. They wanted it to fall so Moore could go for yet another strike out.

Canipe grinned and caught it anyway.

Moore started out as he always does, fidgeting around the mound nervously like he’d just consumed six cups of coffee. He walked Florence, the first man he faced, on four pitches. He fanned Nate Amerson, but then nailed Zach Gurley with a pitch, prompting the plate umpire to ask Canipe if this was the same Moore guy he’d heard about.

“Sometimes it takes him a little while,” Canipe replied. “But he’ll settle down.”

By the second inning, Moore was settled. Coach Paul Benfield was calling pitches and he basically told Canipe to put down one finger. Moore, throwing at least 90 percent fastballs, fanned the side in the second, then the third. He blew away three more in the fourth — three more in the fifth. A stirring string of 13 straight Ks was finally interrupted by Florence’s foul out.

“Daniel would hook somebody occasionally, but he didn’t need to,” said Rowan coach Jim DeHart. “He was just throwing it by them. Paul called for fastballs and he should have. There was no need to speed their bats up. They weren’t coming close.”

Kannapolis (11-8) is very young, but it’s not like it’s a bad team. It’s going to finish fourth or fifth in Area III’s Western Division and has proven hitters like Gurley, Chad Tuttle, Bobby Helms and Dusty Carmichael. But no one had much of a prayer last night.

Florence, a lefty batter, hit a smash just foul down the left-field line in the third. He was the only Kannapolis batter to make substantial contact until Petty’s hit.

Kannapolis pitching coach Travis Little said Moore’s effort was the most devastating he’s witnessed.

“I saw Hut Smith and Andy Smith throw here (two A.L. Brown youngsters who were drafted), but until tonight I’ve never seen anybody go right through a lineup throwing nothing but fastballs,” he said. “The movement on Moore’s pitches must be unbelievable. Plus, he’ll throw it inside. Most kids don’t realize how important that is.

Moore was picked in the June major league draft by the Florida Marlins. The Marlins’ area scout was on hand for one more look last night and ate his heart out. Moore reaffirmed that he’ll attend UNC this fall no matter how much money he’s offered (Reports are that the Marlins’ offer was more than substantial).

“UNC loses six pitchers and someone’s gonna throw for them,” said Moore. “I know I have the opportunity to play pro ball, but I’m not interested right now. I’m going to school. I’m a Tar Heel.”

And for now, a member of the Rowan Legion team. A fact of life which makes DeHart beam.

“Oh, I’ve seen Daniel pitch better,” said DeHart. “I really have. But the results weren’t as good.”

DeHart was in a happy mood. He joked that Moore made him feel so comfortable that he read a book in the dugout and carried on a “three-inning conversation” with Mocksville Legion coach Mike Lovelace. He kidded Moore that it was good that he only had a one-hitter — “that way he could stay hungry.”

Moore was supported by an absolute explosion by Rowan’s hitters. Rowan scored 18 runs in one three-inning stretch, banged out 20 hits all told and got at least one knock from every starter. Brian Hatley and Brett Peiffer led the onslaught with four hits apiece. Red-hot Canipe had three.

“We came here ready. We came to tear some stuff up,” whooped Hatley.

It was pretty well torn after the third. Kannapolis starter Drew Maher was baffling for the first two innings, striking out four, but after that his defense let him down and Rowan hitters adjusted to his off-speed deliveries.

In the third, Ben Hampton hit a wicked liner over the inviting 300-foot barrier in right and Peiffer made it back-to-back homers with a long blast over the left-field scoreboard. In the fifth, Cal Hayes Jr. unloaded his first homer of the summer— a grand slam just fair down the left-field line. Up and down, Rowan hammered out a relentless series of ropes. Nate Woodburn tripled. Hatley, Canipe and Shawn Trosper doubled.

“We couldn’t stop the snowball once it started,” said Kannapolis head coach Joe Hubbard, whose team played Rowan a fierce 4-3 game on Opening Day. “It was a tough night. But this can happen when you play bad against a team as good as Rowan.”

But even if Rowan had scored 99 runs, it would have been Moore’s night.

“It was disappointing that Daniel didn’t get the no-hitter,” said Canipe. “But this was still one of his best. It was a classic game.”

One he’ll no doubt tell the kids about.

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NOTES: Rowan tied Mocksville for second in the Western Division of Area III with the win. Mocksville (15-4) plays strong Eastern Randolph (16-3) tonight. Rowan plays Stanly on Sunday. Concord finished 16-4. ... Hampton took over the team lead in homers for a few seconds, but Peiffer re-tied him immediately... It was a weird night. Leadoff batter Hayes had five RBIs with one hit. No. 3 batter Hatley had four hits and no RBIs. ... Zach Gurley was apparently ejected in the fifth.