Behind door No. 1 was a curve that dropped like a stone on the outside corner. Behind the curtain was a wicked changeup at the knees. In the big box was a fastball that sailed right in on hitters’ thumbs.

Stanly County pitcher Monty Fast was the big deal of the day on Sunday. The little lefty pitched a complete-game six-hitter and dealt Rowan a 6-1 loss.

In the big picture, the game meant nothing to Rowan. Rowan, which finished 15-5 in league play, was going to be seeded behind Concord (Concord split with Rowan and outscored Rowan 9-8 in their two meetings) even if it beat Stanly to equal Concord’s 16-4 record.

Rowan was also going to be seeded ahead of 15-5 Mocksville ( Rowan split with Mocksville and outscored Mocksville 27-21 in their two meetings), no matter what transpired at Albemarle’s Don Montgomery Park.

“Still, we tried to win,” said Rowan coach Jim DeHart. “We knew the game wasn’t going to make any difference for us, but it was going to make a difference for someone.”

One of those “someones” was Stanly (8-11), which secured the No. 7 seed in Area III West by upsetting Rowan. That may not sound like all that much, but the seventh seed is a whole lot better than the eighth. Stanly gets to host winless No. 10 Statesville on Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs, instead of tangling with No. 9 South Rowan, which has won seven times, including a 13-3 romp over Stanly in Landis.

“The playoffs are a whole new season,” said Stanly coach David Lee. “Little nagging things went wrong for us all summer, but we could still get hot in the playoffs. I still believe in this team.”

Fast, who fanned 10, would give anyone reason to believe. He looks like the paper boy, but in spite of his ordinary stature, the Appalachian State signee is an extraordinary pitcher.

Just ask the North Rowan High players on the Legion team. He threw an eight-inning no-hitter to beat Daniel Moore and the Cavs 1-0 in this year’s Easter Tournament.

“Seems like there’s something about me pitching to Rowan, but I just don’t know what it is,” said Fast, grinning sheepishly.

“Fast has got great movement and he keeps his off-speed stuff low and away and at the knees,” analyzed Rowan’s Nate Woodburn, a North grad. “Then when you’re looking away he’ll come inside with the fastball and jam you.”

“Jamming someone is more fun than striking him out,” said Fast, who led Albemarle High to the state 1A finals.

Rowan actually had a chance to make fast work of its tormentor in the first inning.

The game began with singles by Cal Hayes Jr. and Woodburn. Then Brian Hatley walked to load the bases.

“That’s when I stopped thinking so much and just started throwing the ball,” said Fast, who halted Rowan’s five-game winning streak.

Rowan settled for a single run on Ben Hampton’s sac fly. Fast fanned Brett Peiffer and Brad Canipe to escape.

“We shoulda turned it on right there in the first inning,” said Woodburn. “But we just didn’t seem to have that spark.”

“The first inning was the key,” said DeHart. “Fast is pretty good and we weren’t patient.”

The only other time Fast broke a sweat was in the sixth when Hampton walked with one out and Peiffer socked his second double of the game.

But Fast retired Canipe on a grounder and Nick Lefko on a fly ball.

Stanly got all of its runs in the second, mostly against Spencer Steedley, the rising sophomore at East who has been virtually untouchable.

“We’ve talked about it,” said DeHart. “We knew that sooner or later the kid was going to have some adversity.”

Maybe the law of averages finally did catch up with Steedley, who came in 5-0. Two walks and a bunt got him in hot water. A bases-loaded walk to Zane Chrane tied the game at 1-1. Then Chad Elium’s double, which stirred chalk down the left-field line, plated two runs.

Hatley, who had been playing third base and wasn’t completely loose, relieved Steedley and was greeted by a nearly identical two-run double by Chad Yow to make it 5-1. Yow scored Stanly’s sixth run on Josh Ussery’s groundout.

“It was a big inning that went our way for a change,” said Lee. “That’s been our nemesis all year.”

And with Fast, Rowan’s nemesis, on the mound, it was all over.

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