“We got our butts kicked tonight, and that’s the bottom line,” South head coach Allen Wilson said. “This is not the way you want to start out, that’s for sure.”

Mooresville claimed a seven-inning 13-3 victory over South Rowan to open the first round of the Area III playoffs. The best-of-three series shifts to South tonight at 7:15 for a possible clincher. If not, Game 3 comes Friday back at Mooresville, with the winner advancing to play Rowan County starting Monday.

Mooresville scored nine runs in the final two innings off four South pitchers to end it early. Every Mooresville starter but one got a hit, and all but one player — a different one — scored at least one run.

“I told the kids before the game that they looked real loose and the ball was jumping off their bats,” Mooresville head coach Whitey Meadows said. “You never can tell what all these kids are going to come up with some nights.”

The bottom of the batting order got it going in the fifth inning. Mooresville held a 4-1 lead heading into the fifth when South starter Jared Barnette got two outs, but couldn’t get the third.

Jared Brewster walked on a 3-2 count and Ben Crabtree singled home a run. Jeremy Sherrill dunked a single to right to load the bases to bring No. 8 hitter Josh Haire to the plate. Haire worked the count full, then lined a double down the right-field line that hopped over the wall for two more runs.

Justin Graham, batting ninth, followed with another soft liner to right to make it 9-1.

“The reason I left Barnette in so long, they weren’t hitting bullets off him, they weren’t hitting it out of the park. They were hitting pitches we wanted them to swing at,” Wilson said. “Mooresville just hit the ball good and hit with runners in scoring position.”

Things quickly got out of hand in the bottom of the sixth. Reliever Chris Morris walked two and allowed a hit to load the bases. Tim Cook came on and gave up three runs on four hits before Trent Beaver finally relieved, throwing one pitch for an inning-ending double play.

The damage had been done, though, as South trailed 13-1.

Mooresville starter Clark Benfield cruised through the South lineup and had little need for 13 runs. His only real mistake came in the third inning, when Drew Callicutt one-hopped a double over the wall to score Greg Deal.

That tied the game at 1-all, but only briefly, as the Moors collected three runs in the bottom half, two on Brewster’s triple to the gap in right-center.

Benfield allowed only a walk and hit over the next three innings, setting up a complete-game bid in the seventh. He fanned Jeremy Alderman on three pitches, but walked Ryan Schenk and gave up a soft single to Matt Morgan. Derick Efird’s single loaded the bases, and a walk on a 3-2 count to Deal brought in a run.

“I was a little reluctant. I hated to take Benfield out,” Meadows said. “We had to give him a little help. I hoped we could squelch that rally in the seventh so it wouldn’t go any further.”

Josh Overcash, a West Rowan High graduate, came on in relief and struck out former teammate Callicutt — albeit on a pitch that Callicutt argued was outside. Barnette walked on four pitches to make it 13-3, but Overcash recovered to get Daniel Pinyan looking to end the threat and the game.