GRANITE QUARRY — East Rowan baseball coach Jeff Safrit has seen ’em come, seen ’em go over the years.
Safrit’s not easily impressed. He uses the word “great” to describe someone or something, oh, once every three years. But he used “great” after East Rowan’s 9-2 victory over Harding Tuesday night.
Safrit won’t argue when someone says Travis Goins was a great first baseman. And, yeah, David Trexler was a great shortstop and so is that quiet Hayes Jr. kid who’s at Trexler’s old spot now, And, sure, Safrit will agree that Jason Foster was a great center fielder. That Michael Lowman and Brian Hatley were great leaders.
And then there’s that Jeremy Teague fellow.
Huh? Who? What?
Yep, Jeremy Teague.
No fooling. Safrit gets real, real serious around playoff time. And he doesn’t blink or smile when he says that right here, right now, no doubt about it, Teague is great.
“His last four times on the mound, Jeremy’s been great,” said Safrit.
“Great.”
And Tuesday night when East faced 3A South Piedmont Conference foe Harding in a win-or-start-getting-ready-for-2002 situation?
“Jeremy pitched his best ball since he’s been here,” said Safrit.
Teague was awesome as East came back from an early deficit. In five scoreless innings of work, the senior right-hander fanned eight — including five straight. He didn’t walk a batter.
Ask people who the best prep pitcher in Rowan County is and the first names you’ll hear will be Jared Barnette, Julian Sides, Brandon Doby. But the numbers say no one’s having a better spring than Teague (4-2). He owns by far the county’s best ERA (0.64).
“I’m overlooked,” said Teague. “But that’s really better for me because hitters aren’t expecting much.”
Safrit says Teague saved East’s season on March 21. East was 0-5 in the league then, one loss away from oblivion. That fateful afternoon, Sun Valley went for the knockout, throwing its ace at the lowly Mustangs. But Teague outdueled David McKinney, maybe the best pitcher in a league stuffed with fabulous pitchers. That got East off the snide.
There’s been no turning back. Since March 21, East’s won seven of eight league games to climb to 9-6 overall, 7-6 SPC and into the maelstrom of a seven-team dogfight for the SPC’s second and third state playoff berths.
Over the last 20 days, Teague’s allowed two earned runs in 23 innings. He’s been in a Teague of his own, you might say. He’s been, well — great.
Teague was front and center for Tuesday’s key moment. He opened the game at third base, but with Harding (7-10, 7-7) ahead 2-1 in the third inning and with Rams on first and second, Safrit lifted starter Spencer Steedley and handed the ball to Teague. There were no outs.
Teague coaxed a groundout from Henson. Then he fanned Harding’s 3-4 hitters, Brian Ennis and Justin Little. Both went down on sweeping curve balls.
“Key to the game? Yeah, that was it,” said Harding coach Chris Scholl, who has seen his tired team slide from a firm grip on second place to a break-even record with three losses in four days. “That’s been our story lately. Early in the year, we got big hits in those situations.”
East has been the opposite. Safrit would have traded his mustache and his Willie Mays bubble gum cards for just one big hit in March. There were none to be had. But since the weather warmed a bit, East hasn’t stopped slashing and bashing and mashing.
“Yeah, we’re catching a few breaks,” said senior outfielder Adam Cornelius. “But we’re also hitting up and down the lineup. In March, we just weren’t making it happen.”
East punched out seven extra-base hits against a squad that spent its top two hurlers in tough losses Saturday and Monday.
“Seven — that’s a bunch,” grinned Safrit. “Probably as many as we had all of March.”
Three of those extra-base bombs were doubles by Drew Davis, Cornelius and Steedley in the third. That flurry of two-baggers handed Teague a 4-2 lead. East made it 5-2 on a fourth-inning error, then 7-2 in the fifth, on Nick Lefko’s triple, Cornelius’ squeeze bunt and Bobby Parnell’s run-scoring single. In the sixth, Davis and Lefko powered back-to-back homers to answer the consecutive blasts Henson and Ennis cranked off Steedley in the first.
“We’re still not there yet, but our destiny’s in our hands,” said Safrit. “I’ve had teams that were great in March, good in April, not good enough in May. Maybe this one’ can be awful in March, pretty good in April, real good in May. If that’s how it is, I’ll take it.”
The Mustangs, who have essentially been playing playoff games for weeks, still have work to do. But outside of champion Central Cabarrus, they’re in as good a position as anyone. “That’s because we got some intensity ,” said Teague. “We’re ready two hours before games. Everyone better watch out.”
Around the league, they are watching — and worrying. “Early in the season, people were saying, ‘Hey, East is down. Let’s keep ’em there,’ ” said Scholl. “But you know Safrit. You know his program.”
Everybody does. And over the years, they’ve been nothing but great.
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NOTES: Going into Tuesday’s games, seven of nine SPC teams had six losses. Only winless Concord and league champ Central Cabarrus weren’t in that muddle. ... Scholl says Harding’s not out of it. He’s right. If the Rams win on the road at Sun Valley and A.L. Brown, they go 9-7. That might tie for third. ... Both of Davis’ homers have come against Harding.
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