MT. ULLA — Traffic is thinning out in the race for the two remaining SPC state playoff berths.
And yes, that was West Rowan switching to the fast lane Friday night, when it zoomed to a crucial 5-1 victory over visiting Sun Valley.
“Now we control our own destiny,” coach Chris Cauble said after the Falcons (8-6 SPC, 13-8 overall) gained a tie for second place in the standings. “Now we can relax, enjoy the weekend and come back next week and play two games that really count.”
Those would be West’s final regular-season conference games — Tuesday at A.L. Brown and Friday at Concord. Victories in both would assure the Falcons a 3A state playoff berth, barring an upset in the still-to-come conference tournament.
“This was big,” said West third-baseman Corey Ruff. “If we had lost this game we’d battling for third (place) all next week. Now we’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing and we’ll be all right.”
They were better than that last night. West collected 12 hits, 11 of them against Sun Valley’s college-bound starting pitcher Andy McKinney. And there was only one word to describe his sparring partner, West junior Jared Barnette: exceptional, with a capital E.
“(Sun Valley) is a very good hitting team,” Barnette (6-4) said after fanning 12 batters and checking the guests on four hits. “You can’t groove anything to them. We learned that when we played them down there (a 7-0 loss in Indian Trail on March 23).”
This time Barnette was in top form, striking out the side in the second inning and retiring 14 of the last 17 batters he faced. His fastball, clocked in the mid-80’s, was swift and alive, while his curve served as a deceptive show pitch.
“He really kept them guessing,” said West catcher Ben Hampton. “A couple times we caught them leaning over the plate, looking for the curveball, and we’d run the fastball in on their hands.”
Barnette had a smooth ride except for the first inning — when Sun Valley scored an unearned run — and in the third, when the Spartans threatened to turn a 1-0 game into a blowout.
“You gotta have your control, you gotta work the ball in and out and you gotta get ground balls,” Barnette said. “Then you’ll be fine. If you don’t, you’re in trouble.”
In the top of the third he found trouble — and make that a capital T. Sun Valley used two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out and its No. 3 and 4 hitters due up.
“He tends to stay out of trouble,” said Hampton. “But when he gets in trouble that’s when he pitches his best. He knows he has to bear down.”
Barnette did, escaping unscathed after Ruff — a Hoover in the hot corner — made two tremendous plays. First he dove to snag a wicked line drive by .453-hitter A.J. Davidiuk for the second out.
“I just remember I was down and ready,” said Ruff. “As soon as he hit it I reacted. If that shot gets past me it’s down the line and two runs for them.”
Both Cauble and Barnette called it the “play of the game.” But another one followed seconds later, when cleanup hitter Derrick Helms chopped a ball that Ruff initially blocked with his chest, then gathered. He remained calm and stepped on third base for an inning-ending forceout.
“The ironic thing,” said Hampton, “is that (Thursday) at practice I threw down to third and busted the web out of his glove. So that was a new glove he was using tonight. He sure broke it in good.”
West tied the score in the last of the fourth on Barnette’s RBI-double, then settled the outcome with four runs in the fifth. Key hits were provided by Clay Everson (run-scoring infield hit for a 2-1 lead) and Justin Graham (squeeze bunt that made it 3-1). West’s last two runs scored on an error and a delayed steal.
“One of our goals was to make the state playoffs,” Cauble said afterward. “It’s good to be playing for one of your goals this late in the season. A lot of teams aren’t.”
NOTES: Sun Valley is 7-7 in the SPC and 7-9 overall. The Spartans play home games against Harding and Central Cabarrus next week. ... SV center-fielder Jason Love recorded two assists, nailing Barnette and Ruff at the plate to finish innings. ... West’s Brandon Hiat, Shawn Trosper, Ruff and Barnette each went 2-for-3.
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