GARNER— When the Rowan County players weren’t playing baseball Thursday and Friday, they were busy playing other games.
Sony PlayStation was the diversion of choice back at the team hotel, head coach Jim Gantt reported.
Nothing like working on that hand-eye coordination to get ready for baseball.
“They get pretty loud when they’re playing PlayStation, but most of the people here are with the team,”he said. “That’s about all they did last night.”
The team arrived in Garner on Wednesday to attend a tournament dinner. After that, all the players and coaches went to a multiplex theater and took in a variety of films.
Rowan had plans to watch the AAA Durham Bulls play after Thursday afternoon’s loss, but opening ceremonies ran so long that the team would’ve been fighting rush hour traffic to get to the ballpark, so it stayed put.
Friday night, a team dinner was planned and then a round of putt-putt golf — and certainly more PlayStation — before the midnight curfew.
For Gantt, keeping tabs on 17 players is nothing new, although he’s used to dealing with a college crowd instead of high schoolers.
“With the older guys in college, they’re on their own anyway. They live away from their families and they make their own decisions, so I don’t worry about them as much,”said the Catawba College baseball coach. “This is more difficult. They’ve got a lot more energy than I have.”
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a showcase of his own: Cal Hayes Jr. has enjoyed quite a tournament through two games.
Against Wilmington, Hayes didn’t have a hit but stole two bases and forced an error to manufacture a Rowan run. Friday against Rutherford County, he legged out two infield singles, drilled a line single to left, walked and reached on an error.
He stole one base, coaxed Rutherford reliever Melvin Digh into a balk and scored three times, including the game-winner in the eighth.
“You’re never really amazed at what he does, not any more,”Gantt said. “He’s always been a good player, but this year is even more impressive.
“He’s going to have a lot of records before he quits playing for Rowan County,”added Gantt.“And he’s done all of it being a team player.”
Exactly how much of a team player is Hayes?Instead of showing off his talents to an endless line of college coaches and pro scouts at the Wilmington showcase this week, Hayes is in Garner.
“It’s a good and a bad thing that we’re playing here,”Gantt said. “He’s here playing with his team instead of thinking about himself and playing down there with some great, talented players.”
As for the record books, Hayes’ four runs scored in the tournament put him at 81 for the summer, seven behind the single-season mark set by Kirk Huffman in 1993.
His three hits give him 84 for the summer, three behind Nick Heard’s record-setting total in 1998, and 211 for his career. That pushed Hayes into second place past Keith Knight (210), with all-time leader Brian Hatley’s 214 in striking distance.
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no doubt about it: Bobby Parnell’s dream hit in an American Legion State Tournament just came a day later than first thought.
Parnell ended Thursday’s loss to Wilmington with a shot to the wall in left-center that would’ve tied the game.
Friday, with Rowan trailing 5-3 in the seventh, Parnell ripped a liner to right-center that shot over William Guffey’s head and bounced up against the fence for a double.
“When I hit it I knew at least one run would get in,”Parnell said. “I knew it was a hit.”
Drew and Jimbo Davis both scored on the clutch hit, and Rowan went on to win the game.
Gantt, in a greedy mood after the victory, praised Parnell’s hit, but wished for a little more, too.
“If he had hit in that way yesterday we might have won that game, too,”Gantt said with a smile.
Parnell’s ball to left died at the wall Thursday with the ball carrying in the light breeze to right.
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Still perfect: Phillip Goodman escaped with a no-decision Friday, leaving him perfect in two summers of Legion play.
Goodman, who went 2-0 over his first two Legion summers, was 5-0 this year heading into the Rutherford game, but surrendered four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning.
Generally, he hasn’t been the No. 2 pitcher in the rotation. That job usually falls to Brandon Doby.
“We don’t have an actual 1-2-3-4, or a staff ace,”Gantt said. “I wanted to go with a guy who had some experience, and Phillip’s been in that situation. He just wasn’t sharp.”
Goodman came through for Rowan in the 2000 State Tournament. He earned a save in relief against Kannapolis, then started a second game that same day against powerhouse Cherryville and pitched seven great innings, keeping his team alive despite the harrowing losers bracket ordeal.
Don’t be surprised to hear from Goodman again this weekend. He boasts three saves this summer and only threw 25 pitches Friday.
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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com
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