BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

GARNER— Rowan County displayed more teeth than tears Saturday night.

The smiles weren’t as bright as they usually are — not at the knowledge that their long summer had finally come to an end.

But their was a sense of hope and eagerness for the future that helped ease the sting of Asheboro’s 14-13 victory in the American Legion Baseball State Tournament.

“We’ve got almost everybody back next year and everybody’s just going to get better,”Rowan left fielder Jimbo Davis said. “We weren’t really down. We’re proud of what we did this year. It was a great season.”

The summer ended on the third day of the state tournament, with Rowan’s 36-9 record putting it among the top six teams in North Carolina.

“We keep coming up a little bit short,”Rowan head coach Jim Gantt said. “I’m just so darned proud they battled back like that. That was unbelievable.”

Rowan’s eager, can-do attitude needed a little work in the early going. Asheboro (34-14) jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first six innings and was heading for a romp to put a damper on Rowan’s sterling season

The change occurred gradually. Rowan relief pitcher Tyler Morgan, in his first at-bat of the summer, lined a single to open the sixth inning. When Cal Hayes Jr. was hit by a pitch, the Rowan players who had been sitting in the dugout scrambled to their feet, wondering if a rally was about to take place.

Jimbo Davis walked to load the bases and Spencer Steedley brought the first cheers in a long time from the Rowan faithful at Garner High School with a double that made it 11-5. Aaron Rimer ripped a shot up the middle to narrow the lead to 11-7.

Asheboro head coach Tony McKee called on DanielCox to quell the uprising, and he thought he did— until an errant throw by third baseman Kyle Pugh scored Rimer and made it 11-8. Shawn Trosper’s single to center cut it to two runs and Morgan, incredibly enough, followed with the second hit of the inning and his Legion career for an 11-10 game.

With two outs and the bases again loaded, Jimbo Davis rocketed a shot toward the fence in left field. The ball hit the wall on the fly and rolled back toward the infield, clearing the bases.

“One Rowan fan asked me after the game and told me to tell the truth:Up 11-3, did I think it was over?”McKee said.“I told them no. I didn’t expect them to get a 10-run inning, but I told the guys to expect some kind of rally. We couldn’t contain the big inning.”

A raucous Rowan dugout celebrated its new life with only nine outs to go.

“We were down 11-3 and it was hard to think we had any kind of chance,”Jimbo Davis said. “Pretty soon we were on top and I thought we had the game.”

Asheboro still had one final push left, though, and scored twice in the top of the eighth. After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, Rowan went in order in the ninth against reliever Adam Elliot.

The game ended with Hayes standing in the on-deck circle. With three hits in his first three at-bats, he had tied Brian Hatley for the career hits record of 214 in just his third full season. After being hit with a pitch and recording two outs in his next two at-bats, he had to settle staying tied — and not getting a last shot at Asheboro.

“It would’ve been nice having one more chance,”Hayes said.

Added Gantt, “We couldn’t get back around to the top of the lineup.”

Jimbo Davis chalked up the loss to the sixth-inning comeback:“We’re just a streaky team,”he said. We strung 10 runs together—maybe we didn’t have anything left.”

But when Rowan left Garner for one more drive to the hotel and its drive home this morning, Gantt made sure his players exited on a positive note.

“I told them I appreciated their effort, we had a good year and to walk out there with their heads up,”Gantt said. “They could’ve quit, but they didn’t quit all year, so I didn’t expect them to tonight.”

n

NOTES: The only player not eligible for next summer is Trosper. He said goodbye with his RBI single in the sixth inning and a run-saving play in the eighth. He gave an all-out dive to catch a sharp line drive off Austin Oliver’s bat with a runner at third. … In other action Saturday, Garner dropped Snow Hill in the other losers’ bracket game with a 3-1 victory. In the winners’ bracket game, Shelby beat Wilmington to advance to Monday’s championship game. Today, Garner and Asheboro will play an elimination game at 4 p.m., with the winner meeting Wilmington at 7 p.m. to advance to the title game against Shelby. ... Hayes finished the season with 87 hits, tying Nick Heard’s single-season Rowan record set in 1998.

n

Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com .