Rowan County right-hander Phillip Goodman’s still never lost an American Legion game.

Since he started his Legion career in 1999, Goodman’s peach fuzz has turned into that full beard that’s earned him the all-world nickname “Chinstrap” from his buddies at North Rowan High.

Goodman’s lost a few pounds of baby-fat over those last three years of Legion ball and he’s gained a few miles an hour on his fastball. But there’s been one constant — some how, some way, he wins.

Goodman’s career mark moved to 7-0 last night in Rowan’s 5-4 win over Asheboro in Game 3 of the best-of-7 Area III finals.

It has to be the closest Goodman’s ever come to taking an “L” because for most of his six innings on the mound he hung on like a man dangling by a fingernail from the ledge of a skyscraper.

No one’s exactly sure how Goodman survived to win this one, but no one could say he didn’t deserve to be the winning hurler in a hard-earned victory that gives Rowan (33-5) hope of coming back in this scintillating series.

“Phillip threw a lot of good pitches,” said Rowan coach Jim Gantt. “He got some ground balls, got some big double plays.”

Those double plays saved Goodman’s neck.

Asheboro started the game with three singles, but got just one run when first baseman Shawn Trosper turned a bouncer his way into an inning-ending double play.

It was second baseman Michael Gegorek’s turn to turn a twin killing behind Goodman in the second. That play by the youngster got Goodman out of a major mess. Goodman hit a batter and gave up a double and homer in that inning, but again just one Asheboro run scored.

Rowan’s third double play behind him was a basic 6-4-3 that erased an Asheboro leadoff single in the fifth.

There was one more Rowan defensive gem behind Goodman in the sixth when centerfielder Nick Lefko fielded Michael Stefanacci’s bloop hit to center and turned it onto a rally-killing forceout at second.

Asheboro actually had the leadoff man on in five of six innings against Goodman, who dodged more bullets that Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan.

“The thing is though, Phhillip kept throwing strikes,” said Rowan leftfielder Jimbo Davis, another North kid, who’s been watching Goodman’s act for years. “When a guy throws strikes, the fielder stay on their toes and they make good plays for him.”

For a change, Rowan didn’t wait until late in the game to get the bats going against Asheboro starter Stefanacci.

Down 2-0 in the third, it got a run on two walks and a balk. Then Bobby Parnell, who hadn’t driven in a run in his prvious seven games, came through with a big hit, a single that whistled right past Gantt, coaching at third, to tie the game at 2-2.

Rowan came up with its other three runs in the third. Jimbo Davis pounded one into the ground that kangarooed over third base for a two-run single and Parnell produced a sac fly that chased home the run that put Rowan up 5-2. That run would ultimately prove the difference in the ballgame.

“Asheboro is so good at playing little ball,” said Davis. “It was big to get ahead of them. That changed the way they could play.”

Rowan couldn’t break through offensively in its last five at-bats against Asheboro reliever Alex Elliott, who spelled Stefanacci in the third, so things really got sticky when Brent Cole doubled in two runs in the fourth to cut Rowan’s lead to 5-4.

Once Goodman got through the sixth, Gantt turned to young lefty Spencer Steedley, who has already posted 10 wins and five saves in a career that is just getting started.

Steedley was as untouchable as Elliott Ness over the final three frames, allowing one walk and no hits.

“I was supposed to come in if Phillip ever got in trouble,” chuckled Steedley, who must have been on call shortly after Goodman’s first pitch. “I knew he’d go as long as he could, then it was up to me to come in there and throw strikes.”

The only guy Steedley didn’t throw strikes to was big Stefanacci, and come to think of it, that was a pretty good idea.

Stefanacci had homered off Goodman in the second and drilled a double off him in the fourth.

“Steedley did a great job,” said Gantt. “The experience that he got last year is really helping him. If he hadn’t got that experience, who knows how he’d have done tonight.”

It was a huge bounce-back game for Rowan, which had looked flatter than Kansas in the first two games of the series.

“Everybody just had a better attitude tonight,” said Parnell.

Both Rowan and Asheboro (30-11) are assured of spots in the state tournament, so this series is strictly for pride and a trophy.

Still, Gantt was glad to see his team get back on track, playing the sort of ball it’s going to have to play to be competitive in Garner.

“We still made a lot of mistakes,” said Gantt. “But the thing is, you’re not gonna do things right 100 percent of the time when you play a team as good as Asheboro. People need to give Asheboro some credit. That team puts pressure on you.”

Gantt said his team reacted well to its first road loss of the year in Game 2 as well its first back-to-back losses of the season.

He just hopes Rowan fans react to the first adversity of the season as well as his players did last night.

“We knew we had a young team from the start and that this was basically a rebuilding year,” said Gantt. “We sure never expected to be 30-something and two. But we got fortunate and won a bunch of ballgames and all of a sudden everyone expects us to be the Yankees and never do anything wrong.

“These guys are gonna make mistakes because they’re kids. They’re not the Yankees.

“I do know they’ve done a good job and I’m real proud of ’em.”

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NOTES: There’s no game tonight, because of a scheduling conflict at McCrary Park. The series will crank up again in Asheboro on Monday. ... Gantt won’t overpitch anyone, but hinted that he may come back with Steedley as his Game 4 starter.

Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com .