Old friends proved to be cold friends on Saturday night.
South Rowan American Legion left-hander Nick Mayle took the mound at Newman Park prepared to say hello to all his old buddies on the Rowan County team. Instead, two of them — Cal Hayes Jr. and Aaron Rimer — said goodbye to Mayle fastballs.
Mayle lasted just four innings in an ugly 8-3 Rowan win in which South managed to strand 15 baserunners.
Mayle grew up in Rowan County playing AAU ball with the Drew Davises, Nick Lefkos and Ben Hamptons. He was a terror at Corriher-Lipe Middle School and pitched well at South Rowan High. He went 2-2 for the Raiders as a soph, including a three-hit complete game against Northwest Cabarrus and a strong start against East Rowan in which he didn’t allow an earned run.
Mayle’s mom and sister still live in Landis, but his father lives in Johnston County. Nick spent his junior year of high school with his father and pitched at tiny Princeton High School.
Mayle went 6-5 with a 2.01 ERA at Princeton and was named to the 1A All-State team released earlier this week.
His All-State honor did not go unnoticed by baseball fans in the county.
In fact, it created something of a stir when word went out last week that Mayle would be visiting his sister and mom this summer and had been added to the South Legion roster.
South, 2-6 and reeling from the knee injury that will sideline its ace, Rowan County Player of the Year Jared Barnette, all summer, was ecstatic to get Mayle, although it’s unrealistic to expect a kid from a 1A school to be a savior.
“My high school only had 11 guys on the team,” said Mayle, who led Princeton to a conference championship and the second round of the state playoffs. “And one of those had a broken arm. I played right field (he hit .306) when I wasn’t pitching. It wasn’t like we had enough for a DH or anything.
“I’ve gotta say I enjoy all this talent we have here on the South Legion team, with all the guys from West and East (Rowan).”
Of course, Rowan County has even more talent, as Mayle quickly found out.
The first batter Mayle faced was Hayes. Mayle just missed with a curve to start the at-bat, then came in with a fastball down and in. Hayes rode it about 370 feet, right past the flagpole in center.
Just like that — 1-0.
“Mayle threw it right where I like ’em,” said Hayes.
“You just don’t face guys like Cal where I’ve been,” said Mayle. “I tip my cap to Cal because he hit my pitch. I put it where I wanted.”
Mayle said the Newman mound looked sideways to him, so he was throwing from the right side of the rubber than his usual left side. But it looked like he’d found a groove when he fanned the tough Lefko on a curve in the dirt for the second out in the second.
“I got behind him,” said Lefko. “He’s a good pitcher. It’s just that he’s not what we usually see.”
After the Lefko K, Mayle got himself in a mess by walking No. 9 hitter Michael Gegorek. With two on, he worked carefully to Hayes and walked him, too, to fill the bases.
That prompted a visit from pitching coach Ernie Faw, who warned Mayle not to let the next batter, Aaron Rimer, to extend his arms. But Mayle fell behind 2-0, had to come in with a room-service fastball, and Rimer extended big-time. The result: a grand slam deep into the night.
“That was a mistake,” said Mayle. “I gave Rimer one letter-high. That one was his pitch and that pitch made the difference in the ballgame.”
Mayle had a 1-2-3 third and got a bunch of groundballs in the fourth. He exited the game down 8-1 — and a little down on himself.
“I wanted to pitch here at Newman Park all my life,” he said. “And then I go out there and stink it up.”
Actually, Mayle wasn’t all that bad. He just learned the same hard lessons that all pitchers learn. When you fall behind hitters like Hayes and Rimer, they’re going to hurt you. When you jump ahead of them, you’ve got a shot to get them out.
“I was ready. I guess maybe I was too ready,” said Mayle, who refused to use his three-week layoff since the high school playoffs as an excuse. “In the bullpen before the game I really though I had it, but then I couldn’t hit my spots.
“I’m disappointed because everyone had high expectations for me and I wanted to show people that South Rowan has a good team. We’re a lot better than we looked tonight.”
At any rate, Mayle’s already earned the confidence of his new coaches. That’s why South head coach Allen Wilson handed him the ball in the biggest game of the season.
His teammates? They also believe in Mayle.
“I’ve played with Nick all my life,” said South shortstop Ronnie Shore. “He’s a great pitcher and I’m totally confident with him out there. Tonight was just a lot of pressure for anyone to handle.”
Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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