Julian Sides took the mound ready to go Monday night. Brian York needed an inning to warm up.

Thanks to that simple difference, the Rowan County American Legion team improved to 9-1 overall this season and 4-1 in the SouthernDivision with a 9-1 victory at Newman Park.

Sides, one of Rowan’s crafty left-handers, worked a 1-2-3, nine-pitch first inning on his way to a complete-game seven-hitter. York left with a 4-1 deficit in the eighth inning having allowed eight hits. Four of those came in a three-run Rowan first that helped Sides outduel the UNCCharlotte signee.

“York’s a real good pitcher. Three runs in the first inning gave me a lot of confidence right there,”Sides said. “It was tight the whole game.”

Rowan exploded for six runs in the eighth inning to drain any remaining suspense from the pitchers’ duel. Using its tried-and-true combination of speed and power, Rowan swiped six of its 13 stolen bases in the eighth inning and got a two-run homer deep into the night from Spencer Steedley.

Steedley, the designated hitter, also drove in a pair of runs in the first inning with a single up the middle. Cal Hayes Jr. and Drew Davis — each with three thefts on the night — raced home on the single and Nick Lefko drilled a shot deep to the right-field fence to score Steedley for a 3-0 lead.

York would settle down, but his 28-pitch first-inning led to all the runs Rowan needed.

“Brian threw the ball well,”Concord head coach Josh Stamey said. “A few times he left the ball up and he got behind. I don’t care if you’re Luis Tiant or NolanRyan, if you get behind they’re going to hit the ball.”

Concord (4-3, 2-3) scratched for a run in the second inning on back-to-back hits from Mike Smith and Jeff Kirkpatrick, and that was it.

Sides surrendered four hits over the middle innings, striking out three with his wicked curve ball and letting the defense work behind him.

Second baseman Michael Gegorek started a nifty double play to Hayes in the fifth inning that stranded a Concord runner at third, and Hayes did it himself in the seventh. The shortstop got the first out diving to his left and nailing a long throw, then turned a 6-3 double play with a rifle shot to first to nip the runner.

Sides headed to the dugout after that play having thrown 101 pitches and he had just one goal in mind — his first career Legion complete game.

Making the goal even more important was that Concord battered him twice last year, and York’s Central Cabarrus High team got the best of Sides’ East Rowan club three times during the high school season.

“I didn’t feel tired at all,”Sides said. “We were going by pitch count and I knew I had to get a quick inning. I said if at all possible I’d like to go out and finish.”

He made it happen by working a 1-2-3 eighth inning, his first quick frame since the first. He needed just six pitches to coax three groundouts, saving himself plenty for the ninth. All told he threw 125 pitches, just five more than the coaching staff had in mind.

“He’s worked hard. He was due for a good one,”Rowan head coach Jim Gantt said. “He was concentrating, focused. Coach (Sandy) Moore works with all those guys. It’s all Sandy and the players.”

Rowan’s six runs in the eighth inning didn’t diminish Sides’ shot at a complete game. Lefko led off with a single and pinch hitter Ben Hampton walked, prompting a mound visit from Stamey. York got Shawn Trosper to ground out, scoring Lefko, but Stamey had seen enough and called on John Killian to end the threat.

The reliever quickly recorded the inning’s second out, but Hayes followed with an infield single to deep short. Aaron Rimer walked and Davis lined a single to center that scored both of them after a double steal — this time swiped against the unsuspecting pitcher.

Steedley’s high fly ball over the fence in right plated Davis for the 9-1 final.

In addition to the six steals by Hayes and Davis, Lefko had two and five different Rowan players added one.

“I thought we could run, but I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get on base enough to do it,”Gantt said. “We had some guys get steals where it wasn’t called, they just got good reads and went. And there were some close calls, too. We were just fortunate.”

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NOTES:York was the only Concord player to solve Sides, smashing two doubles and losing a third on a great sliding catch in left by Jimbo Davis. York also walked on four pitches with two outs and none on in the sixth — and Sides taking no chances, getting the frame’s third out on an easy grounder. … Concord’s defense also helped York in a few key situations. Neither team committed an error. … Rowan returns to action Wednesday night against Mocksville-Davie. The game, at Rich Park, will mark the team’s first trip outside the county this season.

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