LANDIS — South Rowan’s American Legion baseball team has won only 29 percent of
its games in its six years of existence, so Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep of Surry
County was at least as satisfying as a Cheerwine on a scorching August afternoon.South outscored Surry 9-5 and 13-8 in a pair of
seven-inning battles that kept going and going and going like the Energizer Bunny. The
nightcap ended well past 11 p.m. on a fortuitous line-drive double play.
The twin victories won’t count in the
league standings and there’s no question the South kids would much rather beat Rowan
or Kannapolis or Mooresville — people they know — rather than a bunch of
hard-hitting strangers from Mount Airy.
And yet, the games did serve some purpose.
Namely, South got back on track for the playoff push after pretty horrible outings on
Saturday and Sunday.
“Wins are wins and all wins are
good,” said South coach Allen Wilson. “And winning a doubleheader is tough at
any level. We talked about building some momentum and this was a pretty good way to do
it.”
The most impressive thing about the evening
was that South overcame early four-run deficits in both games.
“We knew what we had to do,” said
South third baseman Greg Deal, who produced four hits. “We did the fundamentals right
this time and that helped us beat a team that’s got some real good sticks.”
This was “cut night” — that
painful time when the roster has to be pared to 18 ballplayers for the playoffs. With that
in mind, South players took their cuts at the plate and piled up a steady stream of runs.
“We really hit,” said Wilson.
“Not only that, we got the two-out hits. We must have scored eight, nine runs with
two outs.”
Ronnie Shore’s two-out, two-run double
got South even at 4-all in the first game. Then South took the lead for good when Adam
Cornelius bunted beautifully toward third with two on in the fifth and pitcher Jeremy
Branch threw the ball wildly past first. That play triggered four unearned runs.
Gabe Beaver and Deal added run-scoring
hits, as South pulled away.
Lefty Derick Morrison pitched his best ball
of the summer for the win. Morrison was rocked in the first, but was a rock after that.
Mike Davis relieved Morrison with a man on in the sixth and got the final four outs.
Cody Livengood’s solid relief work,
Brad Matthews’ two-run triple and the first homer of Deal’s career — high
school or Legion — highlighted a wild second game.
“I’ve hit homers in practices and
scrimmages,” said Deal. “But never in a game. Right now, I’m just seeing it
good and feeling confident.”
Deal, who hit cleanup last night, is on the
best tear of his life. He’s got his batting average in the .360 range, after hitting
in the .270s in high school.
Deal’s homer was also a rarity for the
team. It was only South’s sixth of the summer and its first since Aaron Safrit’s
three-run blast against Troy nine games ago.
South improved to 8-13 and has a shot at
the record for wins by the program. The existing mark is held by Dwayne Fink’s 1998
squad that went 11-15.
South, the Southern Division’s No.7
seed, plays tonight at Kannapolis in its regular-season finale and will open a playoff
series at No. 2 Mooresville on Saturday night. That playoff matchup may not be as
one-sided as it looks. South split four games with Mooresville and divided its two league
contests with Whitey Meadows’ troops.
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NOTES:South avoided the 100th loss in its
history with the sweep. It’s 40-99 over the years. ... Andrew Morgan and Nick Mayle
will likely share mound time tonight. The game won’t change either team’s seed,
but it’s always a big rivalry. ... Kannapolis rolled 16-6 when the teams met on a
rainy night in Landis. ... Shortstop Shore returned after missing two games and his
steadying influence was obvious. ... As feared, second baseman Justin Miller is out for
the season with a broken hand. ... South has topped last season’s victory total by
one.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com . |
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