LANDIS— Matt Morgan didn’t stand at home plate watching the ball’s flight path.
He didn’t lope around the bases savoring his moment of glory, or take his time waving to the boisterous crowd.
So exactly what was it that took him so long to complete his trek around the bases?
“Coach (David) Caldwell knocked me down at first base,”Morgan said with a grin.
Caldwell’s exuberance can be explained. He was the first person to greet Morgan after a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning provided a thrilling 6-3 victory over Mooresville. Morgan’s first career long ball — in high school or Legion play — handed seventh-seeded South a 3-1 series lead in the best-of-7 American Legion playoffs.
South (11-15) can finish off the upset tonight at No. 2 Mooresville (16-12).
“We needed this one,”Mooresville head coach Whitey Meadows said. “It’s not insurmountable, but it’s a lot tougher now.”
Morgan stepped in against Chris Mills with one out and two on in the final frame. Most of the fans crammed into the South Rowan High School field already were on their feet before the left-hander even swung the bat.
Those that had remained seated didn’t stay that way for long. On the first pitch from Mills, Morgan lofted a high fly to deep left field.
Immediately clear was that South had won the game by at least one run. Then Morgan’s shot drifted just over the fence, setting off a thunderous ovation.
“I was angry at myself for striking out the last two times,”Morgan said. “I waited on a first-pitch fastball and it was on the outside corner, so I hit it to the opposite field. I thought it had a chance.”
Brad Matthews and Ronnie Shore scored ahead of Morgan, then waited with the rest of their teammates to mob Morgan at home plate.
As it turned out, everything went exactly as planned.
Matt Morgan told South starting pitcher Andrew Morgan that he wanted a chance to hit in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, No. 9 hitter Matthews took a pitch off the foot to reach first. Shore followed with a slow roller between short and third that went for an infield single.
“He told me he hoped Shore got on because he was going to blast one to the opposite field. He was just kidding around,”Andrew Morgan said. “He hit it and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ It was awesome, just awesome.”
Morgan’s called shot closed the book on a game that saw South rally from a 3-1 deficit over the final three frames.
Aaron Safrit gave South a 1-0 lead when he homered off Mooresville starter Tyler Lackey in the fourth inning, but that was the only mistake the young hurler made.
On the other hand, Andrew Morgan toyed with Mooresville all night. He constantly found himself in trouble, leaving two on in the first, the bases loaded in the second and allowing a leadoff triple to Michael Sandlin in the third.
But Morgan got the key outs when he had to, especially in the third. He struck out Mills, the cleanup batter, then induced a ground ball to the mound from Seth Graham. After looking Sandlin back to third, Morgan went to first for the out. Sandlin broke for home, but Safrit’s throw to the plate was in time for a double play.
“It’s always bad to put runners on, but when you get in a jam and can get out of it, that gives your team momentum,”Andrew Morgan said.
Mooresville finally came through in the seventh inning when Josh Haire tripled in a run to chase Morgan. Tim Cook came on in relief and gave up RBI singles to Sandlin and Seth Graham for a 3-1 Mooresville lead.
South struck back for one run in the seventh when Jeremy Alderman singled and scored on a Shore single against Lackey, but the gap stayed at 3-2 when Greg Deal’s hard liner headed straight at Sandlin in center for an out.
“Their starter was superb. Thank goodness he got tired at the end,”South head coach Allen Wilson said. “Andrew Morgan was great out there. He hooked up on a beauty. I hate we didn’t get him the win.”
South at least got him off the hook, albeit in an unlikely fashion, in the eighth. Safrit worked a full-count walk off Mills to lead off, setting the stage for a Justin Pinyan sacrifice. Pinyan’s bunt was fielded by new third baseman Lackey, but nobody covered his vacated position and Safrit raced from first to third. He tied the game easily moments later on Adam Cornelius’ single to left.
“I thought that was the biggest play of the night,”Wilson said. “Aaron Safrit saw that no one was covering third, he picked me up and made a heads-up play. He doesn’t have a lot of speed. He’s the least likely guy on the team to go first to third.”
Cook retired Mooresville in the top of the ninth —stranding the last of 14 Moors — and the rest was history: South’s 11th win, tied for a season’s best; its third playoff victory, the most ever; and its first “walk-off”home run.
“It was a great baseball game,”Wilson said. “It was good for the community, the crowd was great, the fans were into it. The roar at the end was something special. These kids’ll never forget this game.”
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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com
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