WE’LL NEVER KNOW: South coaches acknowledged that the loss of McClain — a .480 hitter with power — had to be a huge factor physically and psychologically in Mooresville’s dropping that first-round series to South. The Moors just couldn’t score, leaving all kinds of runners on base and accumulating just seven runs in their four losses.
“Michael was our leader, our inspiration,” said Meadows. “Such a great player. You can’t replace him.”
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ON THE MOVE:No pro scouts were present to clock his time, but the 66-year-old Meadows impressed everyone with his Jeff Safrit-like sprint across the diamond last Sunday when Mooresville’s Chris Mills was called out on a pickoff play. Meadows, who starred in the minor leagues for many years, returned to the dugout at roughly 10 percent of the speed at which he’d left it.
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ONE MORE TIME? Meadows said he’s not sure if he’ll be back for a 31st season with the Moors, but hasn’t ruled it out, either.
“I’ll be around in some capacity,” laughed the fellow they call ‘Mr. Whitey’. “You might even see old No. 20 back in the same place as this year.”
Let’s hope so. It’s hard to imagine Legion ball without Whitey.
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STAYING YOUNG:One of Meadow’s favorite pastimes is watching the ballplaying kids come along and in Mooresville at least half of them seem to be related to him. Meadows reports that his grandson hit a triple to beat his nephew earlier this week in a 10-year-old game.
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HOUSE OF BLUES:Both Rowan County and Statesville were wearing dark blue uniforms in their series finale, so there was some understandable confusion and a few cases of mistaken identity.
When Statesville’s Josh Lewis, who wears No. 3, stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first, one Rowan follower who’d just popped into her seat, yelled, “Come on, Drew, hit the ball!”
Drew Davis, of course, wears No. 3 for the Rowan team.
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STREAK:South’s Pinyan has no rational explanation for the hot bat he’s maintained in Legion play after struggling to bust .200 during the high school season.
“I guess I’m more relaxed and seeing the ball better,” said Pinyan.
Pinyan had a rare 0-fer on Thursday, but it was mostly due to bad luck. He hit two balls right on the screws, but both went right at Mooresville centerfielder Michael Sandlin.
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A SECOND PINYAN:South Legion fans will remember Daniel Pinyan, Josh’s older brother. He was a first baseman on the Lenoir-Rhyne College jayvee team as a freshman this spring and hopes to move up to the varsity in 2002 now that longtime star William Combs has graduated.
Josh proudly reports that big brother won an award as best defensive player on the jayvees.
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KEEPING UP WITH JONES:The Mooresville Legion team had two West Rowan High players on the team this summer.
Second baseman Justin Graham, who had a great Legion season, you know about. But you may not have heard of the other one, outfielder Darrin Jones.
Jones, a rising junior, played jayvee ball as a Falcon freshman, but didn’t go out for baseball as a sophomore.
“I’m kinda mad at myself now, because I’ve had a lot of fun in Legion ball,” he said. “If I’d played in high school, I probably would have done a little better.”
Jones said he’s struggled after a hot start, but he can still brag that he hit a home run against Northern Division regular-season champ Asheboro.
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KEEPING UP WITH JONES II: West Rowan’s baseball players have no bigger fan than Natalie Jones, who plays basketball and softball for the Falcons.
Jones cheers hard for Matt Morgan, who plays for the South Legion team, follows Justin Graham’s exploits for the Mooresville team and says that another Falcon friend, Shawn Trosper, Rowan County’s first baseman, keeps her up to date on how that team is doing.
“We live closer to South and Mooresville,” Jones said. “We don’t get to Salisbury that much.”
Natalie adds that she’s not kin to the Jones who plays for the Moors.
“Darrin lives beside us,” she said. “But I think he’s the only Jones in Rowan County we’re not related to.”
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BUDDING COMEDIANS:Mooresville’s Kyle Allison and Tim Fitzpatrick may one day give Jeff Foxworthy some competition.
While raking mud and water from the field prior to the start of Thursday’s game, the duo surprisingly unearthed several shotgun shells from the area around first base.
“You know you’re a redneck,” quipped Fitzpatrick, “when you find shotgun shells on your baseball field.”
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SMALL WORLD:The Oneonta Tigers of the New York-Penn League boast two former Area III Legion hurlers on their pitching staff — Mooresville’s Jeremy Johnson and Concord’s Jeremy Lewis.
It’s possible that Lewis may pitch against another former Concord Legion player, Catawba’s Brad Esarey, who pitches for the Auburn Doubleday, another New York-Penn team.
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BIG FEAT:Who was the only team to beat both divisional champs, Rowan County and Asheboro, this season?
Answer: Mooresville.
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MILLER TIME: Justin Miller’s broken hand kept him off South’s playoff roster, but hasn’t kept him out of the dugout where he keeps the book and cheers for his teammates.
“Yeah, I’m still around,” laughed Miller. “They pay me too good to leave.”
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SHOWTIME:South was loose before it’s series clinching game with Mooresville on Thursday. During a rain delay prior to the game, first baseman Aaron Safrit used his bat for a microphone and performed an impressive on-his-knees lip sync to “When a Man Loves a Woman.”
Safrit drew scattered applause — and laughs, — but Percy Sledge has nothing to worry about.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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