SPENCER — North Rowan’s baseball team didn’t show for the showdown.

The Cavaliers didn’t bring their “A” game — or even their “B” game — to their home field on Wednesday afternoon. In fact, you’d have to travel a good ways down the alphabet to figure out exactly which of their games the Cavaliers brought against East Davidson in a much-hyped battle of 2A Central Carolina Conference unbeatens.

East (8-3, 5-0) whipped the Cavaliers 7-1.

“(Starting pitcher) Brandon (Doby) just didn’t have his stuff today. None of us had our stuff,” said North senior Erik Mowery. “Sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.”

Even stuff-less Cavs usually find ways to win in the CCC, but East Davidson (8-3, 5-0) was the wrong foe to play on an off day. Coach Dan Tricarico’s Golden Eagles, state champs in 1999, are pretty good and yesterday they could do no wrong.

The Cavs were confident, then angry, then stunned, then numb.

“I guess East played just about a perfect baseball game,” sighed North coach Bill Kesler.

East did make two errors, but was flawless when it mattered. Matt Bryant (4-1), who’s been knocked around on the basketball court a few times by North squads, got a little revenge with a masterful one-hitter. Shortstop Buddy Allen was Bryant’s best buddy, starting three double plays to nip every potential North rally in the bud.

The key to the game may have been East’s mindset. The Eagles had lost six straight to the Cavs over the past two seasons (even Tricarico’s state champs went 0-3 against North) and were well aware that the Cavs had won an amazing 33 straight contests against CCC teams. Still, they believed they could pull it off.

“With our senior leadership and the way Bryant’s been pitching, I believed we could win this game,” said Tricarico. “Ithought the kids believed it. But you never know against a team like North. There’s doubt until you can prove it.”

East proved it. It got a run in the first, which Tricarico said was huge psychologically, then hit the Cavs with a four-spot in the second to take command.

North ace Brandon Doby didn’t get some early calls, got frustrated and gradually lost touch with the strike zone. Doby (3-2), who entered the game with an ERA of 0.95, threw five wild pitches and hit three batters. Three runs scored on balls in the dirt that scooted past catcher Keith Cauble to the distant screen. East swung the bats some, too, getting run-scoring hits from Kent Ridge and Brett Hege.

“Doby helped us out some,” said Tricarico. “Then things seemed to snowball.”

Even down 5-0, there remained a feeling in the crisp air that North (7-3, 4-1) would rally. After all, doesn’t it always.

But some of that optimism seeped away when Doby, North’s first baserunner after he opened the third with a walk, was immediately erased on a double play.

The rest of the optimism took flight after the Eagles tacked on two runs after two were out in the fourth. That knocked out Doby and made it 7-0.

North relievers Tad Ogg and Stephen Johnston kept East scoreless the rest of the way, but the frustration steadily mounted for the Cavs. Mowery’s liner in the fourth was right at the center fielder. Aaron Corby walked in the fifth and was immediately wiped out by a double play. The Cavs put two on in the sixth, but Jimbo Davis’ hot shot was plucked from the air by Allen, who turned it into yet another twin killing.

“Every ball we hit hard not only went right to the shortstop, it led him right to the bag,” shrugged Kesler.

North finally scratched in the seventh when Mowery was hit by a pitch and scored on Ogg’s single, but, by then, half of a chilled, disheartened crowd had drifted away.

“I was real disappointed with our hitting,” said Kesler. “(Aaron) Rimer and Jimbo (Davis) have been getting on base all year, but today they didn’t. When those two don’t get on, it’s tough for us to score.”

“We only hit three balls hard the whole day,” added Mowery. “I don’t know — maybe we took them for granted because of the way we beat them the last two years.”

The scary reality for North is that not only is it in second place for the first time since 1998, it may be in for a three-way scrap with Ledford and East just to secure one of the the CCC’s two state playoff berths.

“If we play, we’ll be okay,” said Kesler. “But we sure can’t have any more games like this.”

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NOTES:Kesler will keep a close eye on East’s game at Ledford on Monday. East won the first meeting of the Davidson county arch-rivals. “There’s still a long way to go in this race,” said Tricarico. “Ledford’s going to be loaded for bear against us.” ... Johnston has pitched six innings this season and has yet to allow a hit.