BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

It was a bigger deal than you might think. South had lost eight straight times to coach Whitey Meadows’ Moors and six of those eight had been one-sided. The last time South had gotten in the hair of famous barber Meadows was in a 12-10 victory in 1998. Chris Goodman homered, David Teal had three hits and Tommy Lee was the winning pitcher in that one, so you know it’s been a while.

“We swung the bats, got the lead, got all the kids in,” said Wilson. “It’s a good start. Everybody’s excited.”

“South came to play more so than we did tonight,” said Meadows. “That’s a team we’ve had success against, but this time they played a real good ballgame.”

The thing that jumped out at Meadows was that South hitters sent two balls jumping out of the park in the fifth inning against Seth Graham, who figures to be one of the horses for a rebuilding Mooresville mound crew.

Both homers were whacked by members of South’s largest ever contingent of East Rowan High players.

Raymondo Brady hit a solo shot on his way to a 3-for-3 effort, while Aaron Safrit followed up with a two-run blast on his way to four RBIs.

Five of the seven seniors on this year’s East squad are wearing South colors. One of them, Adam Cornelius, delivered three hits, scored three runs and knocked in three. Jeremy Teague and Justin Miller added a hit apiece. All told, the East quintet went 10-for-17, which is pretty impressive when you consider that only one of the five — Cornelius — was a fixture in the batting order for Jeff Safrit’s Mustangs.

But coach Safrit has said more than once that Brady and Aaron Safrit mash the ball in practice and are capable of doing big things. Last night, they did them when it counted.

On Brady’s second trip, he was sitting fastball, got one down the pipe and gave it a ride.

“ There’s no pressure,” said Brady, who had only one hit in the high school season. “I went up there relaxed and hit the ball good. I missed a whole year of baseball when I was hurt (he tore an ACL playing football as a junior). The rust is wearing off.”

“Raymondo can swing it,” said Wilson. “We were real pleased that he came out for the team.”

For Aaron Safrit, who saw limited action for Rowan County last summer and was granted his release when he made the request, it was a night of surprises.

“I thought my home run was a pop up,” he grinned. “The double I hit, I was sure that was foul.”

Instead, he had four RBIs, the same number he produced in the entire high school season.

“We couldn’t let Raymondo do it alone,” chuckled Safrit. “We had to try to keep up with him.”

It had to be the first time Safrit’s batted cleanup since his jayvee days, but Meadows accorded him the respect of a life-long four-man, granting an intentional walk between the homer and an eighth-inning double that leapfrogged the third-base bag.

“Aaron’s a welcome addition and has a chance to play here,” said Wilson. “He’s a strong kid. He hits ’em in the trees in batting practice at East.”

South’s pitching is supposed to be better than its hitting, and it opened solidly. Three South High hurlers, Mike Davis, Andrew Morgan and Tim Cook, combined for only two walks, one fewer than Wilson’s golden rule permits. Davis yielded all eight Mooresville hits and all three runs, but took charge after South’s four-run fourth staked him to a 6-1 lead.

“Davis battled and we made the routine plays behind him,” said Wilson.

And at times, the more-than-routine ones. South’s middle infield helped Davis avoid jams with three gems — a diving stop by second baseman Greg Deal in the first and lunging pickups by shortstop Ronnie Shore in the third and fifth.

Davis had trouble with only two Moors. Josh Haire, Meadows’ grandson, drove in Michael McClain in the second, fourth and sixth innings.

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NOTES:The teams battle again tonight in a non-league game at South. Teague (5-4 at East) is expected to start for South. ... South banged out 16 hits, the most its had in a game since it smacked out 26 in a crazy 29-4 win at Kannapolis in ‘98. ... ... Mooresville (1-1) opened Saturday with a 9-8 non-league win over Statesville. McClain, Kyle Allison, winning pitcher Seth Graham and Chris Mills had two hits each in that one. ... The Moors crushed South in last season’s playoffs by 13-2 and 13-3. ... Coach Wilson praised young lefty Morgan’s curveball. ... West jayvee catcher Ryan Wilson hit two ropes in two at-bats. ... Meadows was in good spirits after the loss. “It’s an exhibition game,” he said. “We’re just trying to figure out who to put where.”

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Contact Mike London at (704) 797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com .