Concord’s Andrew Ward accepted ball four for a sixth-inning walk and promptly sprawled to the ground head-first, apparently tripping over the chalk-lines as he excitedly exited the batter’s box.
“Ward, uh ... takes an acrobatic walk,” dead-panned P.A. announcer J.T. Bost, drawing polite, appreciative chuckles from the 60 or so chilly spectators gathered at NewmanPark.
That delightful pratfall performed by Ward, one of the best guys on the field, pretty well summed up the first day of high school baseball in Rowan County.
Concord beat Salisbury 15-10 in a game that was always hard-fought, but often ugly.
The teams combined for 19 walks, eight wild pitches, seven errors, five passed balls and stranded 23 baserunners. Ninety — count ’em 90 — batters marched to the plate in a game that marched on to nearly 8 p.m.
Basically, fans got what was expected from two programs that are down but fighting to get better.
“We worked our butts off this offseason,” said Concord coach Chris Lankford, who once piloted the West Rowan jayvees.
The Spiders’ toil was most obvious at the plate. They pounded five extra-base hits off Hornets hurlers Tommy Ludwig, Adam Haynes and Todd Utech. Timely knocks following walks gave the Spiders an early 7-0 lead, and they never let the Hornets scratch all the way back.
“We’re young, but offensively I like where we’re at,” said Lankford, who visits West Rowan on Friday.
The positive thing about Salisbury’s day was that it never ran up a white flag. The Hornets chipped away behind Ryan Lesley’s four RBIs and Barry Medinger’s three hits. Down 15-5 heading to their last at-bat, the Hornets tallied five to keep Lankford on the edge of his pickle bucket.
“Salisbury never quit,” praised Lankford. “They battled for all 21 outs.”
Two fifth-inning defensive gems by Concord second baseman Michael Lindenberger saved his team three runs.
The rest of the separation came largely as a result of one close call.
Concord led 8-4 and had runners at second and third with one out in the sixth when Ryan Smith bounced to Medinger at third. Medinger threw home, trapping the lead runner in a rundown. But two throws later the runner scored when the plate umpire ruled that shortstop Richard Dailey’s diving tag attempt had failed.
“Richard said he tagged him with the ball right on the calf,” said Salisbury coach Scott Maddox. “I realize that was a tough call for the plate ump to make. But I was disappointed he didn’t ask for help.”
The disputed play — Lankford naturally saw it the other way — opened the gate for four insurance runs. After that, the Hornets’ cause was next to hopeless.
“Walks threw us in a hole and we made bad decisions on plays that should have been outs,” said Maddox. “But give credit to Concord. They swung the bats.”
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NOTES:One of Medinger’s hits was a laser to the wall in center. ... David Caldwell, South RowanLegion assistant last summer, has joined the Spiders’ braintrust. ... Salisbury played without basketballers Jack Campbell and Bryan Roten. ... Dailey made two nice plays at short, spearing a liner and starting a twin killing.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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