East gets a test in season-opening baseball victory over Cavs

Things looked just the way they were supposed to at Staton Field for the Mustangs.

Finally.

“We went through a lot, but we’ve put it past us,”Hayes said. “We played pretty well for all we’ve been through.”

East Rowan opened the season with a 6-2 victory over North Rowan on Tuesday, taking the field and forgetting about the unresolved suspension of head coach Jeff Safrit

On a day when the wind felt ready to rip apart the grandstand —never mind what it did to a baseball — the Mustangs put up a four-run third inning and never looked back.

North ace Brandon Doby got in trouble with a leadoff walk to Brent Jones. One out later, Hayes rocketed a line drive that screamed into the base of the fence for a triple. Spencer Steedley followed with a high fly to right field that fell in near the wall for another triple and scored on an errant throw, and a Julian Sides single plated Nick Lefko for the fourth run.

“We walked two, missed a fly ball and Cal hit one hard,”Cavs head coach Bill Kesler said. “Doby pitched great. It was tough playing outfield with the wind blowing, but we’ve got to make some plays for him.”

North answered with a run in the top of the fourth off Mustang starter Jason Cauble, who surrendered just one hit through the first three innings. Blake Nichelson and Doby, who had four of North’s five hits, each singled in the fourth for a 4-1 lead, but Cauble retired the side and gave way to Jacob Cooper in the fifth.

“We got what we wanted out of him,”East coach Guy Wirt said of Cauble’s start. “And Cooper got stronger the longer he threw.”

Cooper struggled with his control in the fifth, walking two. North trimmed the lead to 4-2 on Nichelson’s infield chop, but Cooper got Jimbo Davis to ground to Hayes with the bases loaded, and Hayes’ hurried throw just nipped Davis.

Hayes gave East a four-run cushion in the sixth with a two-run, two-out single following three walks. In the top of the seventh, Lefko robbed Brett Mulkey of a hit with a diving catch in center. Earlier in the game, Lefko threw a strike from in front of the fence to second base to nail a Cav trying to stretch a single into a double.

“That’s just a small part of what’s going to happen this season,”Hayes said of East’s all-around effort. “We get to start out with three non-conference games first, give us a chance to loosen up, get the wrinkles out.”

It’s a welcome change from last year, when East opened with a loss to conference foe Central Cabarrus. And as far as 2A North’s debut with a state-ranked 3A squad, Kesler wasn’t overly disappointed with the defeat.

“There won’t be too many people leaving here on the visiting bus with a win,”he said.

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NOTES:Aaron Rimer watched the game from the dugout in a coat — which concealed a cast. The North Rowan senior outfielder dislocated his right elbow at the state wrestling meet over the weekend and hopes to miss no more than three weeks. “I hate it for him and for the team,”Kesler said. “He hit .500, he was our catalyst last year.”

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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4256 or shanf@salisburypost.com .