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GRANITE QUARRY — The new Julian Sides doesn’t look all that much like the old Julian Sides, but he’s an even better pitcher.
Sides, who appears to have piled on 40 or so pounds of muscle since last summer, has added a little mustard to his fastball and still has that same wicked southpaw curve he’s been slinging since he was in a stroller.
“I’ve been lifting weights every day and I guess my appetite’s gone through the roof,” grinned Sides.
The king-sized Sides was too much for South Rowan hitters on Friday afternoon at Staton Field. He lifted his East Rowan teammates to a convincing 6-1 revenge win over the Raiders.
Sides (2-0), who is 14-4 in his varsity career, was not only large, he was in charge. The considerably more hefty lefty whiffed nine.
“My arm felt fresh and I was throwing my fastball harder than normal,” said Sides.
Only a solid third-inning RBI single by Chase Goodale and an infield hit by Matt Biles blemished Sides’ super six-inning outing. South’s three hottest sticks — William Van Wieren, Ronnie Shore and Justin Pinyan — combined to go 0-for-7. South won’t win when that happens.
“Sides did a great job,” sighed South coach Linn Williams. “He didn’t give us many opportunities. You get two hits and it’s sorta tough to win.”
No question East was motivated. The Mustangs hadn’t talked publicly about going undefeated, but it was still a topic of discussion in area restaurants, pool halls and barber shops all winter. South (4-3) ended that talk with an 8-7 surprise party in Landis last week.
“We were upset with ourselves as a team after we lost to South,” said Sides. “That loss was embarrassing to us and I made it a personal point to give it all I had today. They were in our house this time and I wanted to show them which team was better.”
Yesterday, at least, there weren’t many questions as to whom the better team was.
While South bats were silent, East ripped five extra-base bombs off Raider starter Jared Wingler (1-1), including a Herculean homer by Spencer Steedley.
“It was great to see us swinging the bats early,” said Sides, who took a 2-1 decision over Mount Pleasant in his other start. “It was a big relief to have a comfortable lead.”
“The coaches have been on us about not being aggressive,” added Steedley. “We wanted to make sure we were aggressive today, especially since South beat us last time. This was payback for last week and for them beating us in last year’s Easter Tournament.”
East scored in the first inning when Steedley’s double soared over the head of right fielder Goodale and chased home Drew Davis from first base. If South had handled the relay smoothly, Davis might have been thrown out and the game may have taken a different spin. But Davis scored easily, and East never looked back.
The second inning was disastrous for Wingler. He got two quick outs, but then walked East’s No. 8 and No. 9 hitters, Brent Jones and Garrett Safrit.
That brought up leadoff man Cal Hayes Jr., who sent a missile off the center-field fence for a two-run triple. When Nick Lefko followed with a double just inside the third-base bag, East led 4-0.
“We asked our guys to crowd the plate and they drew key walks,” said East coach Guy Wirt. “Then Cal’s hit got us going.”
Goodale’s two-out hit scored Shore in the third to cut the gap to 4-1. But just when it appeared South might get back into it, first baseman Steedley speared a Justin Pinyan liner that was headed for the right-field corner.
East made it 5-1 on Steedley’s no-doubt-about-it homer to right in the bottom of the inning.
The lead was 6-1 after Jones scored on Hayes’ grounder to Shore at short in the fourth. Shore likely had Jones dead to rights at the plate, but his throw home was in the dirt and skipped past catcher Pinyan.
Sides protected the lead through six and Steedley threw bullets in a hitless seventh.
“I think we have one of the best staffs that’s been here in a long time,” said Sides.
Sides has a case. Other than that 8-7 loss to South, East’s pitching and defense have been superb. In East’s five wins, Mustang hurlers have yielded a total of five runs.
“We had a good positive attitude,” said Wirt. “This is great bunch of kids. They can do it and they showed that today.”
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NOTES:South’s Adam Earnhardt relieved in the fourth and set down seven straight. “He gave us a chance,” said Williams. ... East right fielder Jones had a good day with two runs scored and a great catch in foul territory ... Pinyan can tell his grandchildren he threw out Hayes on a steal attempt in the fourth. Hayes didn’t get a great jump. Pinyan threw a low strike to second and South got a bang-bang call. ... Shore swiped three bases.
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Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
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