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Rowan sweeps playoff series from Mocksville

BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

Whenever something goes wrong, whenever a team doesn’t produce – guess whose fault it is?

But every so often, those coaches know exactly what they’re doing. After calling for 30 extra minutes of infield practice Wednesday afternoon, Jim DeHart and the rest of his staff on the Rowan County American Legion squad looked like geniuses, as four double plays bailed Rowan out of trouble and contributed to a 7-4 victory over Mocksville.

Wednesday night’s win at Newman Park gave Rowan a 3-0 sweep in the first round of the Area III Southern Division playoffs. Next up is the winner of the Lexington-Kannapolis series, with Lexington one game away from a Saturday playoff date with Rowan (19-7).

Brian Hatley came through with the complete-game effort, but he didn’t do it the easy way. Mocksville (9-21) collected 12 hits and had the leadoff man on base in every inning but the seventh. Five times the first two batters reached, but the new-and-improved Rowan defense answered at every turn.

‘‘The double play ball was the best friend tonight I’ve ever had,’’ Hatley said. ‘‘I worked out of a lot of trouble with the help of the ground ball.’’

Hatley surrendered a run in the first after singles from pitcher Scott Leftwich and first baseman Victor Patti and a Steve LeFaivre sacrifice fly. He then got cleanup man Drew Ridenhour to ground to short, where Cal Hayes Jr. darted to second and threw on to first for double play No. 1.

Mocksville loaded the bases with none out in the second and scored two runs off infield grounders to take a 3-1 lead. More trouble greeted Hatley in the third when an error and walk put two aboard, but Hayes came through with another 6-3 double play to end the threat.

Second baseman Nate Woodburn got into the act in the fifth inning, setting up Hayes on a double play that kept Mocksville from having a big inning. Another error was erased in the seventh when the combo of Woodburn to Hayes to Daniel Moore worked to perfection.

‘‘Coach DeHart had me and Woody out here before practice and all we did was take double play balls and get our feet worked out,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘We were taking too many steps and taking too long to get it over to first – it came in handy tonight.’’

With Hatley and the defense dodging bullet after bullet, Rowan kept the game close. Hayes scored an unearned run in the first inning and Paul Black scored on a Hatley groundout in the fifth to make it 4-2, but Leftwich was getting out of some jams of his own. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Rowan bats finally exploded.

Jesse Boger singled, Woodburn doubled and Moore walked to load the bases. Black fought off a 1-2 pitch and looped a double down the right-field line to tie the game before Hayes’ single put Rowan ahead. Black came home on an error and a Brett Peiffer sac fly scored Hayes to make it 7-4.

‘‘Hatley needed some runs,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘Once we got up we knew he wasn’t going to give it up.’’

Hatley (4-1) allowed only a base runner an inning the rest of the way, none of whom got past first. He finished with four walks and seven strikeouts.

‘‘A couple of times I was concerned they were going to break it open on us. Being up 2-0 (in the series), it made it a lot easier to stay with him a lot longer than if it were 1-1,’’ DeHart said. ‘‘They had 12 hits and only got four runs, that says a lot about Hatley. Brian’s a battler and the tougher it gets, the tougher he gets.’’

Unfortunately for Mike Lovelace’s Mocksville squad, it says a lot about his team as well.

‘‘It’s been that way the whole series. We had guys on base, but you’ve got to give credit to Hatley,’’ Lovelace said. ‘‘Their pitchers all three games were outstanding, they got nine, eight and nine (innings) from their starters.

‘‘Rowan’s a great team, and if you don’t take advantage of chances early they’ll find a way to beat you.’’

Those other Rowan efforts came courtesy of Daniel Moore and Chad Walker, respectively, and combined with great defense, didn’t give Mocksville a chance.

Hmmm. Pitching and defense wins games – hasn’t a coach said that somewhere before?

NOTES: Mocksville’s LeFaivre entered the playoffs with an .802 slugging percentage but was 2-for-4 Monday, 0-for-3 Tuesday with three Ks and 0-for-2 Wednesday with two double plays. DeHart said the Rowan pitchers finally figured out LeFaivre’s weaknesses – away and with the curveball. But that won’t last for long. ‘‘He’s one of the best left-handed hitters I’ve ever seen, and he’s got the quickest hands of any kid I’ve seen in a long time,’’ DeHart said. Look out next year, Rowan. ... Hayes led Rowan with a 3-for-4 night at the plate. ... Rowan scored three runs from the bottom three spots in the lineup after a Boger single, Woodburn double and Moore walk. Moore had only six at-bats coming into the game and was 0-for-2 with two walks and the run scored. He was 3-for-6 with a triple during the regular season.