BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

Veteran Josh Brady decided to hang in there and youngster Jeremy Teague showed he’s already got the hang of pitching.

Together they hung a surprisingly easy 11-3 beating on Davie County on Monday night at Newman Park and gave East Rowan its second straight Cliff Peeler Baseball Classic championship.

For the second consecutive game, a homer by tournament MVP Brady was the boulder that triggered a Mustang avalanche. His blast came in the second inning off Davie’s Drew Ridenhour and gave the Mustangs a 2-0 lead and momentum they never surrendered.

‘‘Brady’s got power,’’ said East coach Jeff Safrit, whose Mustangs improved to 10-3. ‘‘He got us going. The thing is he almost quit a few weeks back when things weren’t going well. But he stayed with it and now he’s hitting the ball on the nose.’’

Mostly because of illness, Brady, a senior, had only nine at-bats before the tournament. But now he’s a fixture in the East lineup.

Teague, on the other hand, has been a fixture most of the year. But it’s been at second base – not on the mound. Last night was not only the sophomore’s first start, but his first trip to the hill – period.

It was an emergency appearance by Teague that came about when East star Adam Horton, who was scheduled to pitch, was involved in an afternoon auto accident and could not play. When Safrit found about Horton’s misfortune, he decided Teague would replace him.

Why Teague?

‘‘(Pitching coach) Allen (Wilson) said he was ready,’’ said Safrit with a shrug. ‘‘So I said, ‘OK, we’ll see what he can do.’ ’’

‘‘I didn’t find out until game time,’’ said Teague. ‘‘Coach Safrit just handed me the ball and told me to go warm up. He said, ‘Keep it down,’ and that’s what I tried to do.

Teague did get one pitch up – which Ridenhour promptly smashed off the scoreboard for a sixth-inning homer – but mostly he was large and in charge. He posted nine strikeouts against a team that had won 11 games in a row, including three straight to end the game. He twirled seven innings, allowing only one walk and four hits.

Wilson’s stat-chart told the impressive tale.

Teague threw 62 strikes and only 26 balls. He started off 19 of the 26 hitters he faced with a first-pitch strike.

‘‘I thought he was unbelievable,’’ said Safrit. ‘‘His fastball was live, he threw his curve for strikes and he stayed ahead of everybody.’’

Teague may have been nervous early, but Brady’s lightning bolt helped him take a deep breath and relax.

‘‘Josh’s homer – that took the pressure off,’’ said Teague. ‘‘Once I had the lead, I just had to throw it on the outside corner. I sort of surprised myself.’’

Davie coach Mike Herndon was disappointed that his usually hard-hitting team didn’t make more noise, but offered an explanation.

‘‘Our guys wanted Horton and thought they were going to get Horton,’’ he said. ‘‘All day long they were saying, ‘Horton, Horton, Horton.’ They know him from Legion ball. But then they got Teague. It was a big difference.’’

The physical difference in Teague and Horton is great – at least 75 pounds – but even a healthy Horton couldn’t have thrown the ball a whole lot better than Teague did.

‘‘We all know Teague throws it plenty hard enough,’’ said Brady. ‘‘When he’s turning the double play, he about takes (first baseman Chad) Walker’s head off.’’

Davie’s back was broken by a wild, seven-run Mustang third.

The inning was ignited by Brett Peiffer’s perfect bunt that loaded the bases with none out. Eddie Guessford followed with a hot smash that Davie shortstop Andrew Daywalt couldn’t backhand. Two runs scored and it was 4-0. Chad Walker than dribbled an infield hit to chase a run home. Then, after a throwing error, run-scoring grounders by Jonathan Heyer and Andrew Barrier, and Adam Cornelius’ second single of the inning – East’s lead had swelled to an insurmountable 9-0.

‘‘They really brought out their cue-sticks in the third,’’ groaned Herndon. ‘‘Ridenhour was making good pitches, but he had a lot of unfortunate things happen.’’

Safrit put a slightly different spin on the inning.

‘‘I thought everyone in our lineup did exactly what they needed to do,’’ he said. ‘‘With Adam out, everyone had to pick it up and they did.’’

‘‘This isn’t a team based on just one person,’’ added Brady. ‘‘We all play together.’’

After the seven-run inning, the only remaining suspense hung on whether or not Davie (11-3) could stave off the 10-run rule and force the game to go the scheduled seven.

The War Eagles managed to do just that, even after falling back 11-0 after Heyer yanked a two-run homer in the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Davie got key hits from Paul Sparks and Daywalt to stay alive.

‘‘I was proud that we didn’t quit,’’ said Herndon. ‘‘We never stopped sprinting on and off (the field) and we stayed together. We’ve got some tough dogs on this team. Our kids still feel like they could have and should have beaten East. East has a good ballclub, but they aren’t eight runs better than us.’’

But the last word went to MVP Brady.

‘‘Our team feels like it can’t be beat right now,’’ he said. ‘‘Not if we play at our best.’’

––

NOTES: East returned to the Rowan Easter tourney last year after a three-year hiatus. ... The Mustangs can’t rest on their laurels. They travel to Sun Valley for an SPC game tonight. Davie will be back in CPC action on Thursday against West Forsyth. ... Walker had six RBIs in the tourney, while Heyer had five. ... East just missed ending matters early in the bottom of the fifth when Peiffer’s two-out, two-on drive nearly left the park. ... Shortstop Cal Hayes sparked East’s solid defense ... Guessford returned earlier than expected from a shoulder injury. ... Horton appeared to be OK and was in uniform. ‘‘He’ll be sore tomorrow,’’ cautioned Safrit.