BY STEVE HANF
SALISBURY POST

Chad Walker didn’t have too long to hang his head Friday night.

One inning after the East Rowan first baseman watched a ground ball dart through his legs into right field, he stepped to the plate and knocked in the go-ahead run, then took the mound and shut down North’s offense to preserve an 8-4 Mustang win.

Behind the strong pitching of starter Eddie Guessford, Walker’s relief appearance and North’s terrible night in the field, East advanced into the winner’s bracket of the fourth annual Cliff Peeler Baseball Classic. The Mustangs take on Albemarle today at 4 p.m. at Granite Quarry’s Staton Field, while North played Salisbury in a 10 a.m. loser’s bracket game.

East Rowan (8-3 overall) grabbed a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth inning before North’s Brad Canipe blasted a double to lead off the inning. After a walk to Eric Mowery, designated hitter Daniel Moore stepped up and grounded to Walker at first, and Walker went down to get it and came up with ... nothing.

Two runs scored, giving North a 3-2 lead.

‘‘I definitely wanted to redeem myself for that error,’’ Walker said. ‘‘They’re going to happen to everybody, but you feel bad when you make a play like that.’’

Walker and the Mustangs got four runs back in the top of the fifth, as the Cavalier defense crumbled behind starter Jessie Boger. Brett Peiffer singled and Adam Horton reached on an error before Walker came up with two outs and ripped a line drive to right field.

Jonathan Heyer followed with a looping liner to left field that landed just fair, scoring two more runs and giving East a 5-3 lead. Heyer then scored on a throwing error for the fourth unearned run of the inning.

‘‘Heyer’s hit was a big one for us,’’ East head coach Jeff Safrit said. ‘‘It was about six to eight inches fair. Usually those balls go foul for us.’’

The Cavaliers surrendered another unearned run in the top of the first inning with back-to-back infield errors and the eighth run came on a throwing error from second base. The only two earned runs East scored came when Horton tripled in the third and scored on a wild pitch before a Walker single, and on Horton’s long, high bomb over the left-field fence to lead off the seventh.

‘‘We’ve got to catch a ground ball and throw somebody out every now and then if we want to win,’’ North head coach Bill Kesler said. ‘‘We can’t ask him (Boger) to keep getting four, five outs an inning.’’

And the frustration of all those miscues clearly showed at times on the mound.

‘‘I wish they could have made some of those plays,’’ Boger said. ‘‘It’s just one of those things. I think we’ll bounce back.’’

Both starters looked strong. Guessford retired the side in the first on seven pitches and needed only five throws to send North out 1-2-3 in the third. Cass Jarrett’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second brought the first Cavalier run home, and North scored its fourth run when Nate Woodburn grounded one through the right side of the infield, scoring Paul Black in the bottom of the fifth.

Guessford walked the next two batters to load the bases with two outs, forcing Safrit to make the switch to Walker. The senior lefty got Moore to fly out to center and allowed just two baserunners over the final two innings.

‘‘Eddie pitched much better,’’ said Safrit, who has been searching for consistent performances on the mound when Walker’s not pitching. ‘‘He’s got a great breaking ball and a couple of times he aimed it in there high. I went out and talked to him and he reared back and threw hard again.’’

With the defense struggling behind him, Boger only retired the side in order in the fourth and sixth innings. He clearly tired in the seventh, giving up the homer to Horton and a long double to Walker that nearly went out. After North’s final error of the game, Kesler turned to Tad Ogg for the final two outs.

Boger allowed eight runs on eight hits, but only two runs were earned. He walked two and struck out seven.

‘‘Especially with me coming from there, I know they’re out to beat us every time because I’m over here,’’ said Boger, who played for East last season before transferring to start this school year. ‘‘As long as we win in conference, it doesn’t matter.’’

But being 9-0 for the season and 0-2 against East Rowan still doesn’t sit well with North, especially considering how the Cavaliers have played in the losses.

‘‘It’s frustrating to lose to anybody twice,’’ Kesler said. ‘‘We’ve played some good games, but we haven’t played any defense at all when we’ve played East. The guys don’t have that confidence.’’

NOTES: Calvin Hayes continues to shine for East at shortstop. The freshman took care of all three outs in the third inning and ended the fourth with a nice play. ... Horton’s triple in the third showcased just how fast East’s big power hitter could motor. He raced around the bases and didn’t even have to slide in, drawing appreciative cheers from the crowd. ... North leadoff man Paul Black was the only Cav with two hits in the game, both singles.