By Bill Kiser
Salisbury Post
LANDIS ó According to the scoreboard, South Rowan beat up on North Iredell pretty good Wednesday night.
But it was South that felt battered and bruised after suffering through a few scary moments in its five-inning, 14-3 victory over North.
Ryan Bostian drove in five runs with two hits ó including a walk-off, three-run homer over center field in the bottom of the fifth to end the game ó and Blake Houston went 3-for-3 with three RBIs for South (12-4, 6-4 NPC).
“This was a win we needed,” South Rowan head coach Lin Williams said. “Our overall record’s really good, but in the conference we’ve struggled at times. We needed to come out and get a win tonight.
“We hit the ball well and played smart defensively. We didn’t play error-free, but we played smart and we didn’t give them any extra runs. We took good swings at the plate, and were aggressive on the basepaths.”
Michael Morgan threw five solid innings to get the win and improve to 4-0 on the season. Morgan gave up all of North’s runs (all earned) on four hits and one walk.
“Michael didn’t have his best stuff, but he hung in there and got out of a couple of innings,” Williams said.
However, Morgan was one of the players involved in a scary moment, taking a line drive off his right leg in the top of the second inning.
That also set up the second scary moment ó Morgan was able to grab Chris Bustle’s liner and toss it to first base. But his throw went way high, and first baseman Logan Overcash landed awkwardly after leaping for the toss.
“(Overcash) just had the wind knocked out of him, so he’s going to be fine,” Williams said. “And Michael, he’s going to have a big ol’ bruise on his leg.”
But the third moment may affect South’s lineup for Friday’s game.
With South up 8-2 in the bottom of the third inning, third baseman Jordan Lowder slipped as he rounded third base attempting to score on J.D. Bare’s double. Lowder managed to get back to third, then limped home on Bostian’s two-run double. He then came out of the game with a sprained ankle.
“Jordan’s probably the worst off of the three,” Williams said. “Hopefully, it’s not too bad. He’s scheduled to pitch Friday, but I expect him to be ready. If not, we’ll throw somebody else out there.”
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Contact Bill Kiser at sports@salisburypost.com.