By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
RAMSEUR ó Rowan County’s pitching committee added another member.
Second baseman Ethan “Skip” Fisher was handed the ball by coach Jim Gantt and worked five strong innings in a 13-2 rout of Eastern Randolph.
Fisher had pitched two innings for East Rowan and two innings for the Legion team before Wednesday’s successful outing.
He’s the ninth different Rowan pitcher to register a win this season.
“We were hoping Fisher could go two or three innings, but he did a lot better than that,” Gantt said. “Not bad for an infielder. He didn’t try to miss every bat, just threw strikes and kept it low. Man, what a concept! I hope all our pitchers were taking notes.”
Fisher got ahead in the count often, got lots of routine flyballs and had some quick innings. He also benefited from two double plays.
Fisher didn’t start strong. He allowed two hits and two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
He also walked the leadoff man in the second, but after shortstop Justin Roland gloved a grounder up the middle for a snappy 6-3 DP, Fisher found his second wind.
“The mound was rough and took some getting used to,” Fisher said. “But that early double play was a confidence-booster that we’d make the plays if I could throw strikes.”
Tossing to backup catcher Matt Miller, Fisher faced only 13 batters from the second through the fifth, and Rowan (13-4) took control of the game with its bats.
“Fisher got ahead of hitters, and then he used his curveball,” Gantt said. “He sure looked like he knew what he was doing.”
Rowan, which plays a division game at Wilkes tonight, improved to 9-0 in games outside the Southern Division. Rowan ripped 12 hits, including four by Trey Holmes, who knocked in four runs.
Holmes joked he was “just trying to keep up” with his brother, Noah, who has been very hot.
“We all went up there swinging tonight,” Holmes said. “I thought I might get to pitch an inning or two, but they didn’t need me with Skip pitching so great. He didn’t even show them his secret pitch. He’s got a knuckleball.”
Rowan’s three-run first at Lawson Field featured RBI doubles by Trey Holmes and Russell Michalec. Two-out hits by Philip Miclat and Trey Holmes made it 5-2 in the second.
Billy Veal’s RBI double and D.C. Cranford’s sac fly made it 7-2 in the fifth. ER turned the fifth into a game-breaking disaster with a dropped flyball and a dropped throw that pushed Rowan’s lead to 9-2.
Tanner Brown pitched the last two innings for Rowan. He limited ER (8-8) to an infield hit and got help from Veal, who moved from DH to left field and made a leaping catch of a liner that helped preserve the 10-run rule victory.
“Good approaches at the plate, good pitching, good defense and a couple of double plays,” Gantt said. “It was an effort I was proud of.”
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NOTES: Center fielder Micah Jarrett rested an ailing knee that he tweaked on Monday. … Cranford made several good plays in center before exiting to rest a mild quad injury. … ER’s D.J. Dean, who suffered a head injury in ER’s 6-5 loss at Newman Park, is OK. He hit the ball hard, including a double.