Legion baseball: Kannapolis 18, South Rowan 11

Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 27, 2009

By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
KANNAPOLIS ó Kannapolis catcher Bobby Zimmerman had one of the best 1-for-6 nights in American Legion history.
The homeschooler’s only hit Saturday was a game-changing grand slam in the fourth inning that turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead.
Kannapolis belted four homers, got five RBIs from Daniel Welch and a surprising pitching effort from Jordan Phillips while beating South Rowan 18-11.
“I think they underestimated us,” Zimmerman said. “We surprised them a little.”
Kannapolis swept its two league games with South.
The contest meant little other than neighborhood bragging rights to South (12-6, 10-6) because it has already clinched second place.
The game meant a ton to Kannapolis, which is trying to squeeze into the playoffs. Eight of the nine Southern Division teams qualify. Kannapolis (5-12, 5-9) is still ninth, but there are several teams Post 115 has a chance to catch.
“I told the guys before we beat Stanly (on Friday) that we still controlled our own destiny,” Kannapolis coach Matt Stack said. “It was for them to decide if they wanted to go through the motions or if they wanted to keep on playing. They’ve reacted well.”
South smacked around Kannapolis ace John J. Tuttle and built a 7-0 lead after 21/2 innings, but it ran out of gas quickly on the heels of Friday’s exhausting doubleheader marathon with Mooresville.
“The 18 innings against Mooresville were a long day,” South right fielder Blake Houston said. “We didn’t get much rest, and we blew out a lot of pitching. That had a little something to do with what happened tonight.”
South third baseman Julio Zubillaga had hits or walks in each of his five at-bats, including his first Legion homer, and Maverick Miles had three hits.
But Kannapolis’ power handed South starter Alex Ingold his first loss in five decisions.
Ingold yielded homers to Tuttle and Jacob Wright in the third inning but still took an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth at Veterans Field.
A hit batsman and three singles got Ingold into serious trouble. Then Welch got a swinging-bunt single when Ingold couldn’t make a play after sliding onto his backside. It was 8-6 after Ingold walked Hunter Pate with the bases loaded, and South coach Michael Lowman turned to reliever Preston Penninger.
Zimmerman welcomed Penninger with a grand slam on a 3-1 pitch.
“He threw a good pitch, but I got enough to drive it out,” Zimmerman said. “It was exciting. The whole dugout was cheering me on.”
Kannapolis took over with Phillips, a lefty making his summer debut, shutting down South for four innings.
Welch’s three-run homer in the fifth broke it open. Like the homers by Tuttle, Wright and Zimmerman, it soared over the inviting right-field porch at Veterans Field.
“Sure, some of those balls get caught at our place, but they did a nice job hitting to their park,” Lowman said. “Our pitchers put 11 men on with walks and HBPs, and they couldn’t get their secondary pitches over. Kannapolis sat on fastballs and hit fastballs away out of the park.”