Staff report
Hunter Shepherd pitched into the eighth inning and Rowan County’s American Legion team rolled 8-1 at Kannapolis on Wednesday.
Shepherd (2-0) allowed five hits and had a shutout until the eighth inning. Bryan Ketchie got the last out in the eighth. Harrison Baucom pitched the ninth.
Rowan County (7-4, 3-0) pounded out 16 hits and won its fifth straight game.
Dustin Ritchie went 4-for-5, including a run-scoring double in the sixth.
Jeremy Simpson led off for Rowan County and had four hits.
Juan Garcia had three hits, including two run-scoring singles.
Michael Caldwell had two hits and scored two runs.
Rowan County didn’t have a big inning but socred two runs in the first and two more in the second against Kannapolis starter and loser Daniel O’Kelly.
Rowan added single runs in the third and fourth and got two in the sixth.
Cole Lippincott relieved in the fifth and slowed down Rowan some.
Caleb Threadgill, one of Shepherd’s teammates on the Greater Cabarrus Homeschool Stallions, had two hits for Kannapolis. Threadgill’s double drove in the only run for Kannapolis (6-9, 2-3).
Rowan returns to action on Sunday at Newman Park against Winston-Salem.