By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Sunday’s American Legion game at Newman Park swung in the third inning on one clutch swing by Rowan County slugger Luke Barringer.

It was 2-all  when the 6-foot-4 Barringer, who belted six homers for Carson as a junior, smacked the first one of his Legion career. It was a tie-breaking, momentum-creating, three-run shot to left-center and unbeaten Rowan dominated the rest of its game with Kernersville Post 36. Down early, Rowan wound up winning in a breeze, 10-2, against a Northern Division squad that was making its season debut.

Rowan (5-o) peppered 14 hits around Newman Park. The guys who have been hot kept  hitting and the guys who have been slumping came around.

Daniel Sell, a West Rowan sophomore who has been one of the pleasant surprises of the early Legion season, got the win. He worked four innings. He threw the key pitch of the game for Rowan on his final pitch. He got a strikeout to end the fourth when Kernersville had two men on base and the tying run at the plate.

Maddux Holshouser took it from there. A Carson senior who signed with UNC Greensboro, the left-hander made short work of Kernersville hitters the last three innings to earn a save. He was never in any sort of trouble. Kernersville’s lone baserunner against Holshouser was picked off.

Kernersville bunched four hits and scored twice in the second inning to jump on top, but Rowan’s decisive, five-run third happened suddenly. Five straight hitters scored for Rowan.

Clayton Gilmore, who is proving to be a catalyst at the top of the lineup, walked to start it. Hayden Setzer, who went 3-for-3, got a hit. DH Trevor Atwood, who has been terrific in the early going, knocked in Rowan’s first run with another hit. Chandler Lippard’s bouncing single up the middle made it 2-all. Then Barringer sent one out of the park off tall Kernersville right-hander Kain Kiser, who signed with Lenoir-Rhyne.

It was still a good ballgame until the sixth when Rowan sent a chunk of a nice crowd to the parking lot with another five-run frame. Rowan employed a number of pinch-hitters. Daniel Durham’s groundball for a run-scoring fielder’s choice made it 6-2. CP Pyle’s RBI single made it 7-2, and Rowan got its eighth run and Pyle made it all the way to third when a throw got away. John Owen’s base hit bumped the lead to 9-2.  Bryson Wagner doubled off the wall to send Owen to third. Garrett Alewine, who did the catching to give Atwood a break, finished the scoring with a sac fly.

Five different hurlers have won games for Rowan.

Rowan is back at Newman Park tonight at 7 p.m. for a Memorial Day Game against Mooresville.

Kernersville    020  000   0    — 2   6   1

Rowan             005   005   x    — 10 14  0

W — Sell (1-0). L — Kiser. S — M. Holshouser  (1).

HR — Rowan: Barringer (1).

Leading hitters — Rowan: Setzer 3-for-3, Atwood 2-for-2; Gilmore 2-for-3; Barringer 1-for-2, 3 RBIs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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