Staff report

SALISBURY —  Out-hit and out-homered, Rowan County’s American Legion baseball team still managed to slip past Eastern Randolph 4-3 on Sunday night at Newman Park.

It was an unusual outing for Rowan County. Mashers Wayne Mize and Luke Barringer combined to go 0-for-5 in the middle of the lineup and starting pitcher Daniel Durham was hit pretty hard by an Eastern Randolph club that’s been struggling, but Rowan came out on top.

Bo Rusher’s third-inning double was Rowan’s only extra-base hit. Rowan was out-hit 10-4, but Rowan wasn’t charged with an error, while Eastern Randolph committed three.

Rowan (10-3) scored the deciding run in the bottom of the seventh without getting a hit, as lead-off man Jordan Goodine created havoc on the bases.

Goodine walked and stole second, his team-leading eighth steal. When he took off for third base on a pitch that got away from the catcher a short distance, the throw to third sailed into left field. Goodine bounced up, headed home and scored the winning run.

Eastern Randolph (2-7) struck first, stringing together four consecutive singles against Durham in the top of the second. Cade Snotherly’s two-run knock gave Post 81 the lead.

Rowan answered with a three-run bottom of the second. Walks to Rusher and CP Pyle got the rally going. Both runners moved up on a passed ball. Steven Smith’s single to right scored Rusher, with Pyle moving over to third. Cameron Graham’s single to center plated Pyle for a 2-all tie. With one out, Goodine slapped a ground ball to the right side. Goodine was thrown out at first, but Smith never stopped running and was able to score a go-ahead run from second base.

Durham’s night on the mound was over after three innings. He allowed seven hits, with no strikeouts, but he also didn’t walk anyone.

Reliever Jake Davis held Rowan’s 3-2 lead in the fourth and fifth, but Rowan couldn’t add any runs against ER reliever Chandler Kime, who entered the game in the fourth inning.

In the top of the sixth, ER’s Cameron Kennedy led off with a homer over the left-field wall to tie the game at 3-all. After a groundout and a base hit, Scout Nichols (2-1) relieved Davis and got the last two outs in the sixth.

Rowan stranded runners at second and third in the bottom of the sixth, but Nichols put up a zero in the top of the seventh. Then Goodine’s speed put some pressure on Eastern Randolph and won the game in the bottom of the inning.

Rowan is back in action tonight at Newman Park against Stokes County (2-3).

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NOTES: Stokes County Post 290 has beaten Greensboro twice and is 2-0 in the Northern Division. … Stokes County got back in the American Legion business in 2017 after a hiatus. The team is based at West Stokes High in King. King once was a strong program in the Northern Division of Area III and staged memorable battles with Rowan County in the late 1990s when teams still played best-of-seven playoff series. … Stokes County usually draws players from Mount Airy, East Surry and Surry Central as well as from the Stokes high schools. … Rowan had 23 players on the squad as of Sunday and eventually will have to cut down to 18. … Rowan is scheduled to host High Point Post 87 on Wednesday. … Rowan won’t play its first division game until it travels to Mocksville on June 16.

 

Eastern Randolph    020   001   0  — 3     10    3

Rowan County          030   000   1   — 4     4    0

W — Nichols (2-1). L — Kime (0-1).

HR — ER: Kennedy (1).

Leading hitters — ER: Kennedy 2-for-2, RBI; Mason Canoy 3-for-4; Snotherly 1-for-2, 2 RBIs. Rowan: Zeb Burns 1-for-1; Smith 1-for-2, RBI; Rusher 1-for-2; Graham 1-for-2, RBI.