Staff report

SALISBURY — Determined Mooresville made things exciting on Monday night at Newman Park, but Rowan County slugger Luke Barringer got in the last word.

He sent fans home happy with one mighty swing.

Leading off the bottom of the 10th, Barringer crushed a down-the-middle, 2-and-1 pitch over the left-field wall and into the trees to give Rowan a see-saw, 7-6 victory. It was Barringer’s fifth homer of the summer, matching his total for all of last season. Barringer hit seven homers in the high school season for Carson and also led the county in runs scored and RBIs.

Rowan trailed 2-0 early, came back to take a 4-2 lead, slid behind 6-4, and then came back again to forge a 6-all tie in a wild contest.

Rowan (16-5, 2-0) employed six pitchers. The sixth hurler, Michael Molenda, who got Mooresville (4-10, 2-1) out in the top of the 10th with long fly balls, picked up his second victory.

Rowan had eight hits, while Mooresville managed six.

Both teams turned three double plays, with the one Rowan shortstop Zeb Burns started to end the Mooresville fifth looming as the largest. Mooresville already had scored three runs in that  inning, had the bases loaded and was tearing through Rowan’s bullpen when Burns gloved a hot shot and initiated the twin killing that probably saved the game.

Mooresville used two hits, a walk and wild pitch to score twice against Rowan starter Bryson Wagner in the top of the first.

Rowan came right back with three runs in the bottom half. Cole Hales walked, Wayne Mize doubled, Barringer singled home a run, and JT Fecteau plated two with a booming double.

Steven Smith created Rowan’s fourth run in the second inning with his wheels when he walked, stole second and stole third. He scored on an errant throw on his theft of third.

Quin Ferguson’s run-scoring double cut Rowan’s lead to 4-3 in the third.

Wagner maintained that precarious lead until control issues caught up with him in the fifth. Daniel Sell replaced Wagner and allowed a walk and a single. Scout Nichols finally got Rowan out of the inning on that hard-hit double play.

Down 6-4 going to the bottom of the fifth, Rowan got onee run back. Hales tripled to the opposite field, and Mize got him home with a sacrifice fly, his 37th RBI of the season.

After Daniel Durham kept Mooresville scoreless in the top of the sixth. Rowan evened things at 6-all. Burns smacked a one-out double. When Smith’s ground ball to third resulted in a throwing error, Burns motored home with the tying run.

Hales took the mound for Rowan and shut down Mooresville, without a hit, in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

Rowan had lead-off walks in the eighth and ninth against Mooresville reliever Andrew Martin, who had taken over for Dylan Arment, but the home team still couldn’t score.

But Molenda got Mooresville out in the 10th, and then Barringer went deep for the second straight game.

 

Mooresville        201    030     000  0    — 6    6  2

Rowan                 310   011       000    1    — 7    8   2

W — Molenda (2-2). L — Martin.

HR — Rowan: Barringer (5).

Leading hitters — Mooresville: Ferguson 2-for-4, RBI, Rowan: Mize 2-for-4, RBI; Barringer 2-for-5, 2 RBIs; Fecteau 1-for-3, 2 RBIs.