Staff report

CONCORD — East Rowan’s baseball team put together a 19-run top of the seventh on Tuesday to blast Concord 24-1.

East scored two runs early and scored three in the fifth to go up 5-0. Concord made it 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth, but things got out of hand in the seventh.

East (19-1, 13-1) out-hit the Spiders 15-3 and played errorless ball. Concord (3-16, 2-11) committed eight errors.

East has been in command in the South Piedmont Conference race for a long time, is three games ahead of Carson and West Rowan, and made a conference championship official on Tuesday.

East had been a league co-champion three straight seasons, sharing the North Piedmont Conference title with Carson in 2021, splitting the SPC championship with state champ South Rowan in 2022, and tying West Rowan for first place in 2023.

The outright championship is the first for the program since 2014 when the Mustangs went 13-3 in the SPC.

East head coach Brett Hatley’s first season at the helm was the COVID season when the Mustangs’ season was halted after six games.

But he’s coached a conference champion every year since then.

Cobb Hightower hit his fifth homer to lead East’s offense on Tuesday. He drove in four. He’s batting . 436 with 35 runs scored.

Nate Hayworth had three hits.

Braden Shive scored two, drove in two and had two hits, including a triple.

Harrison Ailshie, Keaton Walker, Krys Hernandez and Sam Blackwelder had two RBIs each.

Mason Phelps, Nathan Collins, Walker and Hayworth had doubles.

Hightower, Hernandez, Shive, Hayworth and Blackwelder scored two runs apiece.

Ailshie (7-0) pitched six innings, struck out eight, walked one and lowered his ERA to 1.47.

Hayworth pitched the seventh and struck out two.

East is No. 1 in the 3A West RPI rankings.