High school baseball: Mustangs still rolling, Round 4 scheduled for Friday
Published 5:40 am Tuesday, May 14, 2024
- East Rowan pitcher Harrison Ailshie Photo Credit: Sean Meyers
Staff report
GRANITE QUARRY — McCall Henderson’s towering, two-run double in the first inning got East Rowan’s baseball team started toward a 9-0 romp against Central Davidson on Monday in the third round of the 3A state playoffs.
Henderson added a sacrifice fly for a three-RBI night at Staton Field. He has a whopping 51 RBIs for the season, which is probably a school record. It’s certainly a record for East Rowan baseball in this century.
Cobb Hightower has been on base for a lot of Henderson’s RBIs. His 52 runs scored are likely a school record. That’s definitely a school record for this century.
East didn’t score in the second inning, but four runs in the third and three runs in the fourth made it a breezy night.
Central Davidson (13-12), a No. 25 seed that had won two road games, was able to stave off the 10-run rule, but there was never much doubt about the outcome.
Harrison Ailshie, a sophomore lefty who is 10-0, pitched five shutout innings, with six strikeouts and no walks. Joe Burleyson pitched the last two innings and finished the shutout. He walked three and struck out three.
Hightower went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He had a two-run single. East’s only extra-base hit was Henderson’s early double.
Logan Dyer had two hits and scored two runs. He and Braden Shive are at the top of the lineup. Shive had two hits and scored three runs.
Krys Hernandez had two RBIs. while Nate Hayworth had one.
East (29-1) has put up the most wins since they won a school-record 31 in the state championship season of 2010.
East is in the fourth round for the second year in a row. East lost to West Henderson in Round 4 last season.
East is scheduled to play again on Friday. The next opponent would be the winner of the Lake Norman Charter-Oak Grove matchup.
Oak Grove, seeded 21st in the 3A West bracket, is 13-11. Lake Norman Charter (19-7), is seeded 13th and has lost to East three times.
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Catcher Brad Rye had 38 RBIs to lead East Rowan’s 1995 state championship team that went 29-1. Center fielder Jason Foster led that team in runs scored with 45.
Third baseman Noah Holmes scored 46 runs for East’s 2010 state champs that went 31-2. First baseman Andy Austin was the RBI leader for that team with 34.
