By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — Even with a season aborted by COVID and a season sliced in half by COVID, East Rowan’s Brett Hatley has coached 100 baseball wins in five years at the helm.

That’s quite a feat, but those 34-win seasons are really helpful, and the Mustangs put together one of those on their way to the 3A state title in 2024. Before that, East won 23. And before that, the Mustangs won 25. They won 18 out of 22 in the COVID years.

East was conference co-champion three straight seasons before finally winning an outright South Piedmont Conference championship in 2024 with a 15-1 record. The SPC is acknowledged by everyone as a sensational baseball league, but East is 40-5 in the SPC the last three years. Even when South Rowan won the 2022 3A state title with a generational squad, the Mustangs shared the league championship.

The bottom line is East almost always has won a lot of baseball games. East has the coaching staff, the fans, the field, the ball park, the concession stand — and the players. East had a train of Division I arms — Jake Hunter, Cameron Padgett, Chance Mako — roll through Staton Field in the years before they were able to seize a state title with a balanced team that had everything you can have — two workhorse starting pitchers, a resilient bullpen, plenty of speed and defense, and a mind-blowing offense.

East graduated a massive amount of baseball talent when the Class of 2024 received diplomas. That class included six exceptional high school players, led by shortstop Cobb Hightower, a third-round draft pick who appears to be headed to the big leagues in a hurry.

Most of the names appearing on Hatley’s lineup card aren’t well-known yet, but when those guys put on that East uniform they expect to win, and you likely will know who all of them are by May.

“Every season brings a new team and it brings new challenges,” Hatley said. “We did lose a lot of great players. But we have good guys back and some guys who are stepping into new roles and giving us their best. We’ve had some injuries to overcome, and we need to field it cleaner than we have so far, but I’m really pleased with our start.”

East has started 3-0, beating Concord by four touchdowns and putting up double-digit runs to outscore Mooresville and Northwest Cabarrus.

“We swung the bats well against Northwest’s Cooper Greene, who was tough on us last season,” Hatley said. “That was encouraging. And we beat a Mooresville team that can really swing it at the top of their lineup.”

East still has one superstar. Junior Harrison Ailshie is special enough that he was MVP of the 3A State Championship Series. He’s already committed to UNC. The lefty was a 10/10 man in 2024 — 10 wins and 10 homers. He was All-State. He shared Rowan County Pitcher of the Year honors with senior teammate Logan Dyer, and the consensus of opinion is that he hits better than he pitches.

Ailshie played left field when he didn’t pitch last season, but he’s moved to center field this year. Obviously, he’s the key to East’s lineup. He was devastating in the middle of it last season. Hightower broke state records for runs scored hitting in front of him, while McCall Henderson broke county RBI records hitting behind him.

“We’re planning to lead off with Harrison this year,” Hatley said.

That maximizes Ailshie’s at-bats and he’s patient enough to take the walks that are sure to come his way. He’s unlikely to drive in a pile of runs batting first, but he may score even more than he did last season. He walloped two homers in East’s first three games, so he’s getting some pitches to hit.

The other familiar names still on board are Mason Phelps, Krys Hernandez, Sam Blackwelder and Hunter Goodman. The plan is for Phelps, Hernandez and Blackwelder to bat 2-3-4 in the lineup.

Phelps, a senior, is expected to be the regular third baseman and the No. 2 pitcher. Coming off a knee injury, he was helpful last season at the plate, often as the DH, and on the bump.

Hernandez was the fourth outfielder and the backup catcher last season. That meant he basically was a starter because Ailshie pitched regularly and senior catcher Joe Burleyson pitched some. Hernandez will be counted on to carry the catching load this season

Blackwelder turned in a strong season as a freshman third baseman — that was a new position for him — but he’ll move to shortstop this year. That’s the position he’s played most of his life, but East had Hightower at short last year.

Goodman provided quality at-bats as a DH/first baseman last season and will return in that role.

Senior first baseman Josiah Ninteau is a thick slugger who hasn’t played much for East but has power. He is headed to Regent University.

Jarad Osterhus would have been a big part of the mound corps and was a potential outfield starter, but he’s been knocked out for the season with elbow surgery.

Keaton Walker is a senior who has been waiting his turn behind super middle infielders, but he’ll be the guy at second base this season.

Junior Nick Lopez is expected to be a starter in the outfield. He’ll probably man left field most of the time, but when Ailshie pitches, he’ll move over to center. He was the jayvee center fielder last season.

Freshman Braylen Ketchie is showing that he can be the starter in right field. He had a big triple in the Mooresville game.

“He’s going to make some freshman mistakes,” Hatley said. “But we love the way he plays the game.”

Freshman Brady Ailshie, Harrison’s brother, has been dealing with back issues, but he will be a key player. Assuming good health, he’ll be the third pitcher, and he’s also the probable third baseman when Phelps is pitching. He pitched strong relief and helped the Mustangs pull out the Mooresville game.

Freshman pitcher Julian Cauble could be a factor right away. East will need some youngsters to help with pitching depth.

It’s a long roster. Zeke Stewart provides infield help. Will Klingler, Logan Bradley, Nathan Collins, Wyatt Yon, Nathan Chisholm are primarily outfielders. East’s courtesy runners for pitchers and catchers probably will come from that outfield group. Ryan Friel, Tyler Hill, Andrew Myrick and Gavin Murillo are pitchers. Parker McGinnis and Braxton Earnhardt are young catchers who can help Hernandez.

“It’s actually a pretty senior-heavy team,” Hatley said. “Everyone on the roster can help us. They’ve all got a role to play.”

East baseball at a glance

Coach: Brett Hatley (6th year, 100-17)

2024 record: 34-2 overall, (15-1 SPC), 1st

2024 playoffs: Won 3A state championship

Conference regular-season championships (24): 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1982, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024