By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SPENCER — North Rowan swept a baseball doubleheader on Monday from South Davidson.

South Davidson bears no resemblance to the L.A. Dodgers, but two wins in a single day was a big deal for a program where the glory days on the diamond were a long time ago.

North’s last winning team was in 2016.

“It’s like I told our guys, we’ve played six games so far and we’ve won three,” North’s new head coach Tim Everett said. “We’ve matched last season’s win total. Now we can keep building on these wins.”

Most of the Rowan schools have deep, sturdy baseball programs that win every year. The kids in those communities get started early on travel teams, get plenty of coaching and competition and are seasoned veterans with a wide array of baseball skills by the time they get to high school.

“We don’t have that,” Everett said. “We don’t have the travel-ball kids. But we’ve got good athletes. You can’t make a kid athletic. But you can help an athletic kid become a good baseball player. We’re going to plant some seeds this year. Next year, we’ll be more stable. We’ve got a lot of good kids coming up from the middle school.”

Everett, a 2001 North graduate, has an interesting background. He served as a police officer in Kannapolis for eight years.

He came back to Rowan County to work for the Salisbury police force as a homicide detective. He toiled at that stressful duty for four years before making a move over to the Spencer force where he has a variety of duties. He’s Lieutenant Everett during his working hours, but he spends a lot of his off-duty time coaching. He coached North Rowan Middle for two seasons and still helps out there. When the job at the high school came open, he applied and was hired.

“It’s kind of a full circle thing for me,” Everett said. “I was working a job back when I was in high school and I was never a great player, but I’ve always had this passion for baseball. It started at the 8th Street Ballpark in Spencer, being around Willie Noles when I was 7 or 8, and I’ve never lost it. My step-son and I even have an online baseball card business.”

Everett eats, sleeps and drinks baseball. He is a fan of Brooks Robinson, Rickey Henderson and the Oakland A’s.

He’s also a fan of the Cavaliers. He likes the youngsters. He likes watching their eyes light up when they get a solid hit or make a play in the field they never dreamed they could make.

North’s numbers are small, so if you’re on the roster, you’ll get chances to contribute.

The senior leader is Anders Thompson. He’s a pitcher and first baseman.

“He’s been a really good leader for us,” Everett said. “Very mature kid.”

Ethan Prange will usually be at second base, but he’s versatile and can play a lot of places. Prange is one of the stronger hitters. He had three doubles and four RBIs in one of the South Davidson games.

Caleb Everett, Coach Everett’s son, plays shortstop, but he also can pitch. He can play first base when Thompson pitches and he can play center field when Chase Cauble, the starting center fielder, takes the mound.

Cauble pitched a complete game against South Davidson so he’s probably the ace of the staff, but the Cavaliers also count on Thompson, Everett, Prange and Dylan Garrigus to log innings.

The catcher will usually be Zane Smith.

“He’s acrobatic behind the plate,” Everett said. “Not many pitches will get by him.”

Kaleb McCubbin is the third baseman. Zion Gillespie can play shortstop or third base.

Garrigus is the regular left fielder, while the plan is for right field to be shared by a committee that includes Jyaire Tillman, TJ Heggins and newcomer Michael Alford, who just arrived from the basketball team.

Tillman is quick on the bases and is an ideal courtesy runner for the pitcher or catcher on days when he’s not in the starting lineup.

Alford’s big brother, Jeremiah, the football quarterback/linebacker, also came out after basketball ended. He could provide a boost as a pitcher. Both Alfords also do track and field, but Everett will be happy to have them whenever he’s got them.

Tristen Brown, another hooper, is athletic and could see action at several positions.

Grayson Anderson, Jordan Parnell and Dequavion Brooker will get their chances.

“Those kids that just came out from basketball won a lot  and a winning mindset helps any team,” Everett said. “Our guys have done a great job of buying into the idea of playing for each other, and that’s the biggest reason why we’ve already won three games. All I can ask them to do is to leave it all on the field. They’re doing that.”

North has suffered three ugly losses — 17-3, 21-8 and 20-7. The Cavaliers no doubt will have some more of those, but there are also a lot of winnable games on the schedule.

 

North Rowan at a glance

Coach: Tim Everett (1st year)

2024: 3-14. 2-12 Central Carolina Conference (6th)

Playoffs: Last playoff team was in 2017

Conference championships (8): 1976, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2016.