Outfielder Cole Blevins. Curt Fowler photo.

 

 

Staff report

SALISBURY — Rowan County’s American Legion baseball team finally got to play its first home game at Newman Park on Friday.

Things went well. Hot dogs and peanuts were sold, and Rowan beat Mocksville 11-1 in five innings.

Rowan is 3-2. That includes two 10-run rule wins against Mocksville (3-7).

Rowan’s Chase Fisher may be the first pitcher ever to qualify for a save in an 11-1 game. But it happened.

Fisher also was at the plate for the walk-off walk that ended the game in the bottom of the fifth. Considering that he wasn’t even in the game until the fourth inning, he had an interesting night.

Lefty Connor Park (1-1) got credit for the win. He pitched 3 2/3 innings. Mocksville went down in order in the first two, thanks to a diving catch by Marshal Faw in left field. In the third, Park ran into some difficulty, but Carter Durant and Eli Graham rolled a 4-6-3 DP that got him out of trouble.

Park exited the game with two Mocksville runners on base in the top of the fourth and with Rowan clinging to a 2-1 lead. That’s when Fisher relieved. He got the final out of the inning in unconventional fashion by tagging a sliding runner at the plate on what would have been a wild pitch.

Rowan put together a six-run bottom of the fourth with three hits and some generous donations from Mocksville to take an 8-1 lead.

Fisher, a Pfeiffer University recruit from West Rowan, struck out two in a strong top of the fifth. Then Rowan scored three more in its half of the fifth to end it.

Brice Knox and Eli Graham had early RBIs as Rowan went up 2-0 after three innings. James Spencer’s RBI double in the fourth cut Rowan’s lead to 2-1.

Rowan’s six-run bottom of the fourth was triggered by a Luke Ponczka HBP. After Brant Graham walked, Gaige Scruggs bunted, but Rowan got much more than a sacrifice when the throw to first went awry. That bunt probably was the key moment in the game, as Rowan had a 3-1 lead and runners at second and third after the smoke cleared.

Faw’s infield hit made it 4-1 before Cole Blevins hammered a two-run single to right to push the lead to 6-1. Durant sent a double whistling down the line for 7-1. Brant Graham walked with the bases full for 8-1.

The bottom of the fifth for Rowan included an RBI single by Ben Koontz and a sac fly by Corbin Hales prior to Fisher’s walk-off walk.

Nine Rowan players had RBIs. Blevins and Faw had two hits.

Mike Lovelace has returned to coach Mocksville. He had a strong run with the program from 1999-2009 and had 178 wins.

Rowan is going to be busy for a while and is scheduled to play at home on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.