Rowan's Cole Blevins. Curt Fowler photo.

 

 

Staff report

SALISBURY — Slugging lead-off batter Cole Blevins and starting pitcher Kendal Sifford sparked Rowan County to a 7-2 American Legion baseball victory on Friday.

Rowan (12-4) won its sixth game in a row by beating the “Blue” team from St. Mary’s County in Maryland.

Rowan will play the St. Mary’s “Gold” team on Saturday night and will take on a West Virginia squad on Sunday afternoon at Newman Park.

Blevins accounted for most of Rowan’s offense with a triple, double, single and sac fly. His two-run double in the fourth pushed a 2-0 Rowan lead to 4-0.

No. 9 batter Eli Graham was 1-for-1 with two walks, two steals and two runs.

Marshal Faw had a run-scoring single in the first inning.

Rowan had only seven hits, three by Blevins. but St. Mary’s helped out with five errors.

Sifford (4-1) shut down St. Mary’s (3-3) for four innings, allowing two hits and no walks and striking out three.

Faw earned a three-inning save. Faw put up zeroes in the fifth and sixth, but the visitors scored two runs after two men were out in the seventh.

Defensively, Rowan turned two double plays to help off-set three errors.