Kannapolis outfielder Brooks Hubbard. Photo by Wayne Hinshaw

Staff report

Kannapolis won 5-0 against Mooresville on Tuesday in American Legion baseball, a stunning result if you look at the standings, but Kannapolis coach Joe Hubbard didn’t seem overly surprised by his team’s second win in the four-team division that also includes Rowan County and Concord.

“In this division, I think anyone can beat anyone — you saw that tonight, not just in our game, but with Concord winning over at Rowan,” Hubbard said. “Every time we’ve played Mooresville it’s been a close game, but then we’d have a bad inning. Tonight, we didn’t have that bad inning. We were good defensively, and that hasn’t always been the case.”

It was the second loss in the division for Mooresville. Rowan also took its second division loss on Tuesday, falling 2-1 to Concord. That was a painful home setback for Rowan, failing to win with ace Kendal Sifford on the mound. Concord’s Reed Martin wasn’t giving away any free base runners, and Rowan didn’t hit. The only ball Rowan blasted (a shot by Cole Blevins) was tracked down and caught in the deepest part of the park.

Hubbard had confidence that Matthew Overcash, a rising senior at South Rowan, would get the job done on the mound and he silenced a good Mooresville team.

“Matt had already pitched great against Mooresville earlier, a game that we lost 1-0,” Hubbard said. “Maybe he’s got their number. We knew he’d give us a chance.”

Kannapolis scored a run early and put together a four-run inning later to give Overcash some breathing room.

Hubbard’s son, Brooks, a South Rowan graduate, drove in two runs in the big inning. Conner Coy, another South grad, also had a big hit.

“We’re still in last place,” Hubbard said. “But in Legion, you’re playing the regular season to try and get better, and I think we are. The playoffs are what really counts, and if you peak at the right time, anything can happen in the playoffs.”