Luke Ponczka slides safely into second base. Rowan County Legion Baseball v Mocksville. Photo Credit: Sean Meyers

 

Staff report

SALISBURY — Rowan County scored two runs in extra innings and scratched out a 4-2 win against Kannapolis on Monday.

It was an unusual game in that Kannapolis was the home team on the scoreboard, but the game was being played at Newman Park.

Rowan won despite getting only four hits.

Kannapolis (7-12, 3-9) nearly beat Rowan (17-5, 8-2) because of a powerful effort by starting pitcher Matthew Overcash. Overcash, who shut out Mooresville recently, allowed only two hits in six innings.

Rowan got five good innings from starting pitcher Eli Graham and three great ones from reliever Luke Ponczka (1-0). Ponczka had pitched two innings all season, but he retired nine of the 10 Kannapolis batters he faced.

Rowan took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Gaige Scruggs was hit by a pitch and stole second. When Scruggs stole third, the throw got away, and Scruggs was able to scramble home.

Graham shut out Kannapolis for four innings, even with Conner Coy whacking a triple in the first.

Kannapolis went up 2-1 in the fifth when Corbin Goodman singled up the middle to score Jackson Lancaster and Zach Barham.

Ponczka took the mound for the sixth.

Kannapolis called on Bryson Honeycutt to close out the win for Overcash in the seventh, but it didn’t happen. He walked Corbin Hales to start the inning. With one out, Cole Blevins slammed a ball off the center-field wall, and pinch-runner Cole Ludwick scored from first base to tie the game.

Ponczka got Kannapolis out quickly in the bottom of the seventh, and the game moved to extra innings.

Carter Durant’s second hit started the eighth for Rowan. It was a hit up the middle that caromed off the second-base bag.

The next five batters that strolled to the plate did not record an official at bat. It was sacrifice bunt, walk, hit batsman, walk, hit batsman. It was not a standard rally, but it was enough to win the game.

Brice Knox executed the bunt that moved Durant, and Drew Pegram walked. Ponczka was hit by a pitch — he gets hit a lot  — to load the bases.

Brant Graham drew the bases-loaded walk that gave Rowan a 3-2 lead. Rowan got an insurance run when Ludwick was hit by a pitch, but Kannapolis reliever Drew Ryan got the second and third outs as Rowan left the bases loaded.

Then Ponczka pitched another scoreless inning to finish it.

Mooresville will be the home team on Tuesday night, but the game has been moved to Newman Park. Rowan is scheduled to host Mooresville on Wednesday.