Staff report

CONCORD — East Rowan overcame a 6-0 deficit and won, 10-6, against Concord’s Spiders on Tuesday in South Piedmont Conference baseball.
The victory kept the Mustangs in a first-place tie with West Rowan.
Concord (1-2, 1-2 SPC) got four runs in the first inning and scored two more in the third to open up a substantial lead.
“We weren’t very lucky early,” East coach Brian Hightower said. “Jordan Wise hit a ball down the line with the bases loaded that would’ve scored three runs, but their first baseman was right on the bag, and he caught it.”
East (3-0, 3-0 SPC) struggled defensively behind John Owen, and his pitch-count soared. He had thrown 78 pitches after three innings.
“He wasn’t pitching that bad,” Hightower said. “But we’d given them a lot of extra outs.”
The game turned around when East scored seven runs in the fourth.
Will Brown was the key player. He started the big inning with a hit, and his single later in the inning put the Mustangs ahead, 7-6.
East got most of its base-runners in the inning on walks. Concord ace Will Horsley walked four straight before the Spiders went to the bullpen.
Owen (2-0) pitched four innings and got the win. Colby Myrick finished the game for his first save.
East tacked on a single run in the fifth inning and got two insurance runs in the seventh frame.
“It’s not like we played great, but it’s a win,” Hightower said. “We’re playing hard.”