By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The walks piled up, the errors accumulated, and Rowan County took advantage of a sea of free baserunners to swamp Stanly County in NC3 baseball on Sunday, 16-5.

After a marathon, nine-run bottom of the fifth at Newman Park, Rowan led 16-1.

Stanly’s four-run sixth made the scoreboard more respectable, but the game still ended via the 10-run-rule after Stanly was retired in the top of the seventh.

Once again, only 25 fans were allowed inside the park. More watched from outside the right-field wall or from lofty vantage points at Shuford Stadium, where the new turf field sits in hopeful anticipation of a football season.

Rowan (11-1, 2-1) took a 1-0 lead in the first against Stanly starter Sawyer Smith on a dropped flyball and a double by Cole Hales. Hales’ double would be the only extra-base hit of a strange game. It was one base at a time for a Rowan offense fueled by a dozen walks, nine singles, six stolen bases, four wild pitches, three errors, a hit batsman and a balk.

Jordan Goodine had three hits and three steals. Hales had a run-scoring single and a bases-loaded walk, in addition to his early double. Jakes Harris accepted three walks.

Rowan provided young West Rowan lefty Casey Gouge with a 5-0 cushion with a four-run second inning. Lead-off man Charlie Klingler’s two-run single was the key blow. Hales singled in a run before Wayne Mize lifted a sacrifice fly.

Rowan made it 7-0 in the third, with one run scoring on a wild pitch. CP Pyle’s sac fly plated the other.

Gouge sailed along, allowing one hit in each of his four innings of work. Stanly scored in the fourth, on an error, a walk and the RBI single that lefty hitter Brady Parker, who is on the team at Pfeiffer, sliced gently into left field.

Scout Nichols pitched the fifth for Rowan. There was a walk and a balk, but Stanly couldn’t score.

Then Rowan staged a mind-boggling bottom half of the inning. Klingler grounded into a forceout at the plate for the first out and his groundball was the third out, but a parade of Rowan runners crossed the plate between those events. In all, 13 Rowan batters marched to the plate.

Rowan reliever Bryson Wagner was greeted with two hits and two walks in the Stanly sixth. All four runners came around to score, but Chase Shoaf finally got Stanly out and he was able to duplicate that feat in the seventh.

Parker had two hits for Stanly (1-3, 1-2).

 

Stanly   000  104   0  — 5    6  3

Rowan  142  090  x   — 16  10  1

HR — None.

W — Gouge (2-0). L — Smith.

 

2020 Rowan County NC 3 American League Baseball Seniors

Home games are at Newman Park

June 21 Rowan 8, Davidson 3 (1-0)

June 23 Rowan 12, Davidson 3 (2-0)

June 27  Rowan 10, Mocksville 0 (3-0)

June 27 Mocksville 6, Rowan 5 (3-1)

June 28 Rowan 12, Mocksville 0 (4-1)

June 28 Rowan 7, Mocksville 1 (5-1)

June 30 Rowan 15, Mt. Airy 0 (6-1)

June 30 Rowan 11. Mt. Airy 1 (7-1)

July 2 Rowan 6, Greensboro 2 (8-1)

July 4 Rowan 2, Randolph 1* (9-1, 1-0)

July 4 Rowan 8, Randolph 7 (10-1, 1-0)

July 5 Rowan 16, Stanly 5* (11-1, 2-0)

July 6 Mocksville, 7 p.m.*

July 8 Kannapolis, 7 p.m.

July 9 High Point, 7 p.m.*

July 11 Greensboro (DH), 5 p.m.*

July 12 at Davidson, 7 p.m.*

July 13 Garner, 6 p.m.

July 15 Mount Airy, 7 p.m.*

July 16 at Union County, 7 p.m.*

July 18 at Stanly County, 7 p.m.

July 19 at Randolph County (DH), 5 p.m.*

July 20 Kannapolis, 7 p.m.*

July 21 at Mount Airy, 7 p.m.*

July 22 at Mocksville, 7 p.m.*

July 24 Union County, 7 p.m.*

July 25 Davidson, 7 p.m.*

July 26 at Concord, 4 p.m.*

July 28 at High Point, 6 p.m.*

July 31 Concord, 7 p.m.*