Staff report

SALISBURY — Better late than never.

Rowan County mustered only two hits in the first five innings against Greensboro pitcher Caleb Carden and trailed 1-0 at Newman Park.

But hitting is contagious, and Rowan strung together five consecutive two-out hits in the sixth to pull out a 5-2 decision in the first game of Saturday night’s NC3 baseball doubleheader.

The standout for Rowan was lefty pitcher Casey Gouge (3-0). He only struck out one batter, but he got a lot of weak contact. He kept Rowan (13-3, 4-2) in the game until the bats finally came to life.

Logan Rogers pitched an exciting seventh after Gouge got in a jam. Rogers earned his second save.

Greensboro (3-6, 2-3), which lost 2-1 on Friday to league-leading High Point, executed on a double steal in the fifth to break a scoreless tie.

Greensboro threatened to make it 2-0 in the top of the sixth, but Rowan left fielder Jordan Goodine threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning.

Carden retired the first two batters routinely in the bottom of the inning, but Goodine’s double to center ignited Rowan’s offense. Logan Rogers tripled to score Goodine and make it 1-all. Wayne Mize’s double plated Goodine for the lead. CP Pyle’s single to right scored Mize and kept it rolling. Then Dylan Driver socked a homer to left on a 1-and-2 pitch for a 5-1 lead.

Gouge walked the first man he faced in the seventh — his second free pass  — and Justin Brady doubled.

Rogers relieved Gouge, threw a strike, and then four straight balls to load the bases. That brought Cody Donell, who already had two hits, to the plate.

Rogers struck out Donnell on a 2-and-2 pitch and got a short flyball for the second out.

A wild pitch scored a run for the Redwings, but Rogers got the final out on a flyball to Driver in right field.

 

Greensboro    000   010  1   — 2   8   2

Rowan             000   005  x   — 5  7    1

W — Gouge (3-0). L — Carden. S — Rogers (2).

HR — Rowan: Driver (1).

Leading hitters — Greensboro: Donnell 2, Brady 2. Rowan: Driver 2, Mize 2.