High school baseball: Mustangs top Falcons on strength of hurlers
Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 9, 2021
East Rowan's Austin Fulk 2.. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
West Rowan's Hunter Watts 13 leaving 2nd base. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
West Rowan's 2nd baseman Luke Graham 18 throwing to first. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
East Rowan's Cameron Padgett struck out nine and walked one in Tuesday's victory. File photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
East Rowan pitcher Chance Mako 10. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
Staff report
MOUNT ULLA — There’s not much down time in North Piedmont Conference baseball.
East Rowan lost to Carson on Friday and had to bounce back against West Rowan’s tough left-hander Casey Gouge on Saturday on the road.
The Mustangs were successful. They managed a weekend split. They beat the Falcons 2-1.
They did it mostly with pitching, which is the way they’re expected to do it. East’s defense, which sprung some leaks against Carson, was flawless against West.
Chance Mako, a towering sophomore committed to N.C. State, and junior Cameron Padgett, a UNC commit, combined to hold West to one hit.
Austin Fulk produced a two-run double in the second inning to plate East’s runs.
West used three walks and a hit batsman to score its run in the third. Noah Loeblein walked with the bases loaded.
Mako threw 102 pitches in five innings — the pitch-count limit is 105 — striking out nine and walking six.
Padgett saved it for the Mustangs with two hitless relief innings. He struck out three.
Hunter Watts had an infield hit for West (1-3, 0-2) in the fourth.
Gouge handled six innings with 67 pitches. He struck out seven and walked one. Andrew Kennerly pitched the seventh for West.
East (3-1, 1-1) got eight hits, with Fulk accounting for three. Aiden Schenck had a double.
