Staff report

MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan beat East Rowan 6-5 on Tuesday as March Madness carried over to the baseball diamond.

East capped an exciting comeback with two runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead. West scored two in the bottom half of the South Piedmont Conference game to win it. Brant Graham’s double down the right-field line plated the tying and winning runs.

“I kind of hate that we had to play both of our games with East Rowan so early in the season because I know we’re a lot better team now than we were two weeks ago,” West coach Seth Graham said. “We managed to pull this one out, but I don’t know that I can say that we’re back in the race in the SPC. There are some good teams in our league, but this might be the only game East loses.”

East (7-1, 6-1) is strong. The lineup has been explosive. The pitching has been good.

With early losses to East, Carson and Lake Norman Charter, West (4-3, 3-3) is still in the middle of the SPC pack, but is headed in the right direction. West got off to an 0-3 start in the league.

It was a very even game. Both teams had 10 hits. Sophomore phenom Harrison Ailshie, who was the starting pitcher for East, socked the game’s only homer. Ailshie and Logan Dyer pitched three innings apiece for the Mustangs.

West got two early RBIs from Eli Graham and led 4-1 after three innings. West starter Corbin Bailey struck out eight and cooled off East’s hot bats, but the Mustangs got a run closer in the fourth. East got Bailey out of the game in the sixth when the Mustangs cut West’s lead to 4-3. Drew Burton replaced Bailey in the sixth.

It was a wild top of the seventh. East got two for a 5-4 lead and nearly got several more. Burton snagged a line drive up the middle for the second out. He tried to double a runner off third, but the ball got away from Brant Graham. But Graham chased it down and made an accurate throw home for the third out.

Burton singled to start West’s winning decisive rally. East closer Cobb Hightower took the mound. Cole Blevins walked, and Luke Ponczka hit a line drive off Hightower’s foot for an infield hit.

Then Graham came through with his game-winning hit.

“Brant didn’t make a couple of plays at third base in the top of the inning, but we’ll forgive him,” Coach Graham said, “He redeemed himself with a clutch hit.”

That’s baseball, and that’s the SPC.

Brant Graham, Ponczka and Burton had two hits each for the Falcons. Blevins scored three runs.

Dyer and Braden Shive had two hits each for East. Krys Hernandez had a triple. Nate Hayworth. McCall Henderson and Hernandez had RBIs.

Weather is shaking up the schedule again this week. West will host Robinson on Wednesday, while East is scheduled to play a non-conference game at North Davidson.