By David Shaw

david.shaw@salisburypost.com

MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan looked every bit like a first-place team on Friday night.

The Falcons packaged timely hitting, top-shelf pitching and solid defense to beat visiting Concord, 11-1, in six innings — stretching their South Piedmont Conference winning streak to five games.

“We’re playing our best right now,” said winning coach Seth Graham. “And we want to stay hot. That’s been our motto and theme all year. Let’s get it right here at the end.”

West (14-5, 10-3) will begin the regular season’s final week in the conference crow’s nest after making quick work of the descending Spiders (9-12, 7-8). Winning pitcher Omar Bautista turned in another suitable-for-framing performance, yielding just four hits while striking out six and walking none in a tidy, complete-game effort.

“My stuff was good tonight,” the senior right-hander said after gaining his sixth win. “I just went out there and tried to do my job, to keep working and keep winning.”

Bautista benefited from the plate umpire’s generous, left-to-right strike zone. He retired Concord in order three times and surrendered an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning. But his most impressive pitching came in the Concord third, when the guests put base runners on first and third with none out. He escaped unscathed by fanning Dubby West on a pitch out of the strike zone and inducing leadoff batter Carter Mozingo to line into an inning-ending double play to second baseman Noah Teeter.

“The strikeout was big,” Graham said. “Good pitchers will make hitters look bad, even good hitters. Bautista has a feel for that. He’d rather get the out pitch himself.”

Teeter made another highlight-reel defensive play in the top of the sixth inning. After Mozingo roped a leadoff single to right, Nick Falleni grounded a ball that West first baseman Juan Garcia mishandled. The ball bobbled into the air and rolled toward Teeter, who scooped it up and fired a sidearm throw to Bautista, who was covering first base for the out.

“Any ball hit to the right side, I’m going in that direction,” Bautista said. “That was a heads-up play, just me and Teeter.”

West gave Bautista all the ammunition he would need in the last of the first inning. Facing senior lefty Tyler Thomas, the Falcons batted around and scored five runs on seven hits. Garcia’s two-run double to right-center field opened the scoring. “I was trying to move the runners up and the best way to do that is to go right side,” Garcia said. “But he just left it in my wheelhouse and I took control of it.”

Teammate Kacey Otto’s run-scoring hit to right made it 3-0 before Thomas recorded any outs. Then with two away, Austin Love steered a two-run single into left field for a five-run advantage.

“They brought their sticks to the plate,” said Concord coach Jamie Russ. “They were very aggressive. I actually thought (Thomas) was in the zone but they seemed to be hitting it wherever we weren’t.”

West finished with 12 hits and ended the game with one out in the sixth when Lee Poteat (2-for-4) grounded an RBI-single into center against reliever Dorian Parker. West catcher Trevor Atwood had a pair of doubles and leadoff hitter Harrison Baucom went 3-for-4 and scored twice.

It was, by all accounts, a well-deserved, team-driven victory — with Bautista at the wheel.

“He mixed his pitches up so well,” said Atwood. “We kept them off their feet. They never knew what was coming next.”

Concord  000 010 — 1  4  4

W. Rowan 501 032 — 11  12  1

WP — Bautista (6-1)

LP — Thomas (2-5)