From staff reports

SALISBURY — Overwhelming relief pitching by Dylan Driver and Cole Hales sparked Rowan County to a 7-2 win against Concord in the finale for both teams in NC3 baseball.

Driver and Hales got the last 20 outs of the game at Newman Park on Friday without allowing a hit.

The first two outs Driver got were on a double-play grounder that extricated Rowan from a potentially messy top of the third.

A rising senior at Carson, Driver (5-1) led the staff in wins.

Hales, a 2019 Carson graduate who is transferring to Caldwell Community College from Coker, was close to perfect in his three innings, striking out six and earning a save.

Rowan (23-8, 14-6) finished second in the 11-team league and beat every team except league champion High Point.

Offensively, Rowan was able to bunch its hits for two productive innings against Concord starter Maven Parker, a Surry Community College pitcher, who can be tough.

Delaney Powell’s lead-off triple and Parker’s sacrifice fly gave Concord a quick 1-0 lead against Rowan starting pitcher Scout Nichols.

Rowan strung together six hits for a three-run bottom of the first. Charlie Klingler doubled, while Hales, Wayne Mize, Logan Rogers, Ryan Street and Zeb Burns had singles.

Klingler walked in the second and eventually scored on an error for a 4-1 lead.

The key inning was the top of the third. Concord loaded the bases with two hits and a walk. Driver relieved Chase Shoaf and walked a run home, as Rowan’s lead was sliced to 4-2. But then Driver got Daniel Meyer to hit a groundball to Burns at shortstop, and a 6-4-3 double play ended the inning.

Driver pitched around a few walks and kept the scoreboard at 4-2 until Rowan got the bats going again in the sixth. Bryson Wagner, Daniel Sell, Klingler and Hales had consecutive hits to plate three runs. Klingler’s hit was a fly-ball double that drove home a run when it was lost in the lights. Hales followed that break by lining a two-run single to left.

Meyer had a stout relief pitching effort for Concord.

But Hales had no trouble preserving Rowan’s lead in the seventh, eighth and ninth. He struck out the side in the ninth for a strong end to his season and to Rowan’s.

 

Concord   101  000 000   — 2   4   2

Rowan     310  003  00x   — 7  14   0

W — Driver (5-1). L — Parker. S — Hales (1).

HR — None.

Leading hitters — Concord: Powell 2-for-3, 2 runs. Rowan: Klingler 3-for-4, 3 runs; Hales 3-for-4, 2 RBIs; Mize 2-for-4; Sell 2-for-4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rowan 7, Concord 2

Saturday’s game

at Newman Park

Concord Rowan

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Powell cf 3 2 2 0 Klingler c 4 3 3 1

Artuso ss 4 0 0 0 Hales 3b 4 1 3 2

Parker p 3 0 1 1 Mize rf 4 1 2 1

Lancaster rf 2 0 0 0 Goodine lf 5 0 0 0

Brown lf 3 0 1 1 Rogers 1b 5 0 1 1

Meyer 1b-p 3 0 0 0 Street dh 3 0 1 0

Reyes 3b 2 0 0 0 Hndrsn 2b 1 0 0 0

Hamelin 1b 1 0 0 0 Burns ss 4 0 1 1

Long 2b 3 0 0 0 Wagner 2b 4 1 1 0

Abraham c 3 0 0 0 Sell cf 4 1 2 0

Totals           27 2 4  2 Totals 38 7 14 6 Concord           101  000       000    —    2

Rowan               310 0300      000    —    7

  E — Artuso.  DP — Concord 1, Rowan 1. LOB — Concord 5, Rowan 7. 2B —  Parker, Klingler 2, Sell. 3B —  Powell.  SB — Goodine, Hales. SF — Parker.    

   

Concord IP H R ER BB SO

Parker L 5 13 7 6 1 1

Meyer 3 1 0 0 1 3

Rowan

Nichols 1.2 2 1 1 1 1

Shoaf .2 2 1 1 1 0

Driver W, 5-1 3.2 0 0 0 4 1

Hales S, 1 3 0 0 0 1 6

   HBP — by Meyer (Mize).