High school baseball: Exciting wins for East, West
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 25, 2021
East's Morgan Padgett 14 got the hit that scored the winning run. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
East Rowan pitcher Cameron Padgett 11. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
East's Griffin Warden 6 scoring the winning and only run. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
East Rowan Cobb Hightower 1 dives back to 1st with Carson's Jake Harris 14 covering. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
East Rowan Cameron Padgett 11 tagged out stealing 2nd base by Carson's Emory Taylor 1. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post
Staff report
It’s been an extraordinary baseball season in the pitching-rich North Piedmont Conference, and Monday night was no exception.
East Rowan won 1-0 at Carson. West Rowan scored in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 2-1 win against South Iredell.
The Mustangs and Falcons needed those wins to split season series.
At the end of the night, East, West and Carson stood in a three-way tie with 5-2 league marks, while South Iredell fell to 4-3.
In China Grove, Cameron Padgett, a junior UNC commit, was brilliant on the mound for the Mustangs. He didn’t walk a batter, while striking out nine in a complete-game effort.
Still unbeaten this season, Padgett allowed only three hits, including a double and a triple by Carson outfielder Dylan Driver, who is headed to Catawba.
Driver’s triple came with one out in the sixth, but Padgett got a strikeout and groundout to end the threat.
Carson sophomore Hayden Simmerson matched zeroes with Padgett until the top of the sixth.
Griffin Warden produced a one-out single for the Mustangs and scored on Morgan Padgett’s double. Morgan Padgett is Cameron’s younger brother.
Simmerson pitched a complete game for Carson, holding the Mustangs to five hits.
In Mount Ulla, it was almost a night of frustration for the Falcons, who made a lot of hard contact, but didn’t have much to show for it through the first six innings.
South Iredell had a leadoff double against West Rowan hurler Steven Smith in the first inning and scored.
West got that run back in the bottom half of the first on a two-out single by Peyton Summerall.
Smith was masterful on the mound after that early run, striking out 12 and keeping the score 1-all until he reached his pitch-count limit of 105 with one out in the top of the seventh.
West reliever Jake Blevins got the final out of the seventh on a 3-and-2 pitch with two men on base.
Blevins was credited with the win when the Falcons scored in the bottom of the seventh. Andrew Kennerly had a one-out single and when JT Fecteau singled, Kennerly was able to score the winning run when the ball got past the left fielder.
