Staff report

GRANITE QUARRY — Logan Dyer was strong on the mound, and Harrison Ailshie and McCall Henderson slugged homers as East Rowan overpowered St. Stephens 9-3 in a second-round 3A West playoff game played on Friday at Staton Field.

Top-seeded East (28-1) hasn’t lost since March 19 and has won 21 games in a row. St. Stephens, a 17th-seeded Hickory school, closed the books at 15-7.

Ailshie is having a sensational sophomore season. He went 3-for-3, homered, doubled, scored three runs and drove in three runs. He’s batting .427 with 40 runs, 40 RBIs and 17 extra-base hits. The homer was his eighth of the season.

Henderson had two hits and three RBIs. The homer was his sixth. Henderson is batting .452 with 48 RBIs.

Dyer, a Catawba recruit, boosted his record on the mound to 9-0. He allowed three hits and one run in six innings, while striking out nine.

Krys Hernandez had three of East’s 13 hits. Cobb Hightower had a double, scored two runs and pitched the seventh inning.

Hunter Goodman drove in a run.

East will be play Central Davidson next. That game will be played at Staton Field on Monday at 7 p.m. It’s been moved up a day because of the threat of weather issues on Tuesday.

Ailshie, a lefty, is the probable pitcher for the Mustangs.

Central Davidson (13-11) is seeded 25th in the 3A West bracket, but has won two road games in the playoffs, including a 3-2 victory at Carson in extra innings on Friday.