Staff report
Avery Rogers gave the Rowan County American Legion team one of its best pitching performances of the season when it needed it the most on Monday night at Wilkes Central High School.
Rowan (11-13, 8-8) clinched a playoff berth with a 6-0 victory against Wilkes County.
And Rogers was the key.
The Guilford College product pitched 51/3 innings of six-hit ball, pitching out of jams and snuffing out every Wilkes rally. The home team left a whopping 13 men on base.
Rowan gave Rogers all the run support he needed in the top of the second inning with two outs.
Rogers started things with a walk and advanced on a Will Sapp double. Brian Bauk was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Ashton Fleming knocked in the first run with an infield hit. Nathan Fulbright got an RBI on a bases-loaded walk and an error brought in another run for a 3-0 lead.
Wilkes committed an error with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth to give Rowan a 4-0 lead.
Rowan added its final two runs in the seventh. After reaching base, Dakota Brown went to third on a Chase Hathcock single and scored on Rogers’ single. Hathcock then scored the final run of the game on the fifth error by Wilkes.
Rogers (2-1) and three relievers preserved the shutout. Brown finished off the sixth inning, striking out two, including Hayden Snow on a 3-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded.
Alex Bost and Brian Bauk finished up as Rowan pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts. Bauk got two in the bottom of the ninth.
Rowan is at Stanly County tonight and plays Stanly at Newman Park on Wednesday.