Roger Whitehead
RAMSEUR — A four-run rally in the last inning fell just inches short for the Eastern Randolph Junior American Legion baseball team and top-seeded Rowan County escaped with a 6-5 victory.
Action came last week in the second round of the state playoffs at Grady Lawson Field in Ramseur. The loss ended the season for Post 81, with ER racking up 16 victories.
Powerful Rowan County had opened the best-of-three series with a 14-2 romp a night earlier at Catawba College. In Game 2, Rowan had built a 6-1 margin entering the bottom of the seventh, but as ER Head Coach Mike Luther said, “This team never quits.” A leadoff hit by Brennon Ratley ignited the comeback bid.
Landon Allen and Blain Butler each came through with hits as Ratley scored. Caleb Freeman notched a sacrifice fly and Christian Snider drew a walk. Caleb Kidd then walked to load the bases and Cody Wright produced a two-out hit to make it 6-5.
Rowan County then settled down to retire the final batter on strikes and slipped away with the win.
The defeat spoiled a standout pitching performance by Allen, who was locked in a scoreless pitchers duel until the fifth inning. Allen finished with three strikeouts, allowed just five hits and one earned run. Derek Bulhuis and Josh Brooks closed out the game.
Rowan County took a 2-0 lead in the fifth, then tacked on three more runs in the sixth. The visitors posted what turned out to be the winning run with an unearned tally in the seventh.
Allen hurled two-hit shutout ball the first four innings.
On the night, Eastern Randolph outhit Rowan County 10-9 but could not get timely hits until the seventh-inning rally. Cody Wright paced the Post 81 attack, going 3-for-4, while Butler had two hits. Allen, Kidd, Ethan Clark, Richard Shuping and Pat Dawes all had safeties.
A night earlier it was all Rowan County, as the hosts jumped to a 7-0 first-inning command and cruised from there. Eastern Randolph attempted a comback in the second frame as Kidd, Wright, Dawes and Snider strung together four hits for two runs.
Rowan County answered with a three-run outbreak in the third and the game was called in the fifth on the 10-run-lead rule. Freeman started on the mound for ER with Mark Williams coming on in relief in the second inning and closing out the game.
Luther said, “There are a lot of great kids on this team, talented players. The senior league should have some fine players coming in the future. I wish we could have got a few more wins, but this was a great group of kids to work with.”
