Staff report
SALISBURY — Catawba College recruit Marshal Faw had six RBIs as Rowan County pulled away from Liberty to win 11-2 in Thursday’s opening game of a best-of-three Area III quarterfinal playoff series.
Cole Blevins had two hits, two walks and one HBP, reaching base five straight times.
While Rowan County (22-5) won big at the end, it wasn’t nearly as easy as it sounds. It was still 1-all going to the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Liberty (9-13) was down 6-2, but got the tying run to the plate and still had a reasonable chance for victory.
Rowan County starter Kendal Sifford (6-1) and Southern Alamance grad Mark King staged a mound duel in the early innings. Cole Blevins tripled and scored on Faw’s sac fly in the first inning, but that’s all Rowan could produce against King until a decisive bottom of the fifth.
Brice Knox’s single started the fifth. Corbin Hales reached on an error and Cam Willamson walked to load the bases. Eli Graham’s sacrifice fly plated Knox with the tie-breaking run. Blevins and Faw produced back-to-back, two-out hits to produce four runs and a 6-1 lead.
Rowan head coach Seth Graham made a call to the bullpen in the top of the sixth, with Chase Fisher replacing Sifford (6 Ks, 2 walks) with two on and one out. Fisher got a strikeout for the second out. A walk and a throwing error on a pickoff try handed Liberty a run. After another walk reloaded the bases, Fisher came through with a strikeout that was the biggest out of the game.
When Liberty turned to the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, things got out of hand. Rowan accepted three HBPs and two walks in that inning. Williamson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for a run, and Eli Graham lifted his second sac fly. Faw’s three-run double capped the scoring.
Connor Park pitched the seventh for Rowan.
The teams will play Game 2 at Eastern Randolph High on Friday. If a third game is needed, it would be played at Newman Park on Saturday.
