Staff report
Rowan County’s American Legion baseball team will take a 14-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game at Mooresville.
Rowan (16-2) has been on a roll since early losses to Liberty and High Point. Liberty is 2-8 now, so Rowan would like to have a mulligan on that opening-night setback.
Offensively, Rowan has performed very well in its temporary home at South Rowan.
Rowan has put a lot of big numbers on the scoreboard, hitting .335 as a team and taking a lot of walks – almost 6 per game. Throw in the occasional HBP, and Rowan owns a lofty team on-base percentage of .452.
Rowan hitters actually have a few more walks (100) than strikeouts (95).
Rowan has scored 171 runs in 18 games. That’s better than 9 per game.
Rowan also should get a boost moving forward from the return of outfielder Jayven Parks. Parks missed eight games with a shoulder issue, but returned for Saturday’s doubleheader at Wilmington.
Rowan has hit eight homers, a modest total compared to some years, but Rowan has 37 doubles and four triples.
Cole Blevins leads the standard starters with a .480 batting average and .622 on-base percentage. Blevins leads the team in runs scored with 29. Blevins and Carter Durant are tied for the team lead with 22 RBIs.
Blevins also leads the team with 11 doubles and 21 walks. Maddox Moore leads with 12 steals. Blevins has 10.
Brant Graham is batting .419, so it’s been hard to keep him out of the lineup on the days when he doesn’t pitch. Parks is batting .387. Luke Ponczka is batting .386, while Durant checks in at .382.
Rowan’s 16 wins have been dispersed among nine pitchers. Kendal Sifford and Graham have been credited with three wins eacb.
Connor Park and relievers Jacob Prevette and Ponczka have two.
Moore, Parker Durant, Abel Brown and Cameron Williamson have one win.
Graham has thrown 19 innings, Sifford 17, Park 14.1 and Moore 11.1, so arms are still pretty fresh at this point, even with Rowan going through a two-week schedule where it basically played every night. Fortunately, there were quite a few five-inning romps.
Rowan pitchers have allowed 70 runs. about 4 per game. They’ve allowed 52 earned runs. Rowan has made 22 errors, which is pretty solid defense for 18 games.
Rowan is 8-0 in the Southern Division of Area 3. The toughest competition in the South may be Union County, 8-1 in league play. As is usually the case, Randolph County and High Point are at the top of the Northern Division.
Blevins hit .455 last season, so he’s on target to finish among the program’s all-time leaders. He scored 50 runs last summer, while driving in 43. Durant hit .397 in 2025 with 47 RBIs.
Sifford won eight games in 2025, while Graham, who had a long scoreless streak, and Park won six each.
Rowan was 29-11 in Seth Graham’s first season as head coach last summer and has a chance to do even better.
