Mt. Pleasant vs. East Rowan (Preview)

Should also tell any newbies to Staton Field tonite, to DO NOT park in the parking lot outside 1B/RF. When you arrive, that lot will appear open, but theres a reason for that,,, its "Foul Ball Alley" (trust me).

If you cannot park around the coachpitch field, park out on the road and walk.

 

Once again I agree with our resident baseball insider and food critic... tj21! MP 3-6 hitters have really good power to all parts of the field. As far as food is concerned, we played in a "Metro" league at Stanton 2 yrs ago. They had freshly grilled country ham served on a steamed bun, add on a little mustard and fresh hot cup of coffee, now that was the best meal I ever had at a ball game.

 

East Rowan 4...Mt. Pleasant 2

It was a great HS game between East Rowan and Mt. Pleasant, played in a great setting at Staton Field in Granite Quarry. A hard rain fell for a few minutes to delay the start and MP got things going early off Thomas Allen. Three first inning singles plated one run and then Allen got the MP batter to take strike three on the outside corner with two runners in scoring position...a call that the MP coaches clearly thought was ball four. Allen was pulled early and two ER relievers (Alex Bost & Will Johnson) pitched very well over the next four innings.

Grayson Atwood cruised through the first three innings for MP, not allowing a hit, but ran into two-out trouble in the 4th inning, giving up back to back doubles to Noah Holmes and Andy Austin (both with two strikes).

The 1-1 tie carried into the 6th inning and then things got very interesting. ER reliever Bradley Robbins came in with two on and no outs in the 6th inning and his tailing fastball nailed the MP batter in the thigh as he was squared to sacrifice bunt, loading the bases with no outs. The ER coach appealed that the batter offered at the pitch and the call was eventually reversed, with the batter subsequently striking out. With two outs, the MP batter drove a smash up the middle that Robbins snagged and retired the runner to end the inning and save the go ahead run from scoring.

In the bottom of the sixth, Preston Troutman unloaded a no-doubter to RF that brought the ER crowd to its feet and just that quickly, all ER needed to win was three outs in the 7th....but there was more to come, as Will Sapp followed with another bomb and that ended Atwood's evening. Then Nathan Fulbright stroked an RBI double after a teammate got on base for an insurance run. MP rallied in the bottom of the 7th with a walk and a single and no outs, but could only eventually muster a run on a groundout. Robbins tailing fastball came into play again in the 7th as he retired an MP batter who screwed himself into the ground trying to escape the fastball riding in on him, only to have his bat strike the ball as he was in his escape maneuver, yielding a tap out to the pitcher.

Game ended 4-2....may have broke some records for balls used in one game. Wet conditions and the most foul balls I have ever seen must have made it a 4-dozen evening for the home team. Also, saw way more coach/umpire "discussions" than normal....just reflecting the intensity of the game. Umpires did a great job and even reversed two calls on themselves after consulting with one another. I was amazed to see a 327 ft sign hanging in the left-center power alley...wow!

 

One final thought on this game is that the MP pitcher Grayson Atwood deserves big props. He had a no-hitter thru 3, didn't give up his first run til the 4th and it was still 1-1 in the 6th, until he gave up the 2 solo HR's.

This against a team (ER) who had a .350+ team batting average. Hats off to Atwood.

 

Best local sports coverage around, period.

2 Post-game articles

http://www.salisburypost.com/Sports/052210-shaw-column

http://www.salisburypost.com/Sports/052210-east-game