Game Report on Post 87 HiToms-Rowan County Area III Title Game with Post 87 HiToms, your CHAMPIONS(With a look from Mike London at the Post)

Post 87 2-1 over Rowan for Area 3 Championship!

Riley Isenhour pitched 5 innings allowing 1 unearned run in first inning. Collin Best pitched the 6th before turning it over to Dylan Wilkinson for the 7th, 8th and 9th.

Bottom 9 with 2 outs for HiToms bases-loaded, full-count and Dylan Wilkinson delivers a RBI single to right field for the walk-off win.

This is how the game was decided and coming in from Mike London at the Salisbury Post…..www.salisburypost.com….

Andrew Ramirez(Post 87) got an infield hit to start the ninth. Rowan had him picked off first, but after several throws in an extended rundown, Ramirez was ruled safe at second base, and Gantt(Rowan County skipper/manager) came roaring out of the Rowan dugout.

“We’ve got the guy picked off, and he went out of the baseline,” Gantt said. “He’s got to be out. You can’t just run into right field.”

When No. 9 hitter Luke Spiva singled, High Point had runners at first and third with none out. Then leadoff man Nick Goard hit a groundball. Rowan got the out at first, with Spiva moving to second. Then an intentional walk to Edwards filled the bases.

“We pitched around Edwards,” Gantt said. “We look at him as their best hitter.”

Kip Brandenburg popped up to shallow center, and Rowan was one out away from getting out of it and moving on to extra innings.
Dylan Wilkinson, who was on the mound as a reliever, was at the plate next for High Point.

“If we could have gotten ahead of him, it would’ve put a lot of pressure on them,” Gantt said. “But we couldn’t get ahead.”

Instead Shepherd got way behind — 3-and-0 — before delivering strike one.

The 3-and-1 pitch created excitement and provided an unexpected chance for Rowan to get out of the inning. Shepherd’s next pitch was borderline, maybe a little high, but it was called strike two. Ramirez, running from third, was so certain it was a game-ending ball four that he came jogging well down the line. But Rowan didn’t notice him in time, Ramirez was able to scramble back to third safely, and an opportunity was missed.

Then Wilkinson decided the game, the series and the No. 1 seed from Area III on the 3-and-2 pitch. It was a pretty good pitch by Shepherd, in on the big lefty hitter’s fists, but Wilkinson was strong enough to muscle the ball for the game-winning single.

“He got jammed,” Gantt said. “But he hit it good enough.”

CLICK HERE to read more/read all on this one from Mike London at the Salisbury Post….www.salisburypost.com