Rowan pitcher throws complete-game shutout against Post 76

On Saturday, the Stanly Post 76 American Legion baseball squad opened the first of a home-at-home series with Rowan County.

Stanly fell to 6-12 on the season and 2-4 in divisional games, mustering six hits but suffering a 3-0 shutout loss.

Rowan starter Haywood Setzer threw 100 pitches and went the distance for Post 342 (17-6, 3-2) issuing two walks and striking out six.

Zach Grice took the loss for Stanly allowing two earned runs in five hits in 5.1 innings. He walked four and fanned six Rowan batters. Ryan Baucom added .2 innings of scoreless relief.

Stanly had a runner in scoring position in the first inning. Will Dagenhart walked, was sacrificed to second by Kolby Lamp and reached third on a two-out wild pitch. Setzer got out of the inning by getting the next batter to fly out to right.

Setzer helped his own cause, leading off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to center field. After a walk, Stanly turned a line-drive double play and got a fly out to end the inning.

Stanly had runners in scoring position in the second and fourth innings but did not score. Post 76 loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth on singles from Lukas Scott, Seth Grice and Colton Austin. After a fly out, a ground ball to Bryson Wagner at second base turned into an inning-ending double play.

Rowan added two insurance runs in the sixth, loading the bases with a single and two walks. Wagner drew a bases-loaded RBI walk, then later a Stanly fielding error plated another run.

In the seventh, Jacob Allen got Post 76’s sixth hit of the game, but the game ended on a double play initiated by Clayton Gilmore.

The second half of the divisional series with Rowan comes to Don Montgomery Park tonight at 7.

Stanly wraps up the regular season with a three-game road trip. Post 76 goes to Concord on Wednesday, Mocksville Friday and Kannapolis Saturday.

To submit story ideas, call Charles Curcio at 704-983-1361, email charles@stanlynewspress.com or via Twitter (@charles_curcio).