Baseball: No. 2 East Rowan pushes past Carson, 8-3

The No. 2 East Rowan Mustangs stayed undefeated in in-state play on Friday night with an 8-3 win over the Jesse Carson Cougars.

After a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Cougars earlier in the week, the Mustangs got their offense going more easily in the rematch.

The Mustangs took the lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by NC State commit Chance Mako, who blanked the Cougars on the mound Tuesday.

The Cougars answered back with two runs in the top of the third, but East Rowan got the run right back to make it 2-2.

Carson shouldered back in front with a run in the top of the third, but the Mustangs had an answer that would put the game out of reach in the bottom half.

A sacrifice fly by Logan Dyer tied the game, and a single by Cobb Hightower put the hosts ahead 4-3, but they weren't done yet.

Braden Shive drove in a run on a fielder's choice, and Morgan Padgett put the ball in play to bring in a run on an error to make it 6-3.

A double by Nate Hayworth scored two more runs to make it 8-3, and Dyer closed the game with three straight shutout innings on the mound to preserve that lead.

Carson fell to 5-7 with the loss and 3-3 in conference. The Cougars will play a home-and-home series against Central Cabarrus in conference play next week.

East Rowan will take the diamond for its series against South Rowan in a matchup of two of the top teams in not just Rowan County but in the greater Charlotte area.