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Mooresville tops Concord in Game 1 of playoff series

Photo by Marty Price/Special to the Independent Tribune

By Steve Winzenread | Independent Tribune

Published: July 4, 2009

MOORESVILLE — As the playoffs opened Friday night, all signs pointed to a pitching duel.
But that's not what happened.
Instead, Mooresville beat Concord 12-2 in seven innings on the 10-run rule to grab a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five Area III Southern Division series.
Game two was scheduled for Saturday night at Central Cabarrus High School, with game three to be played tonight at 7 at Mooresville High School.
Lefthander Nick Lomascolo struck out 11 in the first six innings as Mooresville built a 9-1 lead.
"He mixes it up," said Concord co-head coach Jaymie Russ. "He throws a lot of strikes. He gets ahead of you and makes you go for his pitch.
"You have to trust your hands and sit back and try to hit the other way. With guys like that, the first fastball you see you better jump on it and give yourself a chance."
Mooresville solved Post 51 ace Garrett Furr for 10 hits and six runs (four earned) in the four innings he pitched.
"Garrett struggled a little bit mechanically," Russ said. "He was working some things out. He was fighting himself more tonight than he was in the past. Tonight he just couldn't get over that hump. He said, "I just don't feel right. Something's not right.' Which happens. It was just one of those nights."
While Mooresville had surged at the end of the regular-season to move up to the No. 3 seed, sixth-seeded Concord ended its season with a loss at Stanly County on Saturday, then waited from last Sunday until Friday for the playoffs to start.
Mooresville's regular season ended last Monday with a doubleheader win over Wilkes County.
Concord threatened in the top of the first inning of the playoff opener. Thomas Emery drew a one-out walk and Furr reached on an error, but Lomascolo struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Mooresville scored two runs in the second, three in the third and one in the fourth.
The game ended in the bottom of the seventh on Ross Whitley's three-run double.
Concord scored in the fourth inning. Colby Bartlett hit a one-out double, Eric Renfro singled and Kyle Kiker hit an RBI single.
In the top of the seventh, Michael Tancini led off with a single, stole second and went to third on a throwing error, then scored on Dalton Shuford's two-out single.
Bartlett had two hits for Post 51.
Mooresville collected 17 hits, while Concord had six.
"Lomascolo threw a great game," Russ said. "We didn't swing the bats like we could have, should have. But the good thing about the playoffs is no one game kills you."