Here's how Marshall McGowan propelled Burns baseball into Round 4 of NCHSAA state playoffs

LAWNDALE — Not making the type of contact he’s accustomed to, Burns baseball's Marshall McGowan spent early April lamenting over his “woes” at the plate.

“(McGowan) put too much worry on himself early on; he was banged up early in the year,” said Burns baseball coach Alex Leonhardt. “He was still batting .300, but that was a slump for him. He was putting too much pressure on himself.”

There was little panic in the Bulldog dugout, however, figuring McGowan would bounce back in a big way. Their hunch proved correct, and he’s rewarded their faith in kind.

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McGowan's two home runs propelled NCHSAA 2A West top seed Burns to an 8-1 victory in its third-round playoff matchup with No. 9 Bandys on Monday.

“I’m a competitor, so with one strike, two strikes, it didn’t really matter, I was going to do something to help the team out,” McGowan said. “I was going to help my team out.”

A vaunted Burns attack was held in check for much of the first four innings, unable to catch up with Bandys lefty Alex Robinson. Though he walked eight batters, Robinson left after 3 ⅔ innings with eight strikeouts and only one hit allowed. His one mistake proved costly, though, his 1-2 pitch to McGowan with one out in the fourth sailing over The Dog Lot’s centerfield fence for a three-run homer.

“I basically (told myself) I was going to compete, and I was going to win no matter what the pitch was,” McGowan said.

The blast gave Burns its first lead of the night. McGowan all but turned out the lights on Bandys with his next at-bat, depositing reliever Scotty Miley’s offering into trees beyond the left-field fence for a grand slam and a Burns 8-1 advantage.

McGowan, who now has a 19-game hit streak, finished with seven RBIs. “I think the last month I’ve hit eight (home runs), so I’ve really hit my stride and stepping into what I need to step into,” he added.

After Bandys took a 1-0 lead in the first on two hits, Burns starter Colby Putnam didn’t allow another hit in the game. The Trojans put only three runners on after the first inning, two via walk — one intentionally — the other on an error. Putnam struck out 14 Bandys hitters.

“(Putnam) is a ‘different’ player, he’s very special as well,” Leonhardt said. “He had good stuff tonight; he made a mistake (in the first on a double by Bandys’ Robinson) and paid for it. But you saw after that, the more you put on him, the more he delivers.”

Hagan Hoyle and Ethan Guy also had base hits for Burns. The Bulldogs (28-0) now await the winner of Tuesday’s 2A West quarterfinal between No. 4 Forbush and fifth-ranked North Stanly on Friday.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Here's how Marshall McGowan propelled Burns baseball into Round 4 of NCHSAA state playoffs