Cornelius entered Thursday’s road game at Stanly with a 3-4 record and has been as up and down as that record indicates.

There are innings like the third on Tuesday in a 7-5 loss to North Iredell, which included about everything. A few miscues and errant throws helped North Iredell score three runs in the top half of the inning before doubles by Marc McAnuff, Zach Ruttkamp and Dillon Rowan helped Cornelius answer with three runs in the bottom.

“Tonight was the epitome of our season right now,” said Pearn.

And in a recent game with Carson, Cornelius trailed 7-0, rallied to take a 9-7 lead and then lost 13-10. So the goal is to bottle the positive and get rid of the negative. That’s easier said than done, of course.

Cornelius, which is not tied to Huntersville Post 321’s Legion team, includes players from six high schools, including Hough, North Meck, Davidson Day, Lake Norman Charter, SouthLake Christian and Charlotte Catholic, not to mention a few players who just completed middle school. So forming the players (roughly junior varsity age) into a cohesive unit can take time.

That’s all part of the developmental process, says Pearn, who settled in the area after playing for the Gastonia Rangers in the 1980s.

Cornelius will host Mocksville Friday and Stanly Monday at North Meck High. Both are 7 p.m. starts.