| The Salisbury Post

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

mlondon@salisburypost.com

That geography degree from Charlotte could come in handy down the road, but East Rowan graduate Spencer Steedley has nasty sliders in his immediate future.

He'll keep throwing them until someone tells him it's time for him to teach school.

The key nugget of information on the back of the 24-year-old Steedley's baseball cards is "Throws left."

"My coaches keep telling me that any decent lefty can pitch until he's 40," Steedley said with a laugh.

If he threw right-handed, the Minnesota Twins may have auditioned Steedley as an outfielder after they selected him in the 25th round of the 2007 draft. But he's a 6-foot-2 southpaw, and lefty pitchers are the most precious commodity in baseball. Their deliveries naturally move in strange, mysterious ways.

Steedley could always hit. He used to mash at East's Staton Field. He slugged 23 homers and knocked in 149 runs in his Rowan County American Legion career. He whacked 22 homers and 47 doubles for the Charlotte 49ers.

As a junior, he was an All-Atlantic 10 outfielder. As a senior, he was an All-Atlantic 10 pitcher. No one at Charlotte had accomplished that difficult double-dip before Steedley.

49ers coach Loren Hibbs relied on Steedley as a key hurler for the first time during his senior year, and there was a day in February that Steedley shut out Campbell while striking out 13.

He was named National Pitcher of the Week, and maybe that's the day pitching became his priority.

Even as his arm heated up for the 49ers, his bat cooled. When the 2007 draft rolled around, scouts were divided. Maybe Steedley had enough power for first base, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he was fast enough to play right field, but maybe he wasn't.

The one thing everyone agreed on was there was life in Steedley's left arm. He didn't have an extensive track record at Charlotte — 13 wins — but the Twins gave him a shot.

Hibbs said the Twins wouldn't regret it, that Steedley was a better athlete than most realized, and so far that's been the case.

Steedley has been an all-star twice — in the Class A Midwest League in 2008 and in the advanced Class A Florida State League in 2009.

He's plowed through four stops in the Twins chain — Elizabethton, Tenn., Fort Myers, Fla., Beloit, Wisc., and New Britain, Conn.

New Britain is Double A, and that's where he concluded the 2009 season, doing nice things such as striking out Domonic Brown, a slugging youngster who may be the Phillies' top prospect.

Steedley's run last spring and early summer at Fort Myers was the most dominating stretch he's enjoyed as a pro. He was 4-0 with a 1.79 ERA in 35 appearances.

"I got off to that great start at Fort Myers, and it really turned into an awesome year," Steedley said. "Then I did pretty well at Double A (2-1, 3.38 ERA), and that was really encouraging because everyone tells me the jump from A to Double A is the biggest. Double A has guys with major-league kind of talent who are looking for consistency."

Steedley's career minor-league numbers are solid — 14-11, 3.03 ERA. His most impressive stats are 191 strikeouts in 181 innings and just 11 homers allowed while facing 769 batters. He gets plenty of Ks and is deadly against lefty hitters.

His primary pitches are a sharp slider and a moving fastball that averages 90 mph. His changeup is coming along, and he's developed a curve during this offseason as one more weapon to torment lefties.

"I feel like I progressed a lot last year as far as my mechanics," Steedley said. "I still haven't been working on pitching full-time for that long, and I know I can still get better. I'm learning the mental aspects, learning to read hitters better, when to throw certain pitches. I'm just now starting to figure out who I am as a pitcher."

Steedley's arm is fresher than that of most 24-year-old prospects. He couldn't pitch his senior year at East following shoulder surgery, and he didn't log workhorse innings his first three years of college.

Former MLB hurler Eric Rasmussen was Steedley's first pro pitching coach after he signed, and Rasmussen is now the pitching coordinator for the whole organization. It's a plus that Rasmussen is familiar with Steedley and knows his history.

The Twins think enough of Steedley that they sent him to compete in the Arizona Fall League, where he made 11 relief appearances from mid-October to mid-November. He walked too many in his early outings, but he finished strong.

"When I went out there I hadn't thrown many bullpens since the season ended because I was trying to rest my arm a little bit," Steedley said. "There were some very good players in Arizona, and it's a hitter's league with the ball really flying out of there. Still, I did OK. It just took a little while to settle down."

Steedley faced advanced prospects in Arizona such as first-round pick Buster Posey, who could be San Francisco's catcher by mid-season. Steedley's fastball was clocked as high as 92 mph, serious zip for a southpaw.

Steedley said he ran into former high school teammate Bobby Parnell, the New York Mets right-hander, at Catawba not long ago.

Steedley is thrilled Parnell has become a success story, and Parnell has predicted that Steedley will be the next Mustang to make it. There aren't a lot of geography majors in the big leagues, but it could happen in 2011.

A realistic goal for Steedley for 2010 is to work his way up to the Triple A Rochester (N.Y.) Red Wings by the end of the season. He'll take the first step by reporting to Fort Myers on March 11 for Spring Training.

"I'm pretty sure I'll start the season off back at New Britain," Steedley said. "I just want to keep pitching, to keep making progress."

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Staff report

LEXINGTON — Salisbury's girls trailed Central Davidson after one quarter and finished with their second-lowest point total of the season.

The visiting Hornets still managed to remain unbeaten with a 58-32 victory Monday night.

Salisbury (18-0, 7-0 CCC) outscored the Spartans (10-8, 3-4) by a 36-6 margin in the middle two quarters.

"We expected a tough game out of Central," SHS coach Andrew Mitchell said. "To me, they are one of the top teams in the league."They made it an ugly game early on and we have not been shooting the ball well lately, but once we got our legs under us we did a really good job."

Bubbles Phifer scored a game-high 17 points for Salisbury, and Olivia Rankin added 14. Jazmine Charles led Central with 14.

The Hornets had been held under 60 points one other time this season — they won 51-30 against Mount Tabor in their third game.

Central led 15-14 after one quarter, but Ayanna Holmes sank a 3-pointer from just inside the midcourt line as the halftime buzzer sounded to give Salisbury a 29-17 advantage. The Hornets were ahead 50-21 heading to the fourth quarter.

"We turned the ball over like six or seven straight possessions to start the third quarter," Central Davidson coach Kevin Hudson said. "We talked at halftime that we were only down 12 and maybe we had them doubting in their minds a little. They are so awfully good, and they are physical. You have to be able to withstand that for 32 minutes, and we were not able to."

Salisbury is scheduled to visit Thomasville tonight, play host to second-place East Davidson on Friday and travel to Lexington on Saturday.

"You miss a week of conditioning and we have four games this week, it is going to be tough," Mitchell said, "but we are not the only team in that situation."

SALISBURY (58) — Phifer 17, Rankin 14, Heilig 8, Miller 6, As.Holmes 4, Ay. Holmes 3, Richardson 2, Feamster 2, Allison 2.

CENTRAL DAVIDSON (32) — Charles 14, Burkhart 7, Young 6, Beck 3, Tuttle 2, Chavis, Hall, Oxendine.

Salisbury 14 15 21 8 — 58

C. Davidson 15 2 4 11 — 32

Owen Schwartz of The Dispatch contributed to this story.

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Staff report

LEXINGTON — Salisbury's girls trailed Central Davidson after one quarter and finished with their second-lowest point total of the season.

The visiting Hornets still managed to remain unbeaten with a 58-32 victory Monday night.

Salisbury (18-0, 7-0 CCC) outscored the Spartans (10-8, 3-4) by a 36-6 margin in the middle two quarters.

"We expected a tough game out of Central," Salisbury coach Andrew Mitchell said. "To me, they are one of the top teams in the league.

"They made it an ugly game early on and we have not been shooting the ball well lately, but once we got our legs under us we did a really good job."

Bubbles Phifer scored a game-high 17 points for Salisbury, and Olivia Rankin added 14. Jazmine Charles led Central with 14.

The Hornets had been held under 60 points one other time this season — they won 51-30 against Mount Tabor in their third game.

Salisbury is scheduled to visit Thomasville tonight, play host to second-place East Davidson on Friday and travel to Lexington on Saturday.

"You miss a week of conditioning and we have four games this week, it is going to be tough," Mitchell said, "but we are not the only team in that situation."

SALISBURY (58) — Phifer 17, Rankin 14, Heilig 8, Miller 6, As.Holmes 4, Ay. Holmes 3, Richardson 2, Feamster 2, Allison 2.

CENTRAL DAVIDSON (32) — Charles 14, Burkhart 7, Young 6, Beck 3, Tuttle 2, Chavis, Hall, Oxendine.

Salisbury 14 15 21 8 — 58

C. Davidson 15 2 4 11 — 32

Owen Schwartz of The Dispatch contributed to this story.

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Staff report

LEXINGTON — Salisbury's boys entered their CCC contest at Central Davidson on a five-game winning streak that had spanned 18 days.

A 63-47 victory against Central on Monday night served as a productive start to a potentially busy week.

It was the first of four games scheduled to take place within a stretch of six days, culminating with a trip to first-place Lexington on Saturday.

"We have been dealing with scheduling issues all year long," Salisbury coach Jason Causby said. "For us to get in a stretch where we are just playing games is going to do us more good than anything."

The second-place Hornets, who are slated to visit Thomasville tonight and play host to East Davidson on Friday, benefited from Darien Rankin's game-high 23 points against Central Davidson. John Knox added 12.

The Spartans (5-12, 1-6) led 15-14 after one quarter, and Salisbury (12-4, 6-1) started the second quarter with a 12-0 run.

Central trailed 28-24 at the break thanks to a 9-0 run late in the half but drew no closer. The Hornets scored 21 points in the third quarter and allowed only nine.

"I think we came out tonight with a lot of intensity, and we had fun," Central coach Brian Hege said. "That press for 32 minutes, make or miss, kind of wears on you a little bit. That is why they are a good basketball team.

"You cannot let your guard down against them when you get it down to four, six or eight. You have to continue to break that press and take good shots or it goes back up to 16 real quick."

Salisbury's lead ballooned quickly from four points to 16 on the strength of its press.

That run included a four-point play from Rankin, who was fouled as he drilled a 3-pointer near the halfway point of the period.

"We had some inconsistent play tonight," Causby said. "Offense was poor from start to finish, and the defense was bright in spots."

SALISBURY (63) — Rankin 23, Knox 12, Hailey 9, Jones 7, Phillips 7, Weant 3, Morris 2.

CENTRAL DAVIDSON (47) — Brown 11, Dilley 9, Mays 8, Small 7, Laws 6, Snider 4, Norman 2, Wright, Reynolds.

Salisbury 14 14 21 14 — 63

C. Davidson 15 9 9 14 — 47

Owen Schwartz of The Dispatch contributed to this story.

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

By Mike London

mlondon@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — The bad news for South Rowan's girls basketball team was its fifth straight loss, 30 turnovers, a million fouls and an ugly 77-53 NPC setback against Statesville.

The good news in Monday's makeup contest was a career game for sophomore post player Chelsea McManus.

McManus scored 13 points and became the eighth different Raider to lead the team in scoring in a game this season. Asia Caple, Kayla Corriher, Libby Sides, Nicole Barringer, Kayla Morrow, Sam Goins and Lauren Miller had done it previously.

"Chelsea had her best game, and that's the way I've expected her to play," South coach Jarrod Smith said. "She finally had that strong game, and I'm glad I've got her two more years."

South (6-14, 3-7) stayed with the Greyhounds for seven minutes. A free throw by Morrow, a baseline hook by Corriher and a stickback by McManus pulled South within 13-11 late in the first quarter, but the Greyhounds (12-6, 8-2) answered with a wicked 14-2 run for breathing room.

South closed the first half with a sweet reverse layup by McManus, who handled a nice pass from Sides, but Statesville owned a 43-23 lead.

Statesville led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter, and both teams spent most of that marathon stanza parading to the foul line.

South was 18-for-31 on free throws for the game, with 16 of those tries coming in the final eight minutes. Statesville was 20-for-31 at the stripe.Janitsha Williams led the Greyhounds with 21 points. Simone Parker (19) and Cameron Bradley (16) also enjoyed fine nights.

Williams scored from everywhere. Parker got nine points at the foul line. Bradley nailed three 3-pointers.

South was only outscored 34-30 by the Greyhounds in the second half, and that was a small positive.

"I was impressed with South in the second half," Statesville coach Todd Jones said. "As far as my team, it's hard to say from one game to the next. We've searched for consistency all year. The first half tonight, it looked like we could play with anybody. The second half, it looked like anybody could beat us."

Caple hit South's only 3 and scored nine points. Morrow also scored nine before joining McManus on the bench with five fouls. Miller had a strong fourth quarter handling the ball and netted her six points in that period.

"We were a lot more aggressive in the second half," Smith said. "But we've got to start out aggressive. We can't just decide to get aggressive after we get way down."

STATESVILLE (77) — Williams 21, Parker 19, Bradley 16, Watts 9, Shan. Harvey 7, Renwick 2, Sherrill 2, McCord, Jones, Sham. Harvey, Brown, Wodecki.

SOUTH ROWAN (53) — McManus 13, Morrow 9, Caple 9, Miller 6, Goins 5, Sides 4, Corriher 3, Lookabill 2, Waldroup 2, Barringer, Jones, Weber, Stancil, Bost.

Statesville 17 26 18 16 — 77

South Rowan 11 12 10 20 — 53

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

By Mike London

mlondon@salisburypost.com

LANDIS — South Rowan's home game with Statesville last season produced a 107-105 overtime win by the Raiders.

There was no repeat of that excitement Monday in an NPC makeup game that won't make anyone's list of instant classics.

South was listless in the first half and unable to stop the young Greyhounds in the second. Statesville pulled away for a 74-60 victory in a game that probably settled third and fourth place.

Statesville (9-11, 6-4) bounced back nicely from an upset loss to West Iredell on Saturday and finished off a season sweep of South.

"Statesville's young, but they're good," South senior John Davis said.

Davis scored 22 points before dislocating two fingers on his shooting hand with a little over a minute left and the game still in doubt. He reached for a pass thrown by Brad Akers as a Greyhound slapped at the ball. Davis walked off the floor grimacing in pain and shaking a mangled right hand. He was wearing a splint after the game, but he was optimistic about finishing the season.

South (9-12, 5-5) got 16 points from Mark McDaniel, 14 points from Blake Houston and 10 rebounds from B.J. Grant. It started poorly, finished poorly and didn't hit a single 3-pointer.

The tone was set right away. South came out in a half-empty, quiet gym and fired 3-point attempts on each of its first four possessions. The result was a goose egg — 0-for-4.

Coach John Davis called an early timeout to remind his team to look inside, but the first quarter stayed ugly. Statesville shot 5-for-18 in that period and still led 10-8.

"Last year, we scored more points than NBA teams score, and this time it's just ugly basketball early, not even 20 points between us," Coach Davis said. "It's like we went out there in a dream, just going through the motions. I don't think we were very focused at all. We didn't wake up and start playing until we were in real trouble."

South got plenty of solid 2s from Houston and McDaniel in the second quarter, but the Greyhounds also warmed up.

They shot 10-for-16 in the period and seized a 33-26 halftime lead.

Statesville was rolling 43-30 early in the third quarter when Davis shouldered the load for a South comeback. He had a pretty amazing quarter, going 11-for-12 at the foul line. He's missed some free throws lately, but he fixed things by moving over to his right and shooting them from an angle.

"I wasn't making them straight-on," he explained. "But I knew I could make them from the side."

When Davis came up with a steal and driving layup with 6:47 left to play, South trailed 50-47 and it appeared the Hounds might wilt.

They didn't.

"The young guys are growing up some," said Statesville coach Sonny Schofield, who got 19 points from D.J. Edwards, 17 from Nick Schofield and 16 from Saliff Mott. "When the fouls started piling up on us in the third quarter, we lost our rhythm a little bit, but this was one of our best games. Not many mental lapses. Better communication on defense."When Davis scored inside with 2:15 remaining, South trailed 62-58, but Nick Schofield answered with a flying layup and Edwards knocked down two big free throws.

From that point, the Greyhounds owned the game. They rebounded South misses and finished racehorse fastbreaks when the board-crashing Raiders failed to get back.

"We got them a little frustrated at the end," Coach Schofield said. "We finished with a flurry and put it away. Now we're a solid third."

STATESVILLE (74) — Edwards 19, Schofield 17, Mott 16, Gaither 11, Whitaker 7, Gill 2, Lowry 2, Willis.

SOUTH ROWAN (60) — Davis 22, McDaniel 16, Houston 14, Akers 6, Grant 2, Glaspy, Gaddy, Dessasore, Boulware, Sharpe.

Statesville 10 23 15 26 — 74

South Rowan 8 18 16 18 — 60

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From staff reports

Pfeiffer's men's basketball team set two school records in a 146-122 home win against Barton in Conference Carolinas action Monday.

The Falcons (13-7, 9-5) moved into second place in the league while establishing new marks for points in a game and half (77 in the second).

Jeff Pettiway went 7-for-12 on 3-pointers and scored 31 points (in 22-plus minutes) as one of six double-figure scorers for Pfeiffer. The others were Chris Woods (27), James Crowder (22), Davon Gilliard (19), James Morse (14) and Reggie Hollinger (10).

Crowder had a game-high 12 rebounds against the Bulldogs (11-9, 7-6), and Gilliard led the way with six assists. The Falcons shot 63 percent (46-for-73) from the field and 57 percent (20-for-35) from 3-point range.

Pfeiffer led 69-61 at the break and opened the second half with an 18-4 run. Barton trailed by 13 with 13:24 remaining.

The Falcons, who reached the century mark with 11:20 left, had their lead trimmed to 103-96. They bumped the advantage back up to 20 when Woods (13 of 16 at the line) made two free throws with just under five minutes left.

n Livingstone men

Livingstone's men's basketball team suffered a 66-45 loss at Shaw on Monday night.

Sophomore forward Greg Henry paced the Blue Bears (10-11, 7-8 CIAA) with 17 points. Donte Durant had nine points, and Keith Darden added eight.

Shaw (12-10, 9-6) led 28-20 at the break and scored the first seven points of the second half.

Henry went 9-for-13 from the line for Livingstone, which shot 31.1 percent from the field.

n Pfeiffer women

Pfeiffer's women's basketball team lost 72-61 against Barton.

Celeste Caudill led Pfeiffer (11-10, 11-5) with 16 points. Shelley Reese chipped in with 12. Esty Flores led Barton (15-5, 14-1) with 25 points.

Caudill, who went 5-for-5 from 3-point range, gave the Falcons a 40-39 lead with 15:50 left. The game was tied at 51-all before Barton went on an 11-0 run.

n Livingstone women

Livingstone's women lost 68-50 at Shaw, which went on a 23-4 run early in the second half.

Kayler McBride led the Blue Bears (8-13, 4-11 CIAA) with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Freshman guard Khalia Boston contributed eight points.

Shaw (14-7, 9-6) led 28-24 at halftime. Livingstone scored the first five points of the second half but then allowed a run that left the Blue Bears facing a 51-33 deficit with 12 minutes left.

n Prep basketball

Davie County's boys moved up their CPC game at Reagan from Tuesday to Monday because of weather concerns and lost 77-54.

Nate Jones hit three 3-pointers and scored 13 points for the War Eagles, while Jamal Mayfield had 12.

Ryan Brubaker scored 20 for Reagan, including a buzzer-beating 55-footer. Davie started strong, but Reagan had an 18-0 run in the second quarter.

n Prep wrestling

CCC champion Salisbury is at home tonight as the 2A dual-team playoffs get underway.

Salisbury (21-6, 5-0 CCC) takes on Pisgah (16-7) and Wheatmore (19-13) battles Piedmont (39-1) in first-round matchups.

The first-round winners will then meet to determine which team advances to sectional and regional competition Thursday.

n In 4A, Davie (33-1) is home tonight against Northwest Guilford (19-7).

The Davie-NW Guilford winner will then take on the the survivor of a matchup between Alexander Central (24-12) and Southeast Guilford (17-6).

n In 3A, NPC runner-up East Rowan (19-6) wrestles tonight against SPC regular-season champion Concord Robinson (19-2) at Anson.

The East-Robinson survivor takes on the winner of the match between Anson (21-12) and Asheboro (22-3).

n Second-place East had 12 of 14 wrestlers place in the recent NPC tournament won by North Iredell. East's Kory Shaffer (125) and Josiah Hurst (171) were champions in the tournament.

East's Mark Almeida (119), Chase Thompson (130), Colton Merritt (140) and Hunter Arey (160) placed second.

Jason Deutsch (112), Josh Greer (135) and Jake Ward (189) were third-place finishers, while Nick Cornacchione (103), Cameron Ferrante (152) and Daniel Hadnott (215) took fourth.

n Arey and Merritt had pins, Shaffer took a major decision and Almeida and Hurst won decisions in a 37-28 loss to North Iredell last week that decided the regular-season crown. Heavyweight Chris Demitraszek won by forfeit.

"The NPC title came down to one takedown and one reversal," East coach Barry Justus said.

n Prep swimming

South Rowan's boys finished 10th in the 3A Western Regional on Sunday.

The unit of Mark Wooten, Trevor Guyaux, Aaron Deason and Jake Mills placed third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:35.54) and finished sixth in the 400 free relay (3:34.90).

Wooten was 11th in the 100 backstroke and 100 free. Mills tied for 11th in the 50 free.

A.L. Brown's boys were 14th. Brown's Davied Sanchez was second in the 100 backstroke (57.24), and the Wonders' Cole Harris (59.93) was seventh in the same event. Harris also was sixth in the 200 IM (2:10.45).

East Rowan's boys were 27th.

n East Rowan's girls were 20th.

n Davie's girls were 10th and the Davie boys were 16th in the 4A Central Regional.

n Prep baseball

East Rowan right-hander Thomas Allen and West Rowan lefty Zack Simpson were invited to participate in the Impact Baseball Pitcher-Catcher Showcase held on Sunday in Winston-Salem.

Allen was clocked at 86 mph. Simpson threw 82. Both are uncommitted seniors.

Other area players invited to the Showcase were Northwest Cabarrus infielder Justin Seager and pitcher Taylor West as well as Davie catcher Jacob Barber.

n Jayvee hoops

Courtney Sweeney scored 12 points for South Rowan's girls in a 37-24 win against Statesville. Emma Pope and Maria Gaddy scored seven apiece.

n North Hills hoops

The North Hills elementary girls basketball team won 20-11 against Success Institute.

Dajah Glenn led the Eagles with five points and 12 rebounds. Madison NeeSmith and Olivia Houghton had four points apiece.The North Hills elementary boys won 28-7 against Success. Wes Fazia had 12 points, and Grayson Whitaker scored 11.

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Staff report

Catawba's baseball team swept a doubleheader from visiting California (Pa.) on Monday, winning the opener 6-5 and taking the second game 11-4.

The 17th-ranked Indians (3-0) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first game but needed a two-out, walkoff single from Wade Moore to prevail.

Moore registered six steals, drew seven walks and reached base 11 times in the two game. He's reached in 15 of 17 plate appearances this season.

Craige Lyerly had one hit in the opener — a sixth-inning single — and went 4-for-5 in Game 2 to push his hitting streak to 38 straight games.

n In the opener, Cal tied the game with a three-run top of the ninth, In the bottom of the ninth, Michael Tancini hit into a fielder's choice after a single by Corey Parker and moved to second on a wild pitch. Moore (two hits, four walks, two RBIs in Game 1) followed with a single off the wall in center.

Moore drew a bases-loaded walk in the second inning. Josh Hohn hit an RBI single in the third, and Garrett Furr knocked in a run with a fielder's choice. Moore scored on a wild pitch in the fourth.

The Vulcans did not get a hit off Catawba starter Trevor Mullins until the sixth inning.

He allowed no runs and three hits while striking out six batters in 61/3 innings.

Cal scored two times in the eighth, and Catawba led 5-2 heading to the ninth thanks to a bases-loaded walk from Hohn. Cal's Troy Handza singled home two runs and scored on a throwing error to tie the game.

Travis McSweeney, Catawba's sixth pitcher, got the win.

n A five-run sixth inning put Catawba in control of the second game. Moore finished with four steals, three runs and two hits.

Catawba had taken a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Lyerly (three runs, two steals, one triple) led off with a bunt single, swiped second and scored on a Hohn double.

Two errors helped the Indians in the sixth. Moore stole second and scored on a bad throw as he stole third. Another error kept the inning going, and Cameron White singled in a run. Furr then delivered a two-run double.

Freshman Nick Lomascolo earned the win. He allowed two runs and six hits over five innings. He walked four and struck out seven.

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

By Jenna Fryer

Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Here's something to consider: Maybe Danica Patrick is a pretty good race car driver.

Patrick bumped and banged her way through a crash-filled ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway, where she successfully dodged one of the sloppiest events in recent memory. She pulled off a masterful save on a slide through the infield grass, fell to the back of the field and still managed to drive her way to a sixth-place finish.

So it comes as no surprise that Patrick has decided to make her NASCAR debut this weekend in the Nationwide Series race at Daytona.

She'd been previously praised for declaring Daytona not the right place to make her NASCAR debut, but after holding her own in the ARCA race, everyone anticipated the about-face that came Monday.

"Racing in the Nationwide Series race was my goal during this entire two-month preparation process, but we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do," she said. "The ARCA race was a blast, and I'm not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet. I want more racing."

She'll get it, too. Saturday's race is a big boy race, with more than half the field expected to be Sprint Cup Series stars. They've won nine of the last 10 Nationwide races at Daytona, dating back to 2005 when Martin Truex Jr. won it in a JR Motorsports car.

Kelley Earnhardt, general manager and part owner of JRM, doesn't think Patrick will take the team back to Victory Lane on Saturday.

But she doesn't think she'll stink up the show, either.

"My dream scenario is she would be up there in the top five competing for the win," Earnhardt said Monday. "My reasonable expectation is that she just finishes and brings the car home and maybe gets a top 15. From a car owner standpoint, she showed Saturday that she can make good decisions and not put other cars in jeopardy.

"Now, going forward, if something catastrophic happens this Saturday, you've still got last week to look back on and say 'We came out of that OK.' I think that takes some of the pressure off and allows her to go into her first NASCAR race not worried about her debut."

Earnhardt has seen circus-like celebrity before, first with her father, the late Dale Earnhardt, and again with brother Dale Earnhardt Jr.

And even though Dale Jr. is annually named NASCAR's most popular driver, it's been quite some time since his big sister has seen such intense interest at the track.

"I've been in situations with both of them that have seemed very chaotic, but with Danica, it seemed like there were always at least 200 people swamping her," Earnhardt said. "I was really in awe, because I haven't seen something like that in our sport for a while. You see a crowd moving through the garage, and you know that Dale (Jr.) is coming, but with Danica, this was definitely different."

There's been slight backlash against Patrick for taking the Daytona ride because many believed her decision to race cost Kelly Bires a seat.

"As everyone can see I will not be running Daytona. Very bummed out about it!" he posted on his Twitter account.

But Kelley Earnhardt said Patrick's decision had no bearing on Bires, who is scheduled to drive the No. 88 this season. A sponsorship agreement had Earnhardt Jr. contractually obligated to race in Daytona's Nationwide event, so he actually replaced Bires for this one event.

The second JR Motorsports car, the No. 7, is Patrick's, and Earnhardt said Bires would have only gotten that seat had Patrick elected not to race.

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Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

By Aaron Beard

Associated Press

DURHAM — Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler really couldn't ask for much more.

The Duke trio has found the setup that every college basketball player dreams of: plenty of shots, lots of points and abundant minutes. The formula has carried No. 8 Duke to the top of the ACC heading into Wednesday's trip to rival North Carolina, and the Blue Devils' hopes of making a strong push in March could hinge on how well their "Big Three" holds up.

"We ideally would like to have balanced scoring, but it's not really how it is," Singler said. "The responsibility that Jon, Nolan and myself has, we don't necessarily look at it as pressure because we have each other to help each other out."

So far, Scheyer, Smith and Singler are each averaging better than 16 points per game. They entered Saturday's win at Boston College as the nation's top scoring trio.

All three are ranked among the ACC scoring leaders — Scheyer and Smith rank second and third, respectively — while they account for about two-thirds of the Blue Devils' scoring output and shot attempts.

Scheyer, a senior, leads Duke (19-4, 7-2 ACC) at just under 19 points per game and leads the league by shooting 91 percent at the foul line. Smith is averaging about 18 points, while Singler is averaging about 17 points. No other Blue Devils player averages more than seven points.

They could be in line for a big performance against the Tar Heels (13-10, 2-6). UNC has struggled to defend the perimeter all season and is limping through its worst stretch under coach Roy Williams.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has been content to rely on the trio to lead the offense, saying there's a significant gap between the "Big Three" and the rest of the team in experience and scoring ability.

"If only two of them were scoring, I'd be disappointed," Krzyzewski joked. "The way we have set up our team, those three guys have to be put in prominent positions to score and they've come through pretty well in doing that. That's the nature of our team. If we had a fourth really big scorer, then I'd try to figure that out."

The biggest concern, however, might be the amount of mileage each player is picking up while hoisting all those shots. Scheyer leads the ACC at more than 36 minutes played per game, while Singler is third and Smith is fourth at 35 minutes each.

Singler — who seemed to wear down late in his freshman year — has logged 40 minutes in five games, while Scheyer and Smith have done it three times each. In the 66-63 win at BC, Scheyer and Smith played 40 minutes and Singler played 39.

Yet Krzyzewski said he's not worried about them wearing down, saying he is careful with limiting their workload in practices and that players want to stay on the court in games.

"This is it for me," Scheyer said. "I'm taking care of my body every day. I feel great. I can't remember I felt tired in a game in terms of being winded where I needed to come out."