From staff reports
West Rowan baseball coach David Wright was on a bus rolling home shortly after Wednesdayís Jiggs Powers Tournament championship game at West Columbus High and couldnít decipher an overloaded scorebook well enough to phone in a boxscore.
The yells and laughter audible in the background told a story far beyond the statistics.
West pummeled Whiteville 20-1 in five innings to win the Jiggs Powers tourney title at West Columbus High. The Falcons scored eight runs in the third inning and 11 in the fourth.
The victory capped a surprising tournament run for the Falcons, who had been struggling to score runs all season.
iWhiteville came in like they planned to rule the roost,î Wright said. iBy the time it was 6-0, they were talking to the crowd. They started the game with their No. 3 guy on the mound, and after he was gone, they were walking some people.î
Wright said his team had an interesting stay. At every restaurant at which his team dined the Falcons ran into patrons urging them to beat Whiteville.
iItís funny, but itís like everyone who doesnít live inside the Whiteville city limits despises Whiteville,î Wright said. iPlaying them at West Columbus was like playing them in Mount Ulla. We had the crowd.î
West (7-6), which pounded out 25 hits, has won its last four games.
D.J. Webb (2-0) did the pitching for the Falcons. He followed strong tournament outings by Jake Koontz and Zack Simpson.
Matt Sheets and Brett Huffman hit the Falconsí first two homers of the year.
iI just wish I could you everybodyís numbers,î Wright said. iWe had lots of guys with multi-multi-hit games. We tattooed balls all over the place.î
n East Rowan (9-2) beat Maret (Washington, D.C.) 1-0 in a game at Floridaís Cocoa Expo Stadium on Wednesday.
iThey threw an awfully good lefty at us,î East coach Brian Hightower said. iIt was a good win.î
East had an awfully good righty on the mound ó Corbin Shive. Shive still hasnít given up a run this season in 181/3 innings.
Shive fanned 10 and walked none. Two of the three hits he allowed were in the seventh, but third baseman Matt Miller fielded a grounder to end the game.
Trey Holmes played outfield for the first time this season and retreated and made a nice catch at the warning track for the first out in the seventh.
iTrey had practiced in the outfield only one time and that was today,î Hightower said. iWe played good defense. Alex Litaker made a heck of a play at first base on a foul ball.î
East was limited to four hits, but it scratched a run in the second inning when Trey Holmes singled, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Casey Littleís high chopper to the mound.
Hightower is employing different lineups on the trip, allowing as many players as possible to start a game in Florida. So far, so good. East is 2-0 on its three-game, five-day swing.
East takes on Bishop McNamara (Md.) at 4 p.m. on Friday, before heading back to North Carolina.
n Top-seeded Mooresville rode the complete-game pitching of Charlotte signee Aubrey Meadows and beat St. Stephens 7-1 to win the championship of the Catawba County Easter Baseball Classic. The Blue Devils (10-2) snapped a 1-1 tie with a four-run fifth.
n The NPC had a nice Easter break. South Rowan, Northwest Cabarrus, West Rowan and Mooresville all won championships in major, eight-team tournaments.
n Ledford tuned up for Fridayís big CCC home game against Salisbury by pummeling Eastern Randolph 15-3.
A 12-run fifth inning was beneficial to the Panthers (10-1). Justin Livengood went 3-for-4, including a double and a triple. Patrick Koontz went 2-for-2, homered and scored three runs.
Winning pitcher Brian Connolly (3-0) logged the shutout at Asheboroís McCrary Park and helped himself with two RBIs.
Salisburyís game at Ledford Friday is an afternoon game at 4:30 p.m. and will be the biggest regular-season game the Hornets (11-2, 4-0 CCC) have played in some time. The winner takes charge of the CCC race, although thereís still a long way to go.
Salisburyís most recent regular-season conference championship came in 3A in 1984.
n Catawba softball
Catawbaís softball team swept visiting Brevard 11-6 and 10-2 at Whitley Field on Wednesday.
Catawba (18-19) used a five-run second to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the opener. Cassie Markham singled home two runs, and Callie Gordy singled home the tying run. RBIs by Ryann Baker and Allie Marshall put Catawba ahead 5-3.
Kathryn Geouge hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the Indians. Gordy and Markham had three hits each. Rachel Christian got the win. Meghan Cobb earned a save.
n In the second game, Catawba jumped on the Tornados (8-12) right away. Sarah VanBuskirk tripled in three runs, and Baker added an RBI single for a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Cobb went the distance on the mound. Gordy, Geouge and Marshall had two hits each.
n College baseball
Catawba catcher Ryan Query has been honored as the SAC Player of the Week.
Query, a junior from A.L. Brown, was 12-for-17 (.632) and knocked in six runs last week.
n Catawba is ranked third in the South Region media poll.
n Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a first-inning hit in North Carolinaís 12-6 victory over Davidson on Tuesday.
Brett Shore (South Rowan) had a hit for the Wildcats.
n Benedetto gets ace
Vinnie Benedetto made a hole-in-one on the 165-yard No. 6 hole at the Country Club of Salisbury on Tuesday.
He used a 5-iron from the white tees to record his second ace. His playing partners were Mr. Glover and Mr. Deal.
n Rowan golf league
McCanless will again operate the Rowan County Church Golf League. Churches compete head-to-head each week in nine-hole matches. Match days are Tuesdays, with a 5:30 p.m. shotgun start.
A practice match is set for May 6, followed by 14 weeks of matches through Aug. 19. No matches July 4 week.
Entry fee for the league is $100 per church.
There will also be a $14 cart and green fee for each golfer due before the match every Tuesday.
The league will benefit two local charities, to be decided at the organizational meeting. The past two seasons, the league raised nearly $2,000. There is an organizational meeting on April 8 at 5:30 p.m. in the clubhouse. All participating churches should be represented.
Contact Scott Perry, McCanless golf pro, at 704-637-1235.
n GARS
Forty-five GARS members played at Crescent on Tuesday.
Low ëA golfer was Gordon Correll with a net of 65.53.
Low ëBí player was Art Hattaway with a net of 68.56.
Low ëCí player with a net of 70.89 was Jeff Williams
Low ëDí player was Harold Caudill with a net of 67.86.