From staff reports
Catawba senior center fielder David Thomas has been named SAC Baseball Player of the Year, and Catawba’s Jim Gantt has been named SAC Coach of the Year.
Thomas, also SAC Player of the Week, hit .442 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs and led the league with a .790 slugging percentage.
Gantt led the Indians to their fourth league title in five years and was named SAC Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
Other Indians on the All-SAC first team are pitchers Blake Ketner and Tim Holmes, shortstop Chris Ahearn, outfielder Jerry Sands and DH Brett Hatley.
Catcher Ryan Query, third baseman Craige Lyerly and pitcher Alex Fairweather were named to the second team.
Carson-Newman’s Brett Hontz is the SAC Pitcher of the Year.
– Rowan Legion: May 23
Rowan County’s American Legion program has released its schedule and will open the season at Kernersville on May 23.
The first scheduled game at Newman Park is May 26.
Jim Gantt returns as head coach, along with Bob Lowman as team manager and Theo Heilig as athletic director.
– Minor league baseball
Danny Jordan hit a two-run homer, Andrew Mead had a two-run double, and Santo Luis pitched five strong innings as the Kannapolis Intimidators (7-7) won 6-5 at Augusta on Wednesday.
* Binghamton’s Bobby Parnell had his strongest start of the season, but got no decision in a 7-2 victory on Wednesday. Parnell (East Rowan) worked five innings, allowed three hits and two runs and struck out six.
* Dayton’s Brett Bartles (A.L. Brown) had two singles and two walks in a 9-2 victory over Beloit on Wednesday.
* Toledo’s Jerry Johnson (Mooresville) worked five innings in a 6-4 victory over Lehigh Valley on Wednesday and is 3-0.
* New Britain’s Zach Ward (A.L. Brown) pitched two scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory over New Hampshire on Wednesday.
– Prep tennis
Salisbury’s boys tennis team, which entered the week unbeaten atop the CCC standings, lost a match for the second consecutive day. The Hornets fell 6-3 to Ledford on Wednesday, one day after they dropped a 5-4 decision to Lexington.
Joe Goodman avenged his only loss of the season by collecting a 6-3, 6-1 win against Landon Rogers. Tyler Heilig and Carl Ritchie also won singles matches for Salisbury (10-2, 7-2 CCC).
“Ledford came out and played very well, and we knew they were capable of doing so,” Salisbury coach Chris Myers said. “They pushed Lexington to the limit earlier this season. We were also a little flat, and that happens.”
Second-seeded Austin Flynn and third-seeded Steven Page lost for the first time this season. Flynn fell 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to Josh Edwards, and Scott Buchanan beat Page by a 6-3, 6-3 count. Heilig won a first-set tiebreaker and third-set tiebreaker at No. 4, but Benton Whitaker lost a second-set tiebreaker and third-set tiebreaker at No. 5.
Flynn-Page dropped a third-set tiebreaker in doubles, and the Panthers swept those three matches.
* East Rowan’s boys tennis team won 8-1 in an NPC match against North Iredell.
Andrew Blank, Cody Kahn, Mike Meilinger, Justin Brown, Nick Brown and Cody Stewart all won as the East swept singles matches. Blank-Justin Brown and Meilinger-Nick Brown won in doubles.
– Prep soccer
West Rowan watched one of its best players leave the field on a stretcher late in the first half Wednesday night, and the Falcons still led Carson by only one goal at the time.
They responded with five second-half goals and a 6-0 victory.
Lacy Heglar assisted on Katie Russell’s goal in the first half, but Heglar blacked out when her head collided with the head of a Carson player later in the half. A 45-minute delay followed as an ambulance came to take Heglar to the hospital.
West (9-6, 9-5 NPC) dominated the Cougars after Heglar’s injury, as Brittany Gibbons recorded a second-half hat trick and Allison Parker and Nicole Lucente also scored. Lucente, Russell, Christina Wood and Allie Hester had assists after halftime.
West coach Nick Brown received a phone call from Heglar’s mother later Wednesday, and Heglar was released from the hospital with a concussion. She likely will not play when the Falcons play at East Rowan on Monday.
“After seeing one of their leaders taken away on a stretcher, my team played their best soccer of the season,” Brown said. “I’m very proud of what they did tonight.”
* Rachel Hardy-Simpson scored two goals to lead East Rowan to a 3-1 NPC victory over South Rowan.
Hannah Wilson and Nicolle Bradway had assists.
East got its third goal when a long throw by Bradway was headed into the goal by a South player.
The Mustangs had 25 shots and led 3-0 at halftime.
– Prep baseball
Ledford beat East Davidson 14-7 on Wednesday to stay in first place in the CCC. Patrick Koontz, Travis Vogler and Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn had three hits each. The trio combined for 11 RBIs, and Vogler was the winning pitcher.
Ryan Coleman homered for the Golden Eagles.
* West Davidson’s Zach Burkhart had a triple and three RBIs, while Brandon Smith was the winning pitcher in a 6-2 non-conference win over Starmount.
– Middle school baseball
China Grove defeated North Rowan 6-1. Caleb Trexler and Mitch Galloway combined on a three-hitter for the Red Devils (2-2). Scotty Hinson had three hits, while Josh Martin had two to pace China Grove’s offense.
* Erwin defeated Corriher-Lipe 15-3. Curtis Ward and Wesley LeRoy pitched for the Eagles (6-0). LeRoy had three hits, including a homer. Ward, Bradley Robbins, Jared Mathis, Gavin Wike and Alex Bost had two hits each.
– Rockwell baseball
Rockwell Christian’s Chargers (3-2) defeated Asheboro Fayetteville Street 11-5. David Ketchie had four hits, Matt Hoehman had three, and Jacob Swinson, Brent Black and Taylor Honeycutt had two each. Honeycutt was the winning pitcher.
* Union Grove topped Rockwell 3-1. Swinson had three hits, while Ketchie had two.
* Rockwell swept a doubleheader with North Hills, winning 4-3 and 13-4. Black won the opener. Swinson got the save.
Ketchie had three hits, while Honeycutt, Hoehman, Ethan Livengood and Anthony Odom had two in the nightcap. Swinson was the winning pitcher.
– College softball
N.C. State’s Blair Harkey (West Rowan) went 2-for-3 and drove in the only run with a triple in a 1-0 victory over Charlotte on Tuesday.The Wolfpack also won the second game 2-1 in nine innings.
– Middle school soccer
Southeast’s boys beat Corriher-Lipe 9-0 on Wednesday.
Jordy Sanchez had four goals and Logan Stamper two. Cristian Mendoza, Agustin Diaz and Jose Hernandez scored one goal apiece.
– Middle school golf
Erwin’s golf team defeated Southeast 168-190 at Corbin Hills on Wednesday.
Medalist Conner Lowman shot 40 to pace Erwin. Jared Hough shot 41, Jared Devlieger shot 42, and James Lohr shot 44.
Chuck Parks led Southeast with a 46. Garrett Yelton shot 47, Matt Yates 48 and Rob Sawyer 49.
* Also, in the first known girls public school golf match, Erwin defeated Southeast 119-122.
Emily Cleveland (Erwin) and Savannah Ware (Southeast) shot 59s. Hannah Presley (Erwin) shot 60. Katie Smith (Southeast) shot 63.
– Pfeiffer lacrosse
Sixth-seeded Pfeiffer (3-9) lost to third-seeded Belmont Abbey 12-8 in the first round of the CC tourney.