From staff reports
Prep baseball playoffs …
Davie County took advantage of nine walks, banged out four doubles and crushed Harding 15-0 in five innings in a 4A first-round game on Friday.Garrett Benge went 2-for-2 with four RBIs for the War Eagles. Jess Cartner had two hits and two RBIs, and Zach Russell-Myers walloped a two-run homer.Brad Gaither was the winning pitcher in relief. Russell-Myers started but was lifted after an inning in the lopsided contest.
Freshman Carson Herndon, son of coach Mike Herndon, made his varsity debut when he entered the game at shortstop in the second inning.
Davie County (16-8) travels to North Mecklenburg (20-4) in the second round.
n Jordan Phillips, Daniel Welch and Justin Seager had three hits each as Northwest Cabarrus went on the road for a 3A contest and routed Enka 14-1 in six innings.
Hunter Pate hit a three-run homer, and Ryan Lazenby knocked in three runs for the Trojans (15-10).
Ryan Overcash shut down Enka after allowing a solo homer in the first. He struck out five.
Northwest was one of five NPC teams that won a first-round game. The Trojans will be on the road again Tuesday.
n Patrick Koontz hit a two-run homer and Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn fanned nine on the mound as Ledford handled Forest Hills 8-3 in a 2A first-round game.
Wilkes Central, a 4-3 winner over Lincolnton, will visit the Panthers (21-6) on Tuesday.
n Central Davidson beat West Stanly 9-7 with the aid of one of the season’s more bizarre plays.
The Spartans cleared the bases and scored three runs without taking a swing on a passed ball that was followed by two throwing errors in the infield.
Zack Briggs and Trevor Leonard had two hits each for the Spartans. Leonard was the winning pitcher, with relief help from Chaz Frank.