Area sports briefs: Intimidators – Magic number stays at 4

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 1, 2009

From staff reports
The Kannapolis Intimidators struck out 14 times and lost 4-2 at Greensboro on Monday.
Thomas Hickman’s two-run homer tied the game for Greensboro before Justin Bass put his team ahead for good with an RBI double. Charlie Leesman (13-5) took his first loss of the second half.
Kannapolis returns home to take on the second-place West Virginia Power tonight. The Intimidators’ magic number remains at four.
– Minor leagues
Spencer Steedley (East Rowan) took a loss Monday as New Britain fell 4-2 to Trenton.
With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth, Steedley allowed an infield hit, then struck out two batters. New Britain made a pitching change, and a reliever yielded two hits and allowed the runner he inherited from Steedley to score. Steedley was charged with his first loss this season.
– SAL all-stars
The South Atlantic League All-Star team was named Monday. Managers, general managers, writers and broadcasters voted.
West Virginia’s Rudy Owens (10-1, 1.70 ERA) was selected Most Outstanding Pitcher. Hagerstown catcher Derek Norris was named Most Outstanding Major League Prospect. Norris is batting .288 with 23 homers. Asheville catcher Jordan Pacheco was selected MVP. Pacheco is batting .325 with 13 home runs.
No Kannapolis Intimidators were named to the all-star squad.
– Area writer passes away
Tom Berry, a longtime sportswriter for the High Point Enterprise, died Sunday morning.
Berry, 48, was a familiar face at ACC basketball and football contests as well as Carolina Panthers games.
Survivors include his wife Sandra Stone Berry and three daughters. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at his church, Lawndale Baptist in Greensboro.
– College football
Cornerback Raeshon McNeil (Davie) returns for his senior season at Notre Dame. He has played in 35 games for the Fighting Irish with 14 starts.
McNeil has 54 tackles, 14 pass breakups and two interceptions in his career.
* East Carolina: Senior defensive end Scotty Robinson (Salisbury) recorded a sack in the Pirates’ last scrimmage and is a candidate to start.
* Wake Forest: Sophomore Tristan Dorty (West Rowan) is a probable starter at defensive end for the Deacons.
* Ted Randolph (Davie) is a 260-pound senior tight end.
Freshman Zach Massey (A.L. Brown) is on the team as a walk-on and is listed as a tight end/fullback/long snapper.
FCS
Appalachian State: Senior defensive lineman Anthony Williams (NW Cabarrus) is a candidate for postseason accolades. Defensive end Gordy Witte (Salisbury) should be a factor for the Mountaineers.
Freshman Jamill Lott (A.L. Brown) has been assigned No. 15 but he’ll be a receiver this year.
* N.C. Central: Steven Hunter (North Rowan) is listed as a 6-3, 317-pound sophomore offensive lineman.
* Western Carolina: Quarterback Jonathan Efird (A.L. Brown) and kicker Mark Sides (South Rowan) are local players listed on the roster.
* Elon: Big freshman tight end Gavin Billings (NWC) is on the roster.
* Coastal Carolina: Ryan Boehm (Davie) is a senior offensive line starter for Coach David Bennett. Ben Erdman (West) is an experienced punter.
– Catawba fan bus
Catawba will provide a fan bus for the football game at Fayetteville State on Saturday. Contact the Catawba athletic department as early as possible to reserve a seat. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
The cost is $25 for the bus trip. Money will be needed for a game ticket and for a dinner stop prior to the game.
The bus leaves from the Shuford Stadium parking lot at 1:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon and should return to Salisbury at 1 a.m. Call 704-637-4474 or e-mail Peggy Mason at pmason@catawba.edu. Make checks payable to Catawba College.
– Prep football
West Davidson thumped South Davidson 28-3 in non-conference varsity football Monday. The teams were making up a game postponed on Friday.
The Green Dragons (1-1) pounded out 370 rushing yards. Ozzie Moore had 14 carries for 140 yards and two TDs. He added a two-point conversion.
T.C. Moore had 15 carries for 118 yards and one TD. QB James McCandies was 7-for-11 passing for 75 yards, and he rushed 11 times for 83 yards.
– Prep tennis
West Rowan lost to Statesville 8-1 in an NPC match Monday. Kate Ritchie won at No. 2 singles for the Falcons.
– Prep volleyball
South Rowan recently improved to 6-0 with a 25-10, 25-14, 25-11 sweep of West Rowan. Kayla Morrow had 12 kills and two solo blocks for the Raiders.
Amber Waldroup had six kills. Sam Goins had two blocks and five digs. Nicole Barringer had 21 assists.
– College volleyball
Catawba finished a 4-0 run in a season-opening tournament at Lenoir-Rhyne over the weekend with a 26-28, 25-16, 17-25, 25-23, 15-7 win over Limestone and a sweep of Belmont Abbey.
In the marathon with Limestone, Alli Parrish had 12 kills, while Kaitlyn Whitmer had 10. Both are freshmen. Libero Mai Zoua Lo had 33 digs. Megan Courson had 43 assists.
Whitmer had 11 kills and 10 digs to pace a 25-18, 26-24, 25-16 victory against Belmont Abbey. Jasmine Chunn added nine kills and five blocks.
– SAC honors
SAC Player of the Week honors for football went to Wingate safety Robert Fletcher, Newberry quarterback Brandon Gantt and Lenoir-Rhyne special-teams player Cam Thompkins.
* Wingate’s Lauren Billo is the SAC Volleyball Player of the Week. Teammate Liz Willis is the Specialist of the Week.
– GARS
Eighteen GARS members played the third round of the organization’s annual golf tournament at Warrior on Monday.
Tom Talbert won ‘A’ Flight with a net of 64.85. David Schenk won ‘B’ Flight with a net of 64.83.
‘C’ Flight winner with a net of 61.75 was Donald Martin. Bobby Bryant won ‘D’ Flight with a net of 65.24.
Thirteen GARS members played at Longleaf and “The Carolina” courses in Pinehurst last week.
– Herd wins title
The Carolina Herd 10-under team won the WNC Nations Baseball Summer Championship tournament held in Morganton over the weekend.
The Herd was 4-0, winning twice in pool play, topping the Huntersville Hurricanes 9-8 in a semifinal and beating the Lake Norman Royals 12-5 for the championship of the gold bracket.
Hayden Setzer and Will Brown led the Herd with seven RBIs apiece. Bryson Sprinkle and Cameron Prugh had eight stolen bases each.
Prugh led the Herd pitching staff, working nine innings and allowing one run in the tournament. Chandler Lippard pitched 42/3 innings in the title game and allowed two earned runs.
Other Herd players are Peyton Lambert, John Owen, Griffin Myers, Solomon Holshouser, Cole Perry and Trevor Scruggs.
The Herd is coached by Mark Lambert, John Myers and David Prugh.
– East YMCA
The East Rowan YMCA is taking registrations for fall soccer (grades K-8), fall T-Ball (grades K-1) and Mighty Kickers soccer (ages 3-4).
Register through Sept. 5. Practice starts Sept. 14. Season begins Sept. 26.
Sign up today to become a volunteer coach, assistant coach.
Contact Joe Finney for more information at (704) 279-1742 or jfinney@rowanymca.org. Register at the Saleeby-Fisher YMCA or at www.rowanymca.org.
– North Hills runners
North Hills Middle cross country teams defeated Clearview. Natalie Whicker won the girls meet in 16:42. Wil Cody led the NH boys with a time of 14:52.