From staff reports
Catawba’s baseball team was picked to finish first in the SAC in 2011 in a poll of league coaches that was released on Tuesday.
Catawba received six of the 10 first-place votes. Wingate was second in the voting and received the other four first-place votes.
Wingate won the regular season in 2010, while Catawba won the SAC tournament.
Carson-Newman was picked third and was followed by Tusculum, Mars Hill, Lincoln Memorial, Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson, Newberry and Brevard.
Catawba starting pitcher Nathan Furr and reliever Wil Huneycutt were preseason first team All-SAC picks.
Starting pitcher Nick Lomascolo, DH Garrett Furr and outfielder Ryan Bostian (South Rowan) were second team picks.
The season starts Tuesday, Feb. 1.
• Pfeiffer was picked third in the Conference Carolinas poll behind Mount Olive and Erskine. Belmont Abbey was picked fourth.
• Ritchie to enter Hall
China Grove legend Gary Ritchie will be inducted into the NSA National Hall of Fame at their banquet this weekend.
• Wonders fall in OT
A.L. Brown’s boys basketball team suffered its second straight tough loss on Tuesday, falling at Central Cabarrus 82-77 in overtime.
Teven Jones (15 points), Michael Carr (13), Derrick Copeland (13) and Chandler Reynolds (10) scored in double figures for the Wonders (9-4, 5-2).
“We had a 12-point lead at halftime, but we lost momentum and couldn’t get it back,” Brown coach Shelwyn Klutz said. “And in the second half, Central just knocked down a lot of shots.”
Brown has another tough SPC game tonight at Northwest Cabarrus.
• College basketball
Catawba is home tonight for a SAC doubleheader against Mars Hill, starting at 6 p.m.
Former East Rowan player Brittini Young leads the Mars Hill women.
• Pfeiffer is home tonight against Coker for a Conference Carolinas doubleheader starting at 5:30 p.m.
• Livingstone hoops
Livingstone’s men’s basketball team held Apprentice School of Newport News scoreless for five minutes in the second half and pulled out a 78-74 road win on Tuesday.
Livingstone (8-5) avenged an earlier loss to the Shipbuilders (10-9).
Darius Cox led three Blue Bears in double-figures with 15 points. Tyler Johnson finished with 12, and Donte Durant had 11. Mike Okam, making his first start of the season, added a career-high nine points.
Livingstone is making up a CIAA game at St. Paul’s on Thursday.
• Prep polls
Salisbury is still ranked No. 1 in the NCPreps.com 2A girls basketball poll.
North Iredell is No. 1 in the 3A girls poll.
North Rowan’s boys are ranked seventh in the 1A boys poll. Concord is ranked first in 3A, and CPC school Reagan is ranked first in 4A boys.
• Senior High Y hoops
First Baptist 49, Young Life 35
Jon Hall scored 21 points for First Baptist, while Tyler Downs had 11 to lead Young Life.
Sacred Heart Blue 35, First Pres. 27
Roy Dixon topped Sacred Heart Blue with 13 points. Clark Alcorn had eight for First Presbyterian. Love Christian Center 51, St. John’s 19
Marquise Drummer scored eight points to lead a balanced Love Christian squad. Andrew Purcell’s 11 points led St. John’s.
SH Blue 57, SH White 17
Dixon scored 12 points for the Blues, while Philip Tonseth and Riley Gallagher had 11 apiece.
Tim Burges scored seven for the White team.
First Pres. 29, Love Christian 27
Sam Humble’s 13 points led First Presbyterian.
Miles Blake scored eight for Love Christian Center.
First Baptist 42, St. John’s 28
Hall led First Baptist with 17 points. Purcell had 15 for St. John’s.
• Middle school tourney
Erwin’s boys topped Corriher-Lipe 41-32 in a semifinal game in the Rowan County eighth-grade basketball tournament on Monday.
The top-seeded Eagles (14-2) led by only 12-11 at halftime and trailed early in the third quarter before rallying and advancing to Friday’s 6 p.m. championship game.
Conor Honeycutt paced Erwin with 15 points. Samuel Wyrick and Harrison Bell added 10 points apiece. Jack Weisensel led the Eagles’ rebounding.
Fifth-seeded Corriher-Lipe (9-7) was led by Devonte Steele with 12 points. Steele scored nine in the first half. Qwan Rhyne and Chandler Corriher, who hit three 3-pointers, each had nine points.
• Knox’s top-seeded girls (15-1) beat China Grove 32-20 behind Demeria Robinson’s 18 points and strong defense and advanced to Friday’s 4:30 p.m. championship game.
Knox led 22-10 at halftime but China Grove rallied in the third quarter and pulled within 24-20. Robinson then scored seven of Knox’s eight points in the final period. Aaliyah Funderburk added eight points for the winners. Ashley Blaire came back from a first-half ankle injury and helped the Trojans with strong rebounding down the stretch.
China Grove (8-8) trailed by only six points with just over three minutes to play before Alex Allen fouled out. Allen led the Red Devils with six points and rebounded well.
• Semifinals continue today at Southeast Middle with a Corriher-Lipe-Erwin girls matchup at 4:30, and a West Rowan-Mooresville boys matchup at 6 p.m.
• North Hills hoops
The North Hills Middle boys basketball defeated Phoenix Montessori 58-14.
Pacing the Eagles (5-2) was Wes Fazia with 16 points. Luke Humble had 10.
North Hills plays Mooresville Christian on Thursday.
• Sacred Heart hoops
The Sacred Heart jayvee boys beat Concordia Lutheran 46-23.
Michael Childress scored 14 points for the Dolphins (10-3). Brian Reid had seven points, and seven rebounds. Will Taylor and James Boyd had six points each. Justin Boyd had five points and five steals. Jack Fisher and Adam Habeeb had five rebounds each.William Clark had six rebounds.n The Sacred Heart jayvee girls team beat Concordia Lutheran 16-7.
• Seventh-grade hoops
Erwin’s seventh-grade girls basketball team opened with a 29-18 win against Southeast on Tuesday.
Erwin was led by Shenique Pharr with 12 points and five rebounds. Brittany Small had eight points and 18 rebounds. Jocelyn Lowe scored six points.
Southeast’s Shanice Miller scored eight points and led the Patriots in rebounding. Taylor Martin was a defensive standout.
• Southeast’s boys topped Erwin 50-40 in overtime. The Patriots scored the first 13 points in overtime.
The Patriots were led by Sandon McCoy with 16 points. Austin Russ had 11 points and rebounded well. Josh Endicott and Bryson Collins scored 10 points each.
Erwin was led by Landon Goodman with 12 points. Addison Fry had eight points and seven rebounds. Logan Shuping and Austin Love added six points apiece, and Love had seven boards.
• New Pfeiffer AD
Mary Ann Sunbury will assume the position of athletics director at Pfeiffer University on Feb. 1 to fill the void created by Bobby Stewart’s reassignment within the institution.
• American Legion
At this time, it appears that American Legion baseball will wait a year before adopting new bat rules.