From staff reports
Jerry Sands (Catawba) shared the award for the top rookie in the Los Angeles Dodgers spring training camp with pitcher Rubby De La Rosa.
Sands, who hit 35 homers, and De La Rosa also won the organizationís minor league player and pitcher of the year awards, respectively, for the 2010 season.
A diving catch in right-center by Sands on Wednesday night against Seattle made SportsCenterís top 10 plays and is viewable on MLB.com.
Sands didnít open the season with L.A., but the Dodgers donít have an established regular in left field. Sands could get a shot very soon to man that position if he gets off to a good start in the minors.
n Prep tennis
Salisbury cruised to a 9-0 sweep of CCC foe Thomasville on Thursday.
Steven Page, Alan Lebowitz, Lewis Young, Seth Gentry and Sam Lewis rolled in singles matches.
Page-Lebowitz and Gentry-Alex Weant won in doubles.
Undermanned Thomasville forfeited No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.
See Scoreboard.
n Catawba athletics
The Catawba Blue-White Spring Football Game will be held this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Catawbaís starting offense will operate against the starting defense, which should mean a highly competitive afternoon.
n Catawbaís first-place baseball team is home for a SAC series against Lenoir-Rhyne this weekend, with the opener scheduled for tonight at 6 p.m.
n The Catawba-Belmont Abbey lacrosse match was rescheduled for April 6.
n College track
Livingstone will host the 2nd Annual Blue Bear Relays this Saturday.
The one-day event will start at 9:30 a.m. with the field events, while the track events will start at noon.
n Prep postponements
Statesville-Carson baseball has been pushed back to April 13. The teams will play a doubleheader in Statesville on that date, starting at 4:15 p.m. Carson-Statesville softball also was pushed back.
n South Rowan-West Rowan baseball has now been rescheduled for April 20 in Mount Ulla. South-West softball also will be on that date.
South Rowan-North Iredell tennis was moved back to April 7.
n Middle school soccer
Southeastís girls fought to a 0-0 tie with Erwin. Despite a wet field and cold conditions it was a good battle by both teams.
Cassidy Nooner did a great job in goal with three saves for the Patriots. Leslie Sanchez continued her domination in the back.
Keeper Kennedy Lambert and Josseline Gonzalez were standouts for the Eagles.n Southeastís boys rolled over Erwin 8-1. Brandon Flores had two goals for Southeast, and Silvestre Lopez, Ahmedin Salcinovic, Jose Viveros, Daniel Nava and Aaron Lippard scored one each. Sandi Jusic scored on a PK.
Adolfo Ortega had three assists, while Lopez, Viveros and Albert Rosas were credited with one each.
n Corriher-Lipeís girls were 2-0 winners against West Rowan (1-3-1). Mariah Pampuch and Claudia Patterson were standouts for West. Kelly Boley and Josie Heglar had two shots each.
n Westís girls lost 1-0 to Mooresville. Joanna Samano made 14 saves in the rain for the Bulldogs.
n Corriher-Lipeís boys beat West 5-0. Carter Gannon made 10 saves for the Bulldogs. Arturo Carillo and Pedro Nichols led the defensive effort for the Bulldogs (0-3-1).
n West lost 5-0 to Mooresville. Nichols, Junior Bautista and Marco Mercado were among the leaders for the Bulldogs. Gannon made 13 saves.
n Local golf
Two inches of rain in a 48-hour period forced the cancellation of the eGolf Professional Tourís Irish Creek Classic.
n Youth basketball
The Salisbury Kings YBOA eighth-grade boys team competed in the Salisbury-Rowan Hoopfest and reached the finals.
The Kings lost 79-73 to Concordís Mt. Luxor despite 44 points by Preston Dalton.
Eric Finger added 12 points.
The Kings topped the top-seeded Iredell Warriors 55-50 in a semifinal.
Dalton averaged 32 points per game in the tournament.
Other scoring leaders were Deante Baker (9.8), Finger (8.3), Dominique Upchurch (7.0) and Naquis Caldwell (7.3). Upchurch and Caldwell were the top rebounders.
Joshua Endicott was a defensive leader, and Shaquez Strickland, Alex Shumaker and Antwon Glenn provided a spark off the bench.
Next, the Kings head to Forest City to compete in the state qualifier for the West Region.