From staff reports
North Rowanís baseball team beat South Stanly 10-4 in a YVC seeding game played in Mt. Gilead on Thursday afternoon.
The teams shared the regular-season title and split with each other and both were eliminated in the semifinals of the YVC tournament.
North (20-6) earned the leagueís No. 1 seed for the 1A state playoffs that begin on May 13. The Cavaliers will play at home and will take on a wild-card qualifier in the opening round. South Stanly will be the No. 3 seed.
Matt Laurens (5-1) was the winning pitcher in relief of Dusty Agner. Laurens entered in the fourth inning.
Wesley Barker led the Cavaliers with two doubles and two RBIs. Hunter Feezor also knocked in two runs, while Dakota Brown had two hits.
North was limited to eight hits but bunched five of them in a four-run fifth inning that broke the game open.
ěWe came out with a whole lot of focus today,î North coach Aaron Rimer said. ëItís a huge win for our kids and our program.î
North has won 20 games for the fourth time in school history and for the first time since 2000 when a Bill Kesler-coached squad that included Daniel Moore, Brad Canipe and Nathan Woodburn was 2A runner-up.
Albemarle and North Moore played in the tournament championship last night but no score was available. The winner of that game will be a No. 2 seed for the playoffs, while the loser will be No. 4.Salisbury rolls
Salisbury had no trouble with Lexington in a CCC first-round matchup, rolling 10-0 in five innings at Robertson Stadium behind freshman pitcher Chance Bowden.
Fourth-seeded Salisbury (12-10) jumped ahead with two runs in the first and opened up some breathing room with a four-run second.
In his first varsity start, Bowden struck out six while allowing three hits and three walks.
ěI thought Chance did exactly what we wanted him to do,î SHS coach Scott Maddox said. ěHe was around the plate and let his defense work behind him.î
John Knox went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Spencer Carmichael and Scott Van der Poel both had two hits and scored twice. Philip Tonseth also scored two runs.
The win moves the Hornets into a semifinal matchup today at Robertson Stadium at 5:30 p.m. against top-seeded West Davidson. Salisbury was the only CCC team to beat the Green Dragons during the regular season.
Salisbury already is assured of a playoff berth. The Hornets can move up to the leagueís No. 2 seed for the 2A playoffs by winning the tournament. If they donít win it, theyíll be a No. 4 seed.
In the other CCC first-round game on Thursday, Central Davidson disposed of Thomasville 10-0.
Third-seeded Central Davidson plays No. 2 East Davidson in the semifinal nightcap tonight at Salisbury.
Davie wins close one
It took nine innings, but Davie edged R.J. Reynolds 2-1 to advance to the CPC championship game.
The fifth-seeded Demons scored early against Davie starting pitcher Joe Watson, but Watson shut them down after that and lasted seven innings. Corey Randall was the winning pitcher in relief.
Carson Herndonís home run in the sixth inning tied the game 1-1.
Davie scratched out the winning run in the ninth. Javan Phillips was hit by a pitch, Nick Boswell bunted him to second, and Alex Newman was intentionally walked. Connor Bodenhamer smacked a game-winning hit.
Davie (21-2) has already secured the leagueís No. 1 seed for the 4A state playoffs and will play for the tournament title tonight against West Forsyth at 7 p.m. at North Davidson. The Titans beat ND 7-0 in a semi.
SPC update
Cox Mill beat Central Cabarrus 12-5 Thursday in a play-in game for the SPCís No. 5 seed for the 3A playoffs.