From staff reports
North Rowan’s softball team cruised to a 17-0 win at Monroe Central Academy in the first round of the 1A state playoffs on Wednesday.
Samantha Jacobs pitched a no-hitter for the Cavaliers (13-9) in the four-inning contest. She struck out seven batters and walked one.
Taylor Sells went 2-for-3 with a home run.
Jacobs, Jennifer Oakley and Emily Gobble also had two hits for North.
“No errors, real proud that we played just about a perfect game,” North coach Jeff Shuping said.
North will play a second-round game at East Wilkes (12-10) on Friday.
West Rowan (7-14) surprised Charlotte Catholic, a No. 1 seed, in a 3A first-round game played in Pineville on Wednesday.
West advances to a second round game at Concord Jay M. Robinson (16-7).
Carson’s season ended with an 8-1 loss at Robinson on Wednesday, and Salisbury’s season ended with a 14-0 loss at Piedmont.
Northwest Cabarrus handled Southern Guilford 5-0 in a 3A first-round matchup.
Prep soccer
Nine Salisbury seniors played their final game on Wednesday as the Hornets fell 4-0 at West Stokes in a 2A third-round matchup.
It was the first loss for the Hornets (17-1-2), who trailed 2-0 at halftime.
“We didn’t play our best game, but it’s not like we played poorly,” Salisbury coach Matt Parrish said. “They were just the stronger side tonight. They were exceptionally fast.”
Salisbury missed on an early opportunity to grab the lead, and West Stokes converted a breakaway 12 minutes in for a 1-0 lead and added another breakaway goal before halftime.
Parrish challenged the team at halftime, and the Hornets played a stronger second half.
“We controlled the action the first 20 minutes of the second half, but we were still down 2-0,” Parrish said. “We had to gamble some, move some people around, and they scored two more. Their third goal was the backbreaker, just a beautiful, tip-your-hat goal on their part. They won a ball a 50-50 ball at midfield and just beat us. We weren’t bad on that play, but they were better.”
West Stokes tacked on its final goal with about three minutes left.
Salisbury keeper Olivia Rankin stuffed three breakaways by West Stokes (16-5-1), which advanced to play Cuthbertson.
“It’s tough because we lose girls who were a big part of three CCC titles,” Parrish said. “But they had a fantastic season. They can be proud of 17-1-2. As a coach, you’ll take that every season.”
Prep baseball
East Davidson stunned Cuthbertson 10-7 in 12 innings on Wednesday in a 2A second-round game.
The Golden Eagles got a 5-for-5 effort from Justin Mounts, three hits from Tyler Stroup and two RBIs from winning pitcher Braxton Shetley.
Shetley shut down Cuthbertson’s potent offense the last four innings.
There were lots of upsets in the 3A playoffs on Wednesday.
Northwest Cabarrus (18-9) fell 5-2 at home to Parkwood (9-12) in a second-round matchup.
Rob Bain pitched a complete game for the Trojans, but back-to-back errors handed the visitors four runs.
Jarrin Hogue homered for Northwest. Northwest sophomore Tanner Bigham, a UNC commit, was struck in the face by a pitch in the first inning and had to leave the game.
Early reports are that he should be OK.
Middle school baseball
Knox is the host for the Rowan County Middle School Tournament.
Games will be at the Sports Complex. First-round games are today and Friday.
First-round pairings are No. 1 West Rowan vs. No. 8 Knox; No. 2 Mooresville vs. No. 7 North Rowan; No. 3 Erwin vs. No. 6 China Grove, and No. 5 Corriher-Lipe vs. No. 4 Southeast.
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for ages 6-18.