From staff reports
Northwest Cabarrus won 6-3 against Northern Guilford in a 3A baseball state playoff game on Thursday.
Landon Hubbard had two hits and drove in three runs.
Weston Smith pitched a complete game. He struck out 11 and allowed five hits, including homers by Trip Dunn and Sean Mas.
Northwest will be home against the Carson-Parkwood winner next Tuesday.
In 3A first-round games scheduled for tonight, Carson is at home against Parkwood; East Rowan is at home against Hickory Ridge; West Rowan is at Weddington, and South Rowan is at Marvin Ridge.
Standard starting time is 7 p.m. The South game will start at 5 p.m., as Marvin Ridge has no lights.
In 2A, Salisbury is home against Piedmont. In 1A, North Rowan is at Monroe Central Academy. In 4A, Davie is at home against Butler.
See Scoreboard for pairings.
Prep softball
Carson’s surging softball team is home tonight at 6:30 p.m. for a first-round 3A playoff game against Anson. Also in 3A, West Rowan is at Marvin Ridge; East Rowan is at Weddington, and Northwest Cabarrus is at North Iredell.
In 1A, North Rowan is at West Wilkes. In 4A, Davie is at Ardrey Kell.
See Scoreboard for pairings.
Prep soccer
Salisbury lost 3-0 at Cuthbertson in the first round of the 2A state playoffs on Thursday.
Coach Matt Parrish said the Hornets played well against a strong opponent that is ranked fifth in the state and won the 2A title last season.
“We defended very well,” Parrish said. “(Keeper) Doreen Richardson had an extraordinary game and kept us in it, and we went toe-to-toe with them for most of the game. We were up against a better, more experienced team and we lost, but as far as heart, hustle and determination, I can’t fault anything that we did.”
Kate Grant also earned praise from Parrish. She was struck in the face by a ball early, but kept playing even with one eye swollen and closed.
Salisbury returned just two regulars from 2011 but put a respectable 10-7-1 season in the books.
“I’ll take it,” Parrish said. “The girls exceeded all expectations that I had for this season.”
Carson lost 11-0 to Weddington in a first-round 3A matchup.
North Rowan lost 11-1 to Bishop McGuinness in a 1A first-rounder, and Gray Stone fell to Elkin 3-0.
Middle schools
Baseball
Brian Ketchie pitched a shutout and struck out 12 in a 5-0 win against Corriher-Lipe on Thursday.
Brett Graham paced the Bulldogs’ offense with two hits and four RBIs. Lee Poteat also had two hits.
Track and field
MVPs for the conference track meet were Southeast’s Zachary Marchinko (distance), Mooresville’s Eric Wiggins (sprints) and Erwin’s Norman Kelly (field events).