From staff reports
Carson’s Colton Laws and South Rowan’s Eric Tyler are having strong summers for the South Charlotte Panthers showcase team.
Laws plays on the Panthers 2014 team (rising juniors) that is currently 29-6, including tournament championships in the USA 16U Cup at Cary and the Dynamic 17U Wood Bat Championship held at South Carolina.
Laws is 5-0 in 292/3 innings on the mound. He’s struck out 21 with nine walks and has an ERA of 2.39.
Laws, a quality first baseman when he’s not pitching, is batting .417 with five doubles and nine RBIs in 48 at-bats.
The Panthers also have played this summer at Appalachian State, UNC, N.C. State, Winthrop and Wake Forest. Laws, a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher and first baseman, has garnered strong interest from a number of schools that attended and scouted those events.
The 2014 Panthers will travel next to Atlanta for the Perfect Game World Wood Bat 16U Championships.
Tyler, who brings great catching skills and leadership ability to the table, is a starter on the Panthers 2013 team (rising seniors) that is 22-14 and won the championship at the Winthrop Invitational.
Tyler is batting .285 with five extra-base hits and owns a .475 on-base percentage.
The SCP 2013 team also has played this summer at High Point, Furman, Wake Forest and Lenoir Rhyne.
The team is currently participating in the Perfect Game World Wood Bat 17U Championships in Atlanta and will play at N.C. State, Duke and UNC next week.
Area players who have been Panthers in the summer or fall include pros Keegan Linza (North Rowan) and Whit Merrifield (Davie) as well as Brian Bauk (Salisbury), Corbin Shive (East Rowan), Noah Holmes (East) and Jacob Barber (Davie). Linza has been a fall coach with the Panthers.
American Legion
Seventh-seeded Statesville scored five runs in the first inning and went on to outscore the Mooresville Moors 17-10 in a wild opener of a best-of-five series on Monday.
Statesville led 17-3 at the one point, but the third-seeded Moors refused to go down by the 10-run rule.
Colby Dishmond pitched well for Statesville, which likely will turn to Sam Laws on the mound tonight. Sean Grant is expected to get the call in Game 3.
The excitement continues tonight at South Iredell High.
Fifth-seeded Rowan is home tonight at Newman Park, weather permitting, and will try to even its best-of-five series against top-seeded Mocksville.
Guilford rising sophomore Avery Rogers (3-1) will pitch for Rowan tonight, while Corey Randall (2-1) is expected to start for Mocksville. Randall is a two-way player from Davie High who signed with UNC Asheville. He made the 4A All-State team.
Game 3 starter for Mocksville is scheduled to be Matt Miller, with Jared Mathis likely to take the mound for Rowan.
Mocksville’s Connor Bodenhamer broke the program record for doubles when he whacked his 16th in the recent series with Concord. Allen Bruce had 15 in 1987.
For the record, Mocksville lost playoff series to Rowan in 1982, 1984, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Mocksville did not win more than one game in any of those series, and eight of those series were sweeps.
In 2011, when there was an experiment with a new double-elimination format, Rowan handed Mocksville both of its losses.
Minor leagues
Corey Seager (NW Cabarrus) had two hits and stole a base on Monday for Ogden. He’s batting .389.
Youth baseball
East Rowan’s 10U all-stars lost to Prospect and Waxhaw in the Area 4 tournament held in Polkton this past weekend.
East Rowan’s 11U all-stars went 3-2 in the Area 3 tournament held in Ramseur. East rolled into the championship game with wins over Davidson County, Eastern Randolph, and China Grove, but lost twice Sunday night to Eastern Randolph to finish second. They now move on to the WNC Cal Ripken State Tournament in Arden.n East Rowan’s 12U all-stars fell to Eastern Randolph and China Grove in the Area 4 tournament in Asheboro.
Local golf
Nick Lyerly shot 74 for fourth place in stroke-play qualifying in the N.C. Junior Boys 13U Championship in Asheboro.
Lyerly then won his first round of match play in the Championship Flight by beating Statesville’s Zander McCall 4 and 3.
The entry deadline for the 34th Rowan Amateur Golf Tournament at Corbin Hills is Wednesday, July 11.
Qualifying dates are (Fri-Sat-Sun) July 13-14-15. Tournament dates are (Fri-Sat-Sun) July 20-21-22. The tournament qualifier fee is $20.
The Championship field for the match play event will consist of the top 31 qualifiers and defending champion Ronnie Eidson.
Call the golf shop at 704-636-0672.
South athletics
There will be a parent and athlete meeting for anyone interested in playing boys soccer or girls tennis at South Rowan High on Thursday, July 12, at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium. This will be an opportunity to meet coaches and ask questions before workouts begin.
Parks and Rec
Salisbury Parks and Recreation will host its 15th Annual Run/Walk for the Greenway 5k and Half Mile Fun Run on Saturday, July 21, at 8 a.m. at Knox Middle School.
Pre-registration is $20 by July 18 and $25 after.
Fun Run is $10 pre-registration or on race day.
For more information, contact Steve Clark at 704-216-2709, email at sclar@salisburync.gov or register online at www.sportoften.com.