Liberty pitcher Carson Herndon (Davie) has battled injuries since late last season, but he was sharp on Sunday.
A 6-foot-4, 220-pound righty, Herndon pitched six innings against Rider in Lynchburg, Va., and allowed two hits and no walks.
Herndon (1-1) fanned three and got 12 ground-ball outs. He left with an 8-0 lead, and Liberty (7-6) won 11-2.
Herndon did not pitch much at Davie. Davie had a surplus of arms, including D-I hurlers Ryan Foster (UNC Wilmington) and Corey Randall (UNC Asheville).
Herndon had an exceptional two-sport career at Davie, quarterbacking the football War Eagles to the 2010 4A state championship game and making All-State as a baseball shortstop in 2011 when he batted .472.
Herndon has draft-pick size and velocity if he can stay healthy. He’s being mentored by Keegan Linza, the former North Rowan hurler who was a standout at Liberty and pitched pro ball.
• UNC Wilmington’sFoster pitched well in a recent game against Elon. He started, went five innings and struck out seven. The Seahawks lost 3-2. Foster got no decision.
• Former Davie catcher Jacob Barber has surfaced as the starting first baseman for Winston-Salem State.
Barber homered opening day at BB&T Ballpark.
• Caleb Henley (East Rowan) got five outs in a relief appearance on Sunday and helped UNC Greensboro beat Georgetown 9-8.
• Appalachian State lost 4-3 to Notre Dame on Sunday. Former Mount Pleasant slugger Brandon Burris homered for the Mountaineers, but they couldn’t hold a lead in the ninth and lost in the 11th.
North Rowan’s boys will play East Rutherford on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at UNC Greensboro in a Western Regional semifinal.
Catawba (12-2) split two games Sunday, beating Flagler 2-1 in eight innings but losing to Bellarmine 4-2.
Carley Tysinger (8-0) won the opener in relief and also knocked in the winning run. Katherine Shumaker homered for Catawba’s first run.
Ally Foster’s grand slam beat Catawba in the second game. Natalie Naturile had three hits for the Indians, including a two-run double.
Radford’s Ayana Avery finished sixth in the Big South in scoring with 14.8 points per game and was ninth in steals. She led the conference with 92 3-pointers and was fourth in 3-point field-goal percentage (35.8).
Avery was Honorable Mention all-conference.
• Catawba’s women play at Carson-Newman at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the SAC tournament.
• Charlotte’s Ayanna Holmes (Salisbury) contributed five points and four rebounds as the 49ers blew out Marshall 87-57 on Saturday’s Senior Night.
• Shi-Heria Shipp (Salisbury) helped Temple beat South Florida 64-54 on Saturday. She had six points, seven rebounds and three steals.
• Pfeiffer’s Amy Steller (Davie) ended her freshman season averaging 6.1 points, while playing about 17 minutes per game.
Western Carolina’s Alisha Bradshaw (Salisbury) won the weight throw in the Southern Conference Championships with an effort of 62 feet, 3 3/4 inches. Bradshaw placed sixth in the shot put with an effort of 44-3 1/4.
• Western’s Keith Leonard (East Rowan) was sixth in the pole vault. He cleared 14-11.
Bradshaw and Leonard helped the Catamounts sweep the team titles.
• Competing in the SEC Championships for Tennessee, Tavis Bailey (A.L. Brown) placed fourth in the weight throw (65-7) and sixth in the shot put (61-5 1/2).
Roanoke’s Lewis Young (Salisbury) won at No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles in a 9-0 romp against Greensboro.
The McCanless Couples played on Sunday.
The team of Glenn Trexler, Don Goodnight and Ricky Honeycutt took first place.
The team of Sharon Miller, Randy Honeycutt and Frank Foster finished second.
The team of Walt Kincaid, Jim Kincaid and Treva Honeycutt placed third. Foster won closest to the pin. Treva Honeycutt won longest putt.
The McCanless Couples will play at 3 p.m. next Sunday.