From staff reports

Catawba’s baseball team will take a nine-game winning streak into this weekend’s  SAC  series at Anderson.

The Indians have swept their last two league series and have a one-game lead in the SAC standings.

Catawba is 20-4 on the season and has won 18 of its past 19 outings.

This is the fastest the Indians have reached 20 wins since starting 20-1 in 1992.

Four times since then, including 2011 and 2012, Catawba has been 20-5.

Catawba’s offense has been scoring nearly 10 runs a game,  and no player has been hotter than junior Will Albertson, who was named the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week.

Freshman Chance Bowden (Salisbury) has moved his average over .300. He had not homered over his first 21 games, but has back-to-back two- homer games entering the weekend. T.J. Wharton is batting .443 and Blake Houston (South Rowan) .417.

Catawba’s pitching staff leads the SAC in most categories, entering Friday with a 2.82 ERA.

Craig Brooks is allowing just over four hits per nine innings and has a 1.59 ERA. He is 4-1 with 64 strikeouts.

Shaefer Shepard leads the league in wins with a 5-1 mark and has a 2.79 ERA. He has fanned 43.

The Indians have met Anderson 25  times on the diamond and  hold a 20-5 edge in the series with an 8-5 edge in Anderson.

Catawba has won 10 straight against the Trojans dating back to 2011.

Anderson won two of three from Wingate last week and moved into a tie for third in the SAC. The Trojans have won seven of their last nine.

Women’s hoops

Ayana Avery (West Rowan) scored seven points and had three assists in Radford’s 74-52 WNIT loss to East Carolina on Wednesday.

College golf

George Mason’s Eric Edwards (Salisbury) shot 78-77-77-232 and tied for 44th in the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular.

•Gardner-Webb’s Jake Kennedy (West Rowan) shot 78-78-78 — 234, finished 39th and helped the Bulldogs win the Cape Fear Intercollegiate.

•UNC Greensboro’s Roy Dixon (Salisbury) shot 75-68-72 — 215 and tied for 13th in the Tiger Invitational in Alabama.

Local golf

Salisbury’s Frank Adams III is tied for 19th after  three rounds of the Nova Tax Group Open in Huntersville.

Adams has shot 69-73-73 — 215 and is 2 over.

Mid. school baseball

Southeast won 11-1 in five innings against China Grove.

Daniel Durham pitched a four-hitter.  Luke Barringer had two hits, doubled and scored two runs.

Sacred Heart tennis

Sacred Heart’s tennis team defeated Salisbury Academy 8-1 , winning all six singles and two doubles matches.

  Ben Childress, Sean Archer, Brody Dillon, Zach Robinette, Patrick Taylor and Luke Graeber won singles matches for SHCS.  Brody Dillon/Robinette and Taylor/Riley Dillon won doubles matches.  Sacred Heart is at  Concordia Lutheran on Monday.

East YMCA

Registration ends on March 21 at East Rowan YMCA for these programs:

Mighty Kickers soccer (boys and girls, ages 3-4)

Spring soccer (boys and girls, ages 5-14)

Flag football (ages 4-14)

Register at the East Rowan YMCA or online at www.rowanymca.org.

Contact Joe Finney at 704-279-1742 or jfinney@rowanymca.org.