From staff reports

Catawba’s baseball team  has the consensus Southeast Region Player of the Year in Will Albertson and the  Pitcher of the Year in   Craig Brooks.

Albertson was named the Player of the Year by ABCA, Daktronics and the NCBWA, while Brooks earned Pitcher of the Year honors from all three organizations.

Albertson is the first- team catcher on all three teams and is batting .473 with 26 homers and 90 RBIs. He has set school and SAC records for homers and RBIs.

Brooks, a senior, has posted a 9-1 record with a 1.53 ERA over 16 appearances. He has allowed just 53 hits in 94 innings, while equaling a school record with 147 strikeouts on the season.

Senior outfielder Blake Houston is a first team all-region pick by the ABCA and earned a second team spot from the NCBWA and Daktronics. Houston is hitting .365 with nine homers and 42 RBIs. He is one of the national leaders in walks and has a .479 on-base percentage.

T.J. Wharton was a second team all-region selection by the ABCA and the NCBWA as a DH. The senior is hitting .372 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs.

Shaefer Shepard was named as an honorable mention performer by the NCBWA. The sophomore is 10-3 with a 4.07 ERA. He has fanned 76.

•  Catawba’s baseball team has advanced to the Division II  “World Series.”

Catawba also won the Southeast Regional  in 2012.

The D-II championships will be held from May 23-30 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. The Indians will play their first game on Saturday, May 23, at 7 p.m. against Wilmington, Del.

Tickets can be purchased in advanced at this website: http://www.etix.com/ticket/v/6945/usa-baseball-national-training-complex.

Prices are $11.24 for a single day or $29.98 for a tournament pass for the entire event.

American Legion

Rowan County’s    first four scheduled  baseball games have been postponed. Postponed are home games May 23, 24 and 27 and a road game at Eastern Randolph that was scheduled for May 26.

Rowan County Legion head coach Jim Gantt will be busy with Catawba in the D-II national championships in Cary.

• Area III will be a 14-team league without divisions this summer.

Expected to field teams are Concord, Davidson County, Eastern Randolph, High Point, Kannapolis, Kernersville, Mocksville,  Mooresville (one team this year), Randolph, Rowan County, Southern Rowan, Stanly, Winston-Salem and Greensboro (probable).

Western Forsyth will not have a team.  League games start June 1.

• Kannapolis won 13-8 against Concord on Sunday. Tim Furr had three hits.  Taylor Wyatt had three RBIs. Christian Griffin scored four runs.

Daniel O’Kelly and Trace Hagler combined for 10 strikeouts.

Concord    502   100   000 —  8     9    4

Kann.         013    140   04x — 13   12   3

Intimidators

The Kannapolis Intimidators scored six runs in the fourth inning and still lost 13-10 at Asheville in wild South Atlantic League action on Monday.

Toby Thomas had three hits for the Intimidators (16-20). Ethan Gross, Ryan Plourde and Louie Lechich had two apiece.

There were 32 hits in the game but no homers.

• Kannapolis Intimidators starting pitcher Jordan Guerrero (5-0) has been named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for May 11-17.  The lefty went 2-0 for the week with a  0.00 ERA  and  18 strikeouts in 13 innings.

• Former Kannapolis Intimidator Trey  Michalczewski won Carolina League Player of the Week honors with the Winston-Salem Dash.

Prep soccer

Salisbury is at home Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a third-round  matchup  in the 2A state playoffs against Parkwood (13-8).

Salisbury (17-2-1) is 10-0-1 at home this season.

Catawba softball

Catawba’s Carley Tysinger and Natalie Naturile made the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s All-Southeast Region team.

Tysinger earned first team honors at pitcher, while Naturile was a second team outfield selection.

Tysinger was 27-11 with a 1.60 ERA.  She  struck out a school-record 325 batters.

Naturile posted the fourth-best season average in school history, batting .419 with 54 hits.