The Chicago White Sox claimed Jerry Sands off waivers fron the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old former Catawba star hit .236 with four homers and 19 RBIs in 50 MLB games last year.
Sands blasted a school-record 61 homers for Catawba from 2006-08 before being drafted by the L.A. Dodgers.
Sands has played parts of four MLB seasons with the Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays and Indians.
Sands plays left field, right field, first base and has served as a designated hitter. A right-handed hitter, he’s hit lefties well during his career.
Sands owns a .292 career batting average with a. 506 slugging percentage against lefties, a track record that may land him a bench role with the White Sox.
Sands will compete for a reserve outfield spot along with Scott Hairston, who signed a minor league deal last month.

Catawba baseball
Catawba Baseball will host a First Pitch Dinner on Friday, Jan. 22, at the Peeler Crystal Lounge on the Catawba campus.
Mary Brennaman, longtime radio voice of the Cincinnati Reds, will be a guest speaker at the event.
Brennaman began his career in Salisbury, broadcasting high school football, Catawba football and basketball and Rowan County American Legion baseball games. He has served as the voice of the Reds since 1974.
The dinner will begin with a cocktail hour from 5:30-6:30 p.m. with the dinner going from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Catawba’s current professional players — Jerry Sands, Nick Lomascolo, Chris Dula, Paul Kronenfeld and Craig Brooks —are scheduled to be at the event.
Cost for the dinner is $75 with all proceeds going to support the baseball program.
For more information or to purchase a ticket, contact Joey Knight at 704-637-4394 or register online at www.catawba.edu/firstpitch.

Prep football
South Rowan punter Marshall Long has received a full scholarship offer from Virginia Tech.
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West Rowan offensive lineman K.J. Wilson has received an offer from Hampton.

Prep indoor track
See Scoreboard for results of West Rowan Arctic 3 and East Rowan Polar Bear 2.

Prep basketball
Pairings are set for the Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Classic that will be held at Catawba’s Goodman Gym on Dec. 28-30.
Eight games will be played each day, beginning at 9 a.m.
The field includes the six Rowan County public schools, Davie and Mooresville. Tournament passes for adults are $20.
Teams are seeded based on this year’s records.
The top seeds are Salisbury’s boys (9-1) and West Rowan’s girls (7-0).
The defending champions are West Rowan’s boys and East Rowan’s girls.
The Post will preview the event in the Dec. 27 edition.
See Scoreboard for seeds, pairings and times for the first day of action.
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Hickory Ridge’s girls beat Mallard Creek 64-61 on Wednesday in a matchup of powerhouse teams.
Mallard Creek (12-1) is ranked second in 4A, while Hickory Ridge (11-1) is ranked ninth in 3A.
Sydney Miller had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls.
Chantel Williams scored 23 for the Mavericks.

Hick. Ridge 64, Mall. Creek 61

Mallard Creek (61) — Williams 23, Brown 15, Sanders 9, Drayton 6, Davis 4, Carcela 2, Richardson 2
Hickory Ridge (64) — Miller 13, Neal 12, McManimen 10, Jones 10, Smith 9, Fitzsimmons 4, Means 4, Shears 3

Mallard Creek 11 17 12 21 — 61
Hickory Ridge 13 15 15 22 — 64

Local golf
Fifty-nine GARS members played in their own foursomes at Warrior.
Low ‘A’ Flight player was Reid Bradshaw with a net of 66.58.
Low ‘B’ Flight player was Thomas Dodge with a net of 68.00.
Low ‘C’ Flight player was Jan Kichefski with a net of 63.88.
Low ‘D’ Flight player was Carrol Downey with a net of 67.97.
Clifford Full eagled the par-4
Congratulations to Clifford Full for an eagle 2 on the 263-yard No. 9 hole.

AAU cross country
The Hurley YMCA Warriors Cross Country Team competed in the AAU Cross Country National Championships at the Oakville Indian Mounds in Danville, Alabama.
Fourteen athletes competed.
The 9-10 year old team — Grayson Steedley, Eli Julian, Jake Swicegood, Triston Rabon and Connor Price — finished second out of six teams.
Individual Awards
6-year-old girls:
2nd: Hope Julian: 4:40.3
8-year-old girls:
15th: Malaysia Dillard: 10:26.0
9-year-old boys:
1st: Triston Rabon: 11:12.9
7th: Connor Price: 11:40.7
24th: Grayson Steedley: 12:49.1
9-year-old girls:
36th: Macy Miller: 13:58.7
10-year-olds:
9th: Eli Julian: 11:04.4
18th: Jake Swicegood: 11:47.0
11-year-old boys:
51st: Nate Shaffer: 12:52.2
52nd: Matthew Burroughs: 13:04.6
12 -year-old boys:
44th: Noah Julian: 11:31.4
13-year-old boys:
71st: Nolan Miller: 15:56.0
101st: Jackson Price: 18:04.0
14-year-old boys:
84th: John Sokolowski: 17:30.9

Parks and Rec
The Salisbury Parks and Recreation is accepting registration for a girls basketball league for ages 7-15 and for a boys and girls basketball league for ages 5-6.
Register at Hall Gym or online at www.salisburync.gov/play until Jan. 16. For information, call 704-638-5289.

Rowan Lady Flames
The Rowan Lady Flames are hosting a Winter Basketball Skills Camp for girls of all skill levels in grades 4-8.
The camp is free of charge and will be held at Grace Academy in Rockwell on Monday, Dec. 28, 28th, Tuesday, Dec. 29, from 6:30-8 p.m., and Friday, Jan. 1, from 3-5:30 p.m.
Each day will focus on a different skill and team concepts.
For more information, please contact coach Matt Randolph (470) 313-4278 call or text RowanLadyFlames@yahoo.com.