From staff reports
Former Davie County baseball star Whit Merrifield made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday in a home game against the Boston Red Sox.
Merrifield flied out to his college teammate at South Carolina, Jackie Bradley Jr., on his first at-bat.
He singled in his second at-bat against lefty David Price and struck out in his third at-bat.

NFL
The Carolina Panthers signed six tryout players who participated in the team’s rookie minicamp, including former Davie County and West Virginia linebacker Jared Barber.
The Panthers now have 88 players on the roster. The limit is 90.

College track
Carson-Newman’s Tori Gaul (East Rowan) is ranked 20th in Division II in the women’s pole vault and has qualified for the nationals in Florida.

Catawba football
Catawba football legend Lester “Lefty Gardner died on Sunday at 89.
The World War II veteran played guard on Catawba’s powerhouse football teams of the late 1940s and was inducted into Catawba’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
The Pennsylvania native was a co-captain on Catawba’s 1949 team and started on the 1946 and 1947 Catawba teams that won Tangerine Bowls.
Gardner was a coach on high school state championship teams at Boyden and Lumberton.

Kann. hoops camp
A.L. Brown varsity boys basketball coach Shelwyn Klutz’s camp for boys and girls will be held on June 20-22 in Kannapolis.
The camp is from 9 until noon daily and is for ages 7-16.
The cost is $60.
Contact Klutz at 704-491-3752.

West girls camp
West Rowan girls basketball camp will be held on June 27-29.
The cost is $50.
Campers in grades 2-5 from 9-11 a.m. and campers in grades 6-9 from 11-1.
Call Coach Poole at 704-433-7713 or email pooleab@rss.k12.nc.us. Contact Coach Wilson at 704-798-9117.

Signings
East Rowan’s Schrade Daniel signed with Davidson County Community College’s volleyball program.
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Carson’s Ryan Bearden signed with Catawba’s baseball program.
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West Rowan’s Lee Poteat signed with St. Andrews’ baseball program.
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Surry Community College’s Ross Hoffner (Davie) signed with Montreat’s baseball program.
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Carson golfer Adison Collins signed with Montreat’s women’s golf program.

Local golf
Sixty-eight GARS members played an ABCD Tournament at Corbin Hills.
‘A’ Flight winner was Larry Fowler with a net score of 65.4. ‘B’ Flight winner was Melvin McGee with a net score of 66.5.
‘C’ Flight winner was Andy Griffin with a net score of 63.3.
‘D’ Flight winner was Doug Lingle with a net score of 67.4.
David Schenk had a hol-in-one on the 142-yard No. 16 hole. His playing partners were Ben Moore, Norman Schenk, and Floyd McVey.
O.J. Chandler, Winsten Mahaffey, J.C. Ritchie and Clayton Steele shot scores lower than their ages.
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Warrior hole-in-one
Dean Harwood used a 9-iron to ace the 127-yard No. 6 hole at Warrior on Wednesday. It was the fourth ace for Harwood and his second in the last four weeks.
Harwood was playing with his wife, Nancy.

Prep track
The NCHSAA will hold state championships for 1A and 3A on Friday and 2A and 4A on Saturday at N.C. A&T’s Irwin Belk Track.
North Rowan’s girls, co-champs in the 2A Midwest Regional, and West Rowan’s boys, runner-up in the 3A Midwest Regional, will be teams to watch, and several Rowan individuals will be in the hunt for state titles.
Gates open for spectators at 8:30 a.m., with meets beginning at 10 a.m. Admission is $10 per day.

Legion baseball
Rowan County’s home game with Davidson County on Saturday has been postponed.
The season is now set to open on Sunday at Davidson County.
A preview of the Rowan team is scheduled for Friday’s Post.
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Fans will be admitted free on May 21 at Kannapolis’ 7 p.m. home game against Greensboro. It’s Fan Appreciation Night.

Prep football
Concord’s Hamsah Nasirildeen is a nominee for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Spencer baseball
Register at Eighth Street Ballpark from May 21 until June 4 for Spencer Cal Ripken baseball.
Registration is from 10 until 1.
The cost is $60 for:
Coach Pitch (ages 6-8), Minors (8-10) and Majors (10-12).
Cost also is $60 for girls softball leagues.
For information, go to www.SpencerCalRipken.com or call 704-216-7783.

Carolina Starz
The Kannapolis-based Carolina Starz went 5-0 in the Gold Bracket of the A,AA,B division to win the Battle of the Bats tournament. The Starz defeated two A teams in a semifinal and the final and have won their last two tournaments while outscoring opponents, 63-14.
Team members are Lindsay Wolford, Kearston Bruce, Kam Ketchie, Landry Stewart, Lauren Waller, Kinsley Griffin, Samantha Holman, Zoe Boston, Mckenzie Graham and Tali Hagler.

Rotary tennis
The entry deadline for the Salisbury Rotary Tennis Championships is Monday, May 23.
The tournament is scheduled for May 27-30.
For more information , call Reid Leonard at 704-633-1495 or email RotaryTennis@gmail.com.

Intimidators
Tanner Banks tossed seven strong innings, but Kannapolis lost, 2-1, to Greensboro on Wednesday.
Greensboro swept the series. Kannapolis has lost six straight games.