From staff reports

Catawba’s baseball team split at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, winning a 10-7 slugfest before losing the nightcap, 9-3.

Catawba 21-9, 11-4)  dropped  the series two games to one and fell to second place in the South Atlantic , a game behind red-hot Tusculum.

LMU is 17-15, 8-4 in the SAC, for third place.

Catawba out-slugged LMU in the opener, pounding out 17 hits.

Jeremy Simpson (West Rowan) had a two-run triple. Nick Coble hit a two-run homer.  Kyle Smith homered and went 4-for-4. Luke Setzer (East Rowan) had two RBIs.

Bryan Blanton logged  a two-inning save and struck out three. Hunter Shepherd (4-0) pitched into the sixth and earned the win.  Jacob Nester and Chance Bowden (Salisbury) had three hits apiece.

In the second game, Catawba was held to six hits. Coble and Smith had run-scoring doubles.   Ryan Kahny (2-2)  took the loss.

Catawba plays at Winston-Salem State on Tuesday.

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Ike Freeman (East Rowan) scored two runs in UNC’s 6-3 win against Miami on Saturday.

Freeman won the Mark Norris Memorial Award as the Rowan County Player of the Year last season.

The freshman is playing a lot at second base for the Tar Heels (18-5, 6-2 ACC). He’s started eight games and has played in 15.

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Senior Brian Bauk (Salisbury)  had three hits, but Appalachian State was swept by Texas State in a Saturday doubleheader.

Baseball America rated Bauk sixth on its draft prospect list for the Sun Belt Conference. Bauk is only batting .230, but he has some tools as far as running speed and throwing arm.

College golf

One of the best rounds of his collegiate career led George Mason’s Eric Edwards (Salisbury) to the first weekly award of his career.

Edwards was named the Atlantic 10 Golfer of the Week on Friday. The junior collected the weekly honor for the first time in his career thanks to a 7-under 209 (72-71-66) at the Seminole Intercollegiate.

He moved up the leaderboard 17 spots on the final day.

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— Catawba is in eighth  place out of 18 teams after Saturday’s first round of the Tusculum Invitational Men’s Golf Tournament at Link Hills.

The host Pioneers hold a five-shot lead over Spartanburg Methodist after a first-round 285. Catawba posted a 300 total.

Jordan Taylor  (15th, 73) and Trey Burton  (19th, 74) led Catawba.

College softball

UNC Greensboro’s Sidney Grkman (Carson) hit her second homer of the season on Wednesday against Appalachian State.

Grkman was Rowan County Player of the Year in 2013,

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Hunter Gibbons (West Rowan) is batting .356 for Western Carolina with three homers and 18 RBIs.

Gibbons was Rowan County Player of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

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Catawba lost twice on Saturday, falling at Carson-Newman, 6-0 and 9-1.

Catawba (9-26, 2-4 SAC)  left 12 on base in the opener.

In the second game, Taylor Martin (West Rowan) had two hits, including a triple. Grace Holland had the RBI for the Indians.

  Catawba hosts Coker on Tuesday at 1:30 pm.

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Ninth-ranked Pfeiffer swept Lees-McRae in a doubleheader on Saturday.

College tennis

Lincoln Memorial picked up 7-2 wins over Catawba in both men’s and women’s South Atlantic Conference tennis matches on Saturday afternoon at the LMU Tennis Complex.

Catawba’s men are 11-10, 4-5 SAC, while the women are 11-9. 2-7.

College lacrosse

Tusculum won against Catawba’s men, 14-8, on Saturday at Pioneer Field.

Liam Lynch scored three goals for Catawba (5-5, 2-2 SAC). Ryan Applegate made 11 saves.

College track

Freshman Zach Marchinko (Carson) paced the Charlotte 49ers with a time of 14:39.38 in the 5000 meters in the Raleigh Relays.

Signers, commits

Recent signings and commitments reported to the Post:

• Brandon Walton, West Rowan baseball, Mars Hill

• Trevor Atwood, West Rowan baseball, Catawba

•   Wesley Porter, East Rowan football, University of the South (Sewanee)

• Tate Houpe, East Rowan football, Appalachian State

• Tyler Wheeler, West Rowan football, Louisburg

• Rylie Stewart, Carson softball, Greensboro College

• Margaret Correll, Carson tennis, Brevard

• Julia Honeycutt, Salisbury soccer, Charlotte

• Jordan McCall, East Rowan volleyball, Columbus State

• Chandler Blackwelder, East Rowan baseball, UNC Pembroke

Men’s hoops

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  — Justin Pitts scored 23 points, Chris-Ebou Ndow had a double-double and Northwest Missouri State beat Fairmont State 71-61 Saturday in the NCAA Division II championship game.

Prep baseball

The Greater Cabarrus Stallions won two games on Saturday in Columbia S.C.

In an 8-5 win against Anderson, McConner Wallace had three hits, Seth Cauble had a two-run triple and Dalton Lankford and Camron Wallace had doubles. Clay Pinion was the winner with relief help from Trent Berry.

In a 5-2 win against Marietta, Ga.,    J.T. Fecteau had a double and Jeremy Whitehead, McConner Wallace, AJ Knight, Camron Wallace and Pinion had hits. Cauble pitched a four-hitter.

The Stallions (14-3) will play at home Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against High Point Christian.

Prep softball

A.L. Brown won 18-1 against West Charlotte on Friday to stay unbeaten in the MECKA.

Lauren Ritchie was the winning pitcher and struck out seven in three innings.

Ashley Allen and Jordan Hardeman had three hits each. Allen, Hardeman and Abbey Abernathy had  three RBIs each.

Hurley YMCA

The J.F. Hurley YMCA is taking registrations for spring soccer and flag football through April 3.

The programs are for Pre-K to 8th grade. The cost is $42 for members, $70 for potential members.

Register at the J.F. Hurley YMCA or online at www.rowanymca.org. Contact Jesse Byrd at 704-636-0111 or Jbyrd@rowanymca.org.