Area Sports: Gantt honored; All-State softball announced

Published 11:36 pm Wednesday, June 26, 2019

From staff reports

Catawba College  head coach Jim Gantt has been named Southeast Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Regional Coaches of the Year will be honored on Friday, Jan. 3 at the 76th annual ABCA Convention   in Nashville, Tennessee.

The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its 11,000 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries.

High school softball

All-State softball teams were announced by the NC Coaches Association.

Making All-State were West Rowan’s Taylor Walton and Whitley Arnott;  East Rowan’s   Mackenzie Sprinkle and Maddie Trexler; Carson’s Kaitlyn Honeycutt, Kary Hales and Liza Simmerson; Salisbury’s Ellen Yang; South’s Anna Blume, and A.L. Brown’s Maddie Daniels, Tali Hagler and Kaylyn Belfield.

Central Cabarrus’ Riley Tucker was the 3A West Player of the Year, while Mooresville’s Ellie Goins was the 4A West Player of the Year.

Local golf

In the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, Michael Childress (Cannon School, Richmond) shot 74-80 — 154 in the stroke-play rounds held on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Nick Lyerly (East Rowan, UNC Greensboro) shot 78-73.

Neither golfer was able to advance to today’s match play.

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In the North Carolina Junior Boys Championship at Lonnie Poole Golf Club in Raleigh, Cannon School’s Charlie Barr shot 71 on Tuesday (tied for 11th) to advance to match play.

Salisbury’s Hank Robins shot 77 (tied for 61st) to advance to match play.

Austin Miller shot 85.

Barr won  his match in the Round of 64, but lost in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.

Robins lost his match in the Round of 64.

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The Corbin Hills Women’s Golf Association played its annual Mary Cobb McCombs Member-Member event on Tuesday.

The overall net winner   was the team of Beth Calhoun and Ellen Petrous.

Overall low gross went to the team of Susan Morris and Susan Houston.

Second low net went to the team of Eileen Full and Treva Honeycutt.

Summer baseball

Austin Love (West Rowan, UNC) made his Cape Cod Baseball League debut on Sunday and pitched a 1-2-3 inning.

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Hunter Shepherd (Catawba) hit his first homer of the season for the Morehead City Marlins of the Coastal Plain League on Tuesday.

Shepherd is batting .298 with 11 RBIs.

He hasn’t pitched this summer and is concentrating on hitting.

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Jackson Raper (Catawba) is batting .333 for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

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Bryan Ketchie (Catawa) struck out seven in four innings in his first start for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks.

Legion softball

Rowan County won a doubleheader against Forsyth County on Tuesday at East Rowan.

Rowan rallied to win the first game 5-4, with Lonna Addison getting a game-tying hit an A’Yonna Caldwell  producing a game-winner.

Andrea Furr pitched well for Rowan in the first game,w hile Ali Glover was strong in a 6-2 win in the nightcap.

Mac Misenheimer, Maddie Trexler, Brooke Lowery and Karsen Simpson also had good nights for Rowan (2-2).

Rowan hosts Iredell County tonight on “Veterans Night.”

Legion baseball

Mooresville hit three homers and got strong pitching from Dylan Arment in a 10-2 win over Mocksville on Wednesday.

Joey Szvetitz had three hits for Mocksville. Will Cheek had two.

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Trevor Marsh and Austin Curry homered as Randolph County routed Stokes County 15-3 on Wednesday.

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High Point beat Davidson County 9-4 on Wednesday. Chet Sikes homered and drove in three runs for the winners.

Junior Legion

South Rowan held off East Rowan 6-5 on Wednesday.

Jackson Deal went 3-for-3 for South, while Jack Weaver had two hits and two RBIs.

Luke Hiskey pitched a complete game.

Tate Green, McCall Henderson and Cameron Padgett had two hits for East.

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North Davidson/Oak Grove won 1-0 against West Rowan on Wednesday.

Jake Poris pitched a strong game for West.

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Carson scored three runs in the seventh to beat Salisbury 5-4.

Aaron Bradshaw and Aaron Misenheimer had two hits each for Carson.

Hunter Campbell had four hits for Salisbury, and Chase Shoaf had two hits and scored two runs.

Intimidators

GREENVILLE, S.C.    Johan Cruz had two hits and five RBI, and Taylor Varnell didn’t allow a hit in six innings as the Kannapolis Intimidators beat the Greenville Drive 8-0 on Wednesday.

The Drive saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with the loss.

Varnell (4-3) picked up the win after he struck out six and walked two.

Kannapolis started the scoring in the second inning when Cruz hit an RBI double and then scored on a single by Michael Hickman.

Kannapolis later scored in three additional innings to finish off the shutout, including a three-run sixth.

Chris Machamer (3-4) went five innings, allowing six runs and nine hits in the South Atlantic League game. He also struck out three and walked one.

The Drive were held off the scoreboard for the fifth time this season, while the Intimidators’ staff recorded their third shutout of the year.

Despite the loss, Greenville is 4-2 against Kannapolis this season.