Area Sports: Kannapolis ends Legion season; Mocksville advances

Published 11:06 pm Monday, July 8, 2019

From staff reports

THOMASVILLE — High Point’s American Legion baseball team won 4-1 against Kannapolis Post 115 on Monday at Finch Field to take that first-round series, two games to one.

Isaiah Hairston and Chet Sikes  homered for Post 87, the No. 3 seed from the Northern Division. Avery Cain pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts.

Bryson Bebber’s run-scoring single after Luke Nelson walked in first inning was the only Kannapolis hit.

Kannapolis was the No. 6 seed from the Southern Division.

High Point advances to play a best-of-five series against Eastern Randolph and is at home tonight for Game 1.

Eastern Randolph won its series against Mooresville on Sunday.

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KING —  Mocksville won 7-6 at Stokes County on  Monday in eight innings to survive a first-round series.

Mocksville scored the winning run on an error and took the series two games to one.

Jacob Campbell had two RBIs for Mocksville, and Troy Clary had two hits. Spencer Claus homered.

Justin Chaffin pitched into the seventh inning for Mocksville. Winner Joey Szvetitz got one big out in the seventh. Patrick Usher pitched the eighth for a save.

Daniel Layne homered for Stokes County.

Mocksville won two extra-inning games in two days. and starts a best-of-five series at Concord tonight.

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Nick Ward’s walk-off single in the ninth inning lifted Mocksville to a wild 16-15 victory against Stokes County on Sunday night at Rich Park.

Stokes had 17 hits. Mocksville had 21.

Ward blasted two homers for Mocksville, while  Usher hit one.  Szvetitz had five hits.  Clary had three hits and three RBIs.

Caleb Smith had two homers and five RBIs for Stokes.

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Stanly County will play at Randolph County’s McCrary Park tonight to open a best-of-five series with Post 45.

  

College baseball

Joe Butts (Catawba) is the leading hitter in the  Florida Collegiate Summer League.

Butts, a rising junior second baseman, is batting .393 for the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs with a homer and 16 RBIs.

Butts played in Sunday’s league all-star game.

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Bryson Linkous (Catawba) was the winning pitcher for the Mooresville Spinners on Friday. He pitched four innings, allowing one hit, and struck out six.

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Bryan Ketchie  (West Rowan, Catawba) was the winning pitcher on Friday for the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Ketchie is 2-0 with 14 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Jackson Raper (Catawba) is batting .316 for the Sharks with two homers and 18 RBIs.

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Morehead City’s Hunter Shepherd (Catawba) has three homers, 21 RBIs and is batting .314 in the Coastal Plain League. Shepherd played in Monday’s all-star game in Savannah.

Minor league baseball

Zac Almond (Catawba)  hit his fifth homer for the Class A Kane County Cougars on Sunday.

Almond, a catcher drafted by Ariona in 2017,   is batting .243 with 30 RBIs.

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Iowa’s Craig Brooks (Catawba) was outstanding on Saturday, retiring eight Memphis batters without allowing a run and striking out four.

Jr. Legion baseball

Led by winning pitcher Morgan Padgett,  Tate Green and Griffin Warden, East Rowan won 4-2 against Western Forsyth Blue on Sunday to take a first-round playoff series 2-1.

East plays tonight at home at Staton Field against Oak/North in Game 1 of an Area III semifinal series and plays  Oak/North at Lexington’s Holt-Moffitt Field on Wednesday.

If Game 3 is necessary on Thursday, East would be on the road.

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South Rowan starts a semifinal series today at 3 p.m. against Randolph Red at Asheboro’s McCrary Park.

South is home for Game 2 on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

South advanced to the semifinals by sweeping a first-round series against West Rowan.

Little League softball

Lake Norman rallied in the bottom of the sixth to beat Rowan Little League’s 10U all-stars 10-9 in the state tournament in Sophia on Monday.

Leisha Carter had four hits for Rowan. Allison Peeler  and Jordan Drye had three hits. Kimberly Troublefield was 2-for-2.

Rowan won 15-0 against Chase Sunday, with  Reese Poole and  Troublefield combining on a no-hitter. Troublefield homered and had five RBIs.

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Rowan Little League’s 16U team beat Rutherfordton 17-0 and 14-2 to win the state championship.

Ellen Yang went 6-for-6 in the two games with two homers.

Yang and Kary Hales were the winning pitchers.

Brooke Piper homered.

Claire Long, Hales, Piper and Bentli Meadows had multiple hits in the first game.

 Allie Burns had four hits in the second game.

Rowan Little League will host the Southeast Regional at Salisbury Community Park on July 19-21.

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Rowan Little League’s 12U team won  18-2 on Sunday over Rutherfordton.

Lauren Vanderpool had four RBIs, Campbell Schaen had four  hits, and Riley Haggas had three RBIs.

Rowan will play in today’s state championship game at North Mecklenburg Park in Huntersville.

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Rowan Little League’s 8U team won 5-3 against Person County to advance to the state finals at home on Saturday, July 13, at 7 p.m. against Franklin.

Legion softball

Rowan County is scheduled to return to action tonight at 7 p.m. at East Rowan. Rowan is hosting Davidson County in a doubleheader.

Rowan is scheduled to play a doubleheader at Forsyth County on Wednesday.

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Rowan’s Junior Legion team is home against Kannapolis on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Local golf

In a Dogwood State Junior Boys  qualifying event held at Lexington’s Sapona Golf Club on Monday, East Rowan golfers Austin Miller and Colby Patterson had good days.

The top 35 golfers advanced. Miller shot 3-over 74 and tied for ninth. Patterson shot 4-over 75 and tied for 15th.

The Dogwood State tournament will be held July 30-Aug. 1 at  River Run Country Club in Davidson,  N.C.

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Michael Childress is playing in the 105th Carolinas Amateur in Chapel Hill on July 11-14.

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In the first round of U.S. Amateur Championship sectional qualifying at NorthStone Country Club in Huntersville,  Childress shot even-par 72 on Monday and is tied for 20th.

Charlie Barr shot 1-over 73 and is tied for 27th.

Four qualifying spots and two alternate positions are available at NorthStone.  The four qualifiers will advance to the  United States Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Country Club on Aug. 12-18.

Local tennis

Ben Childress played in the Statesville Crossroads USTA Level 3 tennis tournament over the weekend.

Childress was 3-1 and finished second.

College football

  Charlie Harbison has been named Appalachian State’s associate head football coach.

Harbison, a North Carolina native, joined the Mountaineers’ staff as the cornerbacks coach earlier this year. He spent the 2018 season as the assistant defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals.