From staff reports

Salisbury High infielder Vance Honeycutt, a rising junior, announced a commitment to UNC’s baseball program through social media.

Honeycutt has played this summer for the South Charlotte Panthers.

Honeycutt was All-Rowan County and All-Central Carolina Conference as a sophomore. He batted .292 with 17 runs scored and 12 steals.

Minor leagues

  Oakland native Aaron Pointer, now 77, is the last player to bat .400 in a full-season league in pro baseball.

Pointer, his amazing baseball season and his experiences in the segregated Salisbury of 1961,  are the subject of a feature story in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.

As a 19-year-old in 1961, Pointer batted .402 in the  Western Carolina League, the forerunner of the South Atlantic League, while playing  for the Salisbury Braves at Newman Park.

That 1961 season included a last-day doubleheader between Salisbury and Lexington, with one game played at Newman Park and the other at Lexington’s Holt-Moffitt Field.

Pointer had seven homers, 14 triples and 19 doubles in 418 at-bats. He stole 42 bases and scored 117 runs. He walked 84 times, while striking out 34 times.

Pointer played in the major leagues with Houston in 1963, 1966 and 1967, but didn’t have much success.

After three seasons  playing in Japan, he retired from baseball in 1972.

A brother of the famous singing Pointer sisters, he had a groundbreaking career as a football official and was employed by the NFL from 1978-2003.

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Former Catawba closer Bryan Blanton has been promoted by the New York Yankees.

Blanton was moved up to the Tampa Tarpons, an advanced Class A team, on Friday.

He had an ERA of 1.88 in nine relief appearances for Staten Island.

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Ike Freeman (East Rowan, UNC) was promoted by the Cleveland Indians.

Freeman is now with the Lake County Captains (Ohio) in the Class A Midwest League.

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  GREENSBORO— Jack Herman drove in Victor Ngoepe with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers to a 3-2 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators on Saturday.

The sacrifice fly by Herman capped a two-run inning and gave the Grasshoppers a 3-2 lead after Justin Harrer scored on a wild pitch earlier in the inning.

In the bottom of the first, Greensboro took the lead on a single by Fabricio Macias that scored Ji-Hwan Bae. Kannapolis answered in the seventh inning when Ian Dawkins hit a two-run double.

Cam Alldred (4-1) got the win with a scoreless inning in relief while Lane Ramsey (3-6) took the loss in the South Atlantic League game.

Greensboro improved to 8-1 against Kannapolis this season.

CFL

Hamilton  Tiger-Cats overcame the loss of starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to edge the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-15 at home on Friday night.     r

Hamilton DB  Jumal Rolle (Catawba) had a big game with two interceptions and four tackles.

  

Summer baseball

Sawyer Strickland (Catawba) has pitched 11 scoreless innings in his last two starts for the Weyburn Beavers and is 3-0 this summer.

Legion baseball

Both Area III teams lost in pool play on Saturday.

Randolph County lost to Kinston 5-4, while Davidson County fell 10-6 to the Gaston Braves.

Easton Morgan had an early, two-run double for Randolph, which fell to 1-1 in pool play.

Davidson County got two hits each from Noah Coleman, Nathan Burton and Taylor Stewart but fell to 0-2.

Pool play concludes today in Cherryville.

Cherryville is 2-0 after defeating Union County (0-2) on Saturday, 1-0.

Little League softball

In games on Saturday in the 12U Southeast Regional in Warner Robins, Ga., Florida eliminated South Carolina 6-5, while West Virginia won 4-1 to knock out Virginia.

Rowan Little League, which has won two 1-0 games, plays Tennessee today at 12:30 p.m., with the winner moving on to Monday morning’s championship game.

Florida plays West Virginia in an elimination game today at 3:30 p.m.

The Rowan-Tennessee will play at 6:30 p.m. against the Florida-West Virginia winner.

Local golf

In the Warrior Club Championship, Chris Owen and Richard Cobb shot 72s in the first round and lead the Championship Flight.

Also in the Championship Flight are William Little (73), Joey Boley (76), Robert Jordan (76),  Mike Mills (77), Troy Hammond (78) and Dalton Little (78).

Scott Fagg shot 79 to lead the First Flight.

Jim Christy shot 74 and leads the Senior  Championship Flight. Gary Hanock and Dean Harwood shot 79s.

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  Darren Troutman made a recent hole-in-one at Warrior.

He used a 7-iron on the 151-yard No. 6 hole.

It was the first ace for Troutman, who was playing with Jason Denny.

Timber sports

Rockwell’s Mike Slingerland and Matt Slingerland are competing in the U.S. National Championships for timbersports being held in Milwaukee.

Hurley YMCA

Register for fall programs at Hurley YMCA through Aug. 10.

Cost is $42 for members and $70 for potential members.

• Mighty Kickers soccer is for boys and girls, ages 3-4.

• Fall soccer is for boys and girls, ages 5-14.

• Girls volleyball is for ages 10-14

Register at the J.F. Hurley YMCA or online at www.rowanymca.org.

Contact Jesse Byrd at 704-738-5134 or Jbyrd@rowanymca.org.

SHS soccer camp

Coach Matt Parrish’s Salisbury High School soccer camp begins Monday, July 29, and runs through Thursday, Aug. 1.

Each day begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 11:30.

Camp cost is $65. Payment can be made on site or at SHS. Cost includes a T-shirt. Equipment and water will be provided.

All players, male or female, who will be in grades 7-12, are welcome to attend.  Players from any school in Rowan are welcome to attend.