From staff reports

Elijah Palmer (West Rowan) is having a huge baseball season for Surry Community College.

Palmer has grown to 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and is the national leader for  D3 junior colleges in batting average (.509) and RBIs (20).

Palmer is 27-for–53 with eight doubles and three triples.

• Lucas Graham (West Rowan) is batting .455  for Surry with  a homer, two triples and six doubles.

• Zach McNeely (West Rowan) is batting .393 for Surry.

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Brevard’s CP Pyle (Carson) has a four-game hitting streak and hit his first homer of the season against Guilford.

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Steven Smith (West Rowan) has hit three homers and scored 26 runs for Emory & Henry. He’s batting .388.

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UNC’s Kane Kepley (South Rowan) is an OBP machine.

Kepley is batting .326, but the OBP is .530 thanks to 13 walks and seven HBPs.

He’s scored 16 runs.

•UNC’s Cameron Padgett has been good out of the bullpen. He’s 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

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Haiden Leffew (South Rowan) has made six appearances for Wake Forest and is 1-0.

NFL

Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) has recovered from a triceps injury.

The 49ers have released him, but he’ll be eligible to sign with a new team after March 12.

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Draft stock continues to rise for Georgia Tech grad Zeek Biggers (West Rowan), who now projects as a fourth to fifth round pick.

• Former Georgia Bulldog Jalon Walker  (Salisbury) still looks like a sure thing for the first round.

MLB

Cobb Hightower (East Rowan) is still zooming up the prospect rankings for San Diego. Hightower is now sixth.

Hightower had had two at-bats with the big league Padres in Spring Training.

Local golf

SALISBURY — Tommy Hedgepeth made a hole-in-one on No. 5 at The Revival Golf Course at the Crescent on Tuesday.

He used an 9-iron from 135 yards.

The feat was witnessed by Jim Blakely and Zane Presson.

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SALISBURY —  GARS members played a  Captain’s Choice tournament at Corbin Hills with teams picked by a computer.

Two teams tied for first place at minus-9.

The team of Larry Petrea, Lynn Shook, Bob Turner and Bill Rogers won a scorecard playoff over the team of Dan Newell, Bob Feser, Keith Larsen and Tommy Gamewell.

Three teams tied for third place at minus-7.

Team Ray Pope, Joe Dunn, Mike Sides and Wayne Bost won a scorecard playoff over Team Winsten Mahaffey, Bobby Clark, Chris Humphrey and Rick Harris and Team Dickie Peeler, David Price, Tommie Horton and Tommy Seamon.

Closest to the pin on No. 2 was won by Seamon.

Longest putt on No. 9 was made by Jesse King.

Joe Dunn won closest to the pin on No. 5. Mike Whitaker won closest to the pin on No. 13. Brice Hollis won closest to the pin on No. 16.

Seven eagles were made. The par-5 No. 6  hole was eagled by Team Hal Jordan, Bob Niekras, John Cress and Bo Russell and Team Newell, Feser, Dunn and Gamewell.

The par-5 11th was eagled by Team Joe Ford, Sky Merto, Bobby Bryant and  John Croote and Team Mahaffey, Clark, Humphrey and Harris.

The par-5 No. 18 hole was eagled by Team Newell, Feser, Dunn and Gamewell; Team Petrea, Shook, Turner and Rogers, and Team Peeler, Price, Horton and Seamon.

Women’s hoops

Mars Hill lost 80-73 to Anderson in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament quarterfinals, but freshman Lauren Arnold (West Rowan) was  good.

Arnold had 12 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes  for the Lions (17-12).

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Hannah Wilkerson (North Rowan) averaged 7.5 points and 1.1 rebounds for Clarion (14-15).

College softball

Winthrop’s Lonna Addison (Carson) is 6-2 in the circle with a 2.88ERA.

College men’s golf

OCEAN ISLE — Pfeiffer’s Tyler Kepley (West Rowan) shot two 78s and tied for 13th in the  Spring Invitational hosted by Pfeiffer.

College track

Pfeiffer’s men and women finished second in the USA South Championships.

Cameron Ritchie (East Rowan) had an impressive meet.

He won the 60 hurdles (8.79) and was fourth in the 200 (23:49) and fifth in the 400 (52.30).

Carson Ritchie (East Rowan) and Andrew Huffman (Salisbury) ran on the winning 4×400 team.

Trent Rivers (South Rowan) helped Pfeiffer win the distance medley relay.

Huffman and Carson Ritchie placed fourth and fifth in the 400.

• Three Rowan women — West’s Katelyn Lentz, Carson’s Makayla Borst and South Rowan’s Mesiyah Howell helped Pfeiffer win the 4×400 and distance medley relay.

Lentz (West Rowan) was third in the 800. Makayla Borst (Carson) was fourth in the mile. Hayley Borst (Carson) was fifth in the 5000 meters.

HS commits, offers

South Rowan senior Laney Beaver will continue her volleyball and academic career at Averett.

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South Rowan junior Danica Krieg committed to Coker’s softball program.

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A.L. Brown athlete Jesse Morton signed with Barton’s football program.

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Salisbury defensive end Keial Matthews was offered by Brevard.