From staff reports
Catawba junior Craige Lyerly (East Rowan) had six hits as the Indians beat Brevard 8-6 and 7-1 in SAC baseball on Saturday.
The Indians (27-15, 15-4) will finish second in the regular season. Tusculum (33-14, 18-4) clinched the title with a Saturday split with Lenoir-Rhyne.
Starters Alex Fairweather and Trevor Mullins turned in solid pitching performances in the road twin bill.
Lyerly, Ryan Query (A.L. Brown), Josh Hohn and Chris Ahearn homered in the opener to back Fairweather. The homer was Query’s 12th. Lyerly and Hohn both connected for the 10th time. Lyerly went 4-for-4. Nathan Furr earned a save.
Mullins dominated the second game on the mound, and Catawba broke through for six runs in the sixth. Query, who broke a 1-1 tie with a run-scoring double, and Brett Underwood had two RBIs apiece.
The teams finish the series this afternoon in the mountains.
n Lenoir-Rhyne’s Zach Glass (Salisbury) hit a solo homer against Tusculum Saturday, his sixth of the season.
n Belmont’s Daniel Wagner (South Rowan) had a career-high three stolen bases in a 9-7 win against Stetson on Friday. Wagner had two hits, including a run-scoring single.
n UNC’s Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) went 3-for-4 in a 3-0 victory against Miami on Friday. Alex White, who looms as a top-five draft pick, pitched a one-hitter for the Tar Heels.
Seager tripled and scored in a 5-4 UNC win on Saturday.
n Pitt Community College’s Trey Holmes (East Rowan) is batting .368 with four homers and 37 RBIs. He’ll be returning to the Rowan County Legion team this summer.
n Whit Merrifield (Davie) had two hits for South Carolina in Saturday’s televised 6-4 loss against Auburn.
n UNC Pembroke’s Matt Ingold, Belmont Abbey’s Caleb Shore and Montreat’s Ryan Bostian are expected to return to the South Rowan Legion team this summer.
n Jonathan McDaniel (Davie) suffered the loss on the mound for Pfeiffer in its season-ending tournament setback on Friday. Falcons. He threw three innings and allowed four hits and three earned runs.
n Davidson’s Brett Shore (South) was 2-for-5 and knocked in a run in a 20-8 loss against Georgia Southern on Saturday.
n Lander’s Billy Veal (North Rowan) threw 12/3 scoreless innings in an 11-3 loss against USC Aiken on Saturday.
n UNC junior shortstop Ryan Graepel, who has started all 38 Tar Heel games heading into the weekend series with Miami, has ties to the southern Rowan area.
Lisa Walker Graepel, Ryan’s mother, is from China Grove. Her older brother, the late Johnny Walker, starred at China Grove High and was an All-State catcher for the Kannapolis American Legion team. He played Legion ball from 1958-62 and also played at the University of Georgia.
Graepel has played on two championship teams. His 2004 Greenville Rose team won a high school state title. He was also a big part of the 2005 Pitt County team that won the American Legion state tournament.
n Belmont Abbey won the Conference Carolinas regular-season title. Kermit Smith (Pfeiffer) is the head coach. Chris Anderson (Catawba) is the pitching coach. Five Crusaders made all-conference, including three former Lexington Legion standouts ó Daniel Kassouf (North Davidson), Andrew Morton (Lexington) and Tyler McKenzie (North Davidson).
n ML baseball
Bobby Parnell (East Rowan) threw a scoreless inning Friday to help the New York Mets beat Milwaukee 5-4.Parnell entered a 4-4 game in the top of the eighth to face the meat of the Brewers’ lineup. He retired Corey Hart on a popup, got Ryan Braun to ground out, then walked Prince Fielder. He ended the inning by striking out J.J. Hardy.
The Mets won it with a run in the bottom of the ninth.
An injury that could sideline starter Mike Pelfrey for a brief period may change some roles on the Mets staff in the next week.
Parnell’s been excellent so far, allowing one run in five relief appearances.
n Prep baseball
The Cabarrus-Rowan Homeschool Stallions defeated Parkwood 8-6 on Saturday to run their record to 13-3.
David Bancroft came on in relief and went five innings for the win. He allowed one run.
Getting two hits apiece were Benji Jackson, Christian Hicks and Bobby Zimmerman.
n Northwest Cabarrus beat West Iredell 4-2 for a big NPC win on Saturday.
Taylor West homered and was the winning pitcher.
Freshman Travis Watkins was 4-for-4 for the Trojans. Jonathon Wallace contributed three hits.
Northwest (8-7, 4-5) has won five straight. The Trojans play host to South Rowan Monday.
n West Forsyth’s Randy Pope notched his 200th career win when the Titans rallied to beat Parkland 7-6 in a Forsyth County Tournament semifinal on Thursday.
n Rocky Mount outfielder Brian Goodwin, who played against East Rowan in the 3A state-championship series last spring, will likely be picked in the first round in June.
Richie Shaffer, a Charlotte Providence slugger committed to Clemson, is the highest-rated high school senior in the area.
n Minor leagues
The Kannapolis Intimidators are getting lights-out pitching more often than not and beat the Bowling Green Hot Rods 2-1 on Saturday. The pitching staff has yielded a total of four runs in Kannapolis’ seven wins.
Jorge Castillo hit a two-run homer for the Intimidators (7-3) in the sixth inning.
n Ft. Myers lefty Spencer Steedley (East Rowan) pitched Friday and allowed an unearned run in an inning of work. He struck out one and allowed two hits in a 3-1 loss to St. Lucie.
n Wisconsin pitcher Garrett Sherrill (A.L. Brown) may be shut down for a week or so after experiencing elbow soreness.
nMadison Bumgarner, who starred at South Caldwell High and for the Caldwell County Legion team before becoming a first-round draft pick by San Francisco last June, continues to dominate the minor leagues.
Bumgarner is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA after two starts. He’s with the San Jose Giants in advanced Class A ball.
n Middle school baseballErwin beat Southeast 9-4 on Friday in a matchup of unbeaten teams.
Tyler L’Hommedieu had three hits and pitched six innings. He struck out six for the Eagles (4-0). Hunter Brooks pitched the seventh. Dalton Moose scored three runs, while Chance Mazza scored twice.
Southeast (3-1) was led by Colton Laws, Austin McNeill and Chance Bowden with two hits apiece.
n Prep soccer
Monday evening’s soccer game between South Rowan and Carson is being billed as The Relay for Life Cougar/Raider Clash. The teams will wear pink, white and purple jerseys to promote breast cancer awareness. Relay for Life teams from South Rowan and Carson will be on hand at the South field.
n Salisbury tied Morganton Freedom 1-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The Hornets controlled the action against the 4A school, but the Patriots converted a goal on their only shot attempt of the first half.
“Most of our games against quality opponents we’ve been right on the cusp of winning,” SHS coach Matt Parrish said. “We took steps forward today as a very young team, and I thought we outplayed an experienced opponent with a lot of seniors. Instead of panicking and losing, we we very aggressive and assertive in the second half and came back for the tie.”
Madison Kennedy scored the SHS goal on an assist from Jenna Bryan.
Parrish praised the defensive play of center back Karen Presnell and Emily Dean, who went 80 minutes on an ailing knee. Alee Johnson suffered an injury to an eye.
n Prep softball
Margaret Whitestone fanned 12 and threw a no-hitter as Mooresville beat Statesville 14-0 in NPC play on Friday. Megan Hillard (4-for-4) and Hope Smith (2-for-3) led the Blue Devils at the plate.
n College track
N.C. State’s Jason Jones (East Rowan) placed fifth in the shot put at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Coral Gables, Fla., with an effort of 57 feet, 11/2 inches. Jones is a regional qualifier.
n N.C. State’s Lamont Savage (West Rowan) placed sixth in the long jump (24-21/2) in the ACC Outdoor meet, his first regional qualifying leap.
n Appalachian State’s Phillip Bush (North Rowan) was fifth in the 100 (11.07) in the Appalachian Invitational on Friday.
n In the Western Carolina Invitational, Western’s Ryan Pless (East) won the shot put (49-71/4), placed fourth in the hammer throw (141-6) and was fifth in the discus (126-6).
n Western’s Wayne Parker (East) was third in the javelin (160-5) and fifth in the pole vault (12-91/2).
n Daniel Joseph (NW Cabarrus) took second for the Catamounts in the high jump (6-2) and was fourth in the long jump (20-31/2).
n Charlotte’s Makenzie Mullinax (South Rowan) was 15th in the pole vault (10-2) at Auburn’s War Eagle Invitational.
n Welch golf
The 24th annual Edgar Welch Memorial Golf Tournament for Rowan County women will be played next month at two clubs.
The first 19 holes of the event will be played May 12 at Corbin Hills. The final 18 holes will be played at the Country Club of Salisbury on May 14.
A luncheon and awards ceremony will follow.
The tournament is open to all Rowan women golfers with established handicaps. Entry blanks will be available at local golf clubs. It is a two-player team event. Low score on each hole will count.
The tournament is played in honor of the late Edgar Welch, a local golf supporter who operated a sporting goods store for years in Salisbury.
Defending champions are Monica Green and Mechelle Kuld.
n McCombs tourney
The 14th annual Carl D. McCombs Golf Tournament at Corbin Hills will be held May 2 with a captain’s choice format and a 2 p.m. shotgun start.
Entry fee is $50 per person.
The tournament has raised $60,000 in previous years for Kimball Lutheran Church, the Kannapolis YMCA and the Kannapolis Educational Foundation.
Contact Dan McCombs at 704-938-8528 for information.
n College golf
Virginia sophomore Will Collins (Salisbury) shot a career-best 66 (6-under) at the Old North State Club in New London, site of the ACC Championships.
Collins made six birdies and 12 pars.
Collins skied to an 83 in Friday’s first round but shot the best score carded in the first two days of the event yesterday.
Ninth after the first round, Virginia moved up to seventh.
The final round is today. Georgia Tech is atop the leaderboard, with Clemson second.
n College gymnastics
Navy sophomore Dylan Parrott (South Rowan) just missed qualifying for nationals in the NCAA Qualifying Meet held in Minneapolis Thursday.
Parrott placed ninth in the all-around and 11th in the floor exercise.
n College footballFreshman quarterback Jonathan Efird (A.L. Brown) was 8-for-9 and threw a touchdown pass in Western Carolina’s controlled scrimmage on Saturday. Efird directed the second-team offense.
n Justin Avery (West Rowan) and Jordan Lilly (West) intercepted passes for the Gold team in UNC Pembroke’s Black-Gold Spring Game. Avery’s interception ended a 9-6 victory by Gold.
n Raeshon McNeil (Davie) made a tackle for loss in Notre Dame’s Blue vs. Gold Spring Game on Saturday.
n College softball
Catawba seniors Ryann Baker (East Rowan), Cassie Markham and Jessie Whitesides helped Catawba sweep Lincoln Memorial in their final home games on Saturday.
Catawba won 8-0 and 7-2.
Baker had a two-run triple, a double and single in the first game for the Indians (23-17, 10-6 SAC). Allie Marshall hit a two-run homer. Carly Sabat had a two-run triple. Meghan Cobb pitched the shutout.
Whitesides went 3-for-3 in the nightcap and became the school’s all-time hits leader with 185. Marshall hit another homer. Chelsea Wallace was the winning pitcher.
Marshall had five hits, two homers and six RBIs in the doubleheader. Baker and Whitesides had four hits each.
n Gina Loflin (West Rowan) had four hits as Walters State swept Jackson State 3-0, 3-0 in a twin bill on Friday.
Erin Foster (West) had a key hit in the seventh-inning of the nightcap for the Senators (29-10).
n Maryland’s Devon Williams had three hits and scored three runs as the Terps swept Boston College 4-3, 4-3 on Saturday.
In the first game, Williams scored the tying run in the seventh and the winning run in the ninth.
n College lacrosse
Pfeiffer’s Peter Milliman is the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year.
Pfeiffer’s Dan Messler was first team all-conference. Chad Olsen was second team. Doug Berg was third team. n College tennis
Pfeiffer’s Phillip Lawson was second team All-Conference Carolinas. Johan deWit was named third team.
n Pfeiffer’s Patty Dominguez made the All-Conference Carolinas women’s first team.
n Catawba’s men rallied to beat Carson-Newman 5-4 on Friday. Matt King and Tom McCormick won singles matches and teamed for a doubles win for the Indians (11-8, 2-4 SAC).
n Carson-Newman’s women topped Catawba 7-2. Steffi Cook and Candace Hall won singles matches for Catawba (9-9, 1-5).
n Dates for Catawba summer camps are June 15-18 (full day), June 22-25 (half day), June 20-23 (half day), July 27-30 (half day) and Aug. 3-6 (half day). Contact Jeff Childress at 704-637-4265 or jchildre@catawba.edu.