From staff reports

CHINA GROVE — Carson’s baseball team rallied for a 2-1 South Piedmont Conference win against Central Cabarrus on Friday.

The Cougars (9-5, 5-3) didn’t score until the sixth when Cody Russell’s lead-off double led to the run that tied the game 1-all.

In the bottom of the seventh, Hayden Simmerson doubled with two outs, and Jordan King’s line-drive single to center plated the winning run.

Simmerson hasn’t had much luck as far as wins and losses this season, but Carson’s ace was very good again. He struck out 11, walked two and allowed three hits in six innings.

Casey Crawford pitched the top of the seventh and got credit for the win. Crawford struck out two.

Alex Darbutt struck out 10 for the Vikings.

Carson was swept by East Rowan, so the Cougars are unlikely to win the SPC, but with two games left against both South Rowan and West Rowan, they’ll have a big say as to who does win it, as they move toward the playoffs. Central is 0-8 in league play, but has come close several times against the top squads.

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In the NCHSAA RPI rankings for 3A West, East Rowan is first, West Rowan is fifth, South Rowan is eighth, Northwest Cabarrus is 12th and Carson is 17th.

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MOUNT ULLA — The South Rowan-East Rowan split was welcomed by West Rowan, which moved into a tie for first with the Mustangs and Raiders.

The Falcons (11-3, 7-1) used a seven-run fourth inning to clobber Concord 11-1 in five innings on Friday.

Matthew Connolly’s three-run homer over the Blue Monster was the key blow.

West’s offense combined seven hits with six walks and two HBPs and took advantage of three Concord errors.

Luke Graham had two hits and scored twice. Connolly also had two hits,

Pfeiffer recruit Jake Blevins got the job done on the mound again. He allowed three hits, struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter.

West’s schedule is loaded toward the back end. While the Falcons are definitely contenders, they haven’t played Carson, South or East yet.

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SALISBURY — East Davidson finished off a Central Carolina Conference sweep of Salisbury with Friday’s 12-2 victory.

East Davidson didn’t get a 10-run lead until the top of the seventh, so the game went the distance.

Hank Webb had a 3-for-3 effort to lead the Hornets (8-6, 4-4).

Cole Price and Kaleb Burleyson drove in runs.

Burleyson pitched into the fifth and took the mound loss.

East Davidson stayed tied for first with West Davidson. Salisbury can still finish as high as third.

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North Rowan (2-8) lost 6-4 in non-conference play to Gray Stone on Thursday, with Joseph Hartman pitching a complete game and Malakie Harris socking a two-run double.

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A.L. Brown’s struggles in the Greater Metro Conference continued Friday with a 7-1 loss to South Iredell.

Jaden Johnson went 3-for-3 for the Wonders (2-13, 0-10).

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In a wild Central Piedmont Conference game on Friday, Davie spotted West Forsyth a 6-0 lead and came back to win 24-10.

Davie had a six-run third, an eight-run fourth and a five-run seventh.

Parker Aderhold went 4-for-4 with five RBIs to lead the War Eagles (6-8, 5-5).

 

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Owen White (Carson) is ranked No. 8 among Texas Rangers prospects and was the opening-night starter for Hickory at Winston-Salem in a high Class A game.

It was a mixed bag for White, who struck out three with no walks in three innings. He picked off one baserunner. The bad news was six hits, including two solo homers. He didn’t get a decision. Winston-Salem won the game 7-5.

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Austin Love (West Rowan, UNC) opened the season with Peoria, the high Class A team of the St. Louis Cardinals. The big right-handed pitcher is ranked 24th among St. Louis prospects. It’s not known yet whether Love will start or pitch in relief. Peoria was rained out on opening night.

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Ike Freeman (East Rowan, UNC) opened the season with the Columbus Clippers, the Triple A team of the Cleveland Guardians.

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Colton Laws (Carson, Charlotte 49ers) is with Vancouver, the high A team of the Toronto Blue Jays. Laws is 26 now and has had several injury setbacks, but he’s 6-foot-7 and he throws strikes. He was good in the four games he pitched last season.

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The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers won 6-5 in 13 innings against Fayetteville as they got the season started on Friday with a marathon that lasted 3 hours, 52 minutes.

A bases-loaded walk decided it.

DJ Gladney homered for Kannapolis.  Victor Torres had a double and a triple.

Announced attendance was 4,172 at Atrium Health Ballpark.

 

COLLEGE BASEBALL

UNC freshman Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury) has slowed down some, but he’s still leading the Tar Heels in runs scored (33) and stolen bases (20 in 22 attempts).

 

JUNIOR COLLEGE BASEBALL

A host of Rowan County players have helped Caldwell Tech (27-7) achieve a No. 3 ranking nationally among D-III junior colleges.

Cole Hales (Carson) has been the standout. Hales is batting .321 with 27 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He’s stolen 25 bases to rank among the national leaders in that category.

Hayden Setzer (East Rowan) is batting over .300 and is 4-0 on the mound.

Stephen Smith (West Rowan) is also helping as a two-way player. He’s hit three homers and is 2-0 on the mound with two saves.

Reliever Scout Nichols (West Rowan) is 2-0 for Caldwell.

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Wake Tech’s Wayne Mize (East Rowan) is still slugging. Mize is batting .328 in 35 games. He has four homers and 24 RBIs.

Bryson Wagner (East Rowan) is pitching for Wake Tech, which competes at the D-II junior college level, and has an 8-1 record. His walk totals are high, but so are his strikeout numbers.

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Logan Rogers, who will be at Catawba next season, slugged his fifth homer for Whiteville’s Southeastern Community College on Saturday. Rogers is batting over .300 and entered Saturday’s play with 26 RBIs and a .304 batting average.

 

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

In the NCHSAA RPI rankings for 3A West, Central Cabarrus is fourth, West Rowan is eighth, Carson is 15th, East Rowan is 16th, and South Rowan is 28th.

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EA Nance hit a grand slam as West Rowan crushed Northwest Cabarrus 16-0 on Friday for another South Piedmont Conference win.

The Falcons (10-2, 7-1) also got a two-run homer from Emma Clarke.

Clarke went 2-for-3, scored three and drove in three. Brooke Kennerly was 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Nance had two hits. Karsen Simpson was 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Regan Roakes scored three runs.

Arabelle Shulenberger and Carmen Freeze held the Spiders to one hit.

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Carson picked up a 15-3 South Piedmont Conference win against Concord on Friday.

Makayla Johnson made a rare appearance in the circle and pitched a one-hitter in the five-inning game.

Johnson had two hits and two RBIs for the Cougars (8-7, 6-2), while Catawba recruit Allie Burns scored two and drove in two.

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East Rowan rolled 13-3 against Lake Norman Charter on Friday.

East (9-5, 4-3)  got hits from Mac Misenheimer and Maddie Roberts.

Camryn Perkins pitched a complete game in windy conditions in Huntersville.

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Kynlee Dextraze had two of South Rowan’s three hits in an 11-0, five-inning loss to Central Cabarrus on Friday.

Central stayed unbeaten in the league and is one game ahead of West Rowan and two up on Carson.

Lexie Ritchie had the other South hit.

Avery Crowell did the pitching for the Raiders.

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Homers by McKenzie Mixon, Leah Grimes, Summer Simpson and Sydney Dirks propelled Davie to a 15-5 win against Reagan.

Davie (10-5, 8-1) is in second place in the Central Piedmont Conference behind East Forsyth.

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A.L. Brown slugged its way to a 15-9 win against Cox Mill on Friday in Greater Metro Conference action.

Kaylee Yow hit two homers and drove in six runs for the Wonders (8-8, 3-6).

Yow, Shyla Campbell and Lindsay Wolford had three hits each.

Avery Bracewell was the winning pitcher.

Aaliyah Jacquez, Kaylyn Belfield and Bracewell had two hits.

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Salisbury hammered Thomasville 16-1 and 18-2 in a Central Carolina Conference doubleheader on Friday.

Caroline Cozart was 6-for-6 with two doubles and four RBIs in the doubleheader.

Katie Peeler pitched a no-hitter in the opener and struck out eight.

Peeler also hit a home runAshley Yang had a triple and scored three runs. Xaniyah Price scored three and drove in three. Jayla Robertson knocked in two.

In the second game, Peeler hit another homer. Yang had two doubles. Mallory Link had a double.

 

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

Catawba’s softball team lost 8-2 at Newberry on Saturday in the first game of a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader.

Kary Hales (Carson) and Bailey Benton had RBI singles for an early 2-0 lead, but the Indians couldn’t hold it.

• Newberry won the second game 9-5.

Hales had two hits and three RBIs and provided some good relief work in the circle.

Bailey Leonard knocked in two and scored two. Courtnee Carter and Brooke Lowery (South Rowan) had two hits for the Indians (4-28, 0-18).