From staff reports

The North Carolina High School Coaches Association announced on Friday that West Rowan shortstop Emma Clarke is the 3A Player of the Year for District 6.

District 6 is Anson, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly and Union counties.

West  center fielder Ashlee Ennis, catcher Brooke Kennerly, first baseman EA Nance, third baseman Karsen Simpson and left fielder Madelyn VonCanon made all-district.

Carson pitcher Lonna Addison, outfielder Landry Stewart and shortstop Phoebe Cole made the all-district team announced by the North Carolina Softball Coaches Association.

South Rowan third baseman Kynlee Dextraze, catcher Avery Fisher and pitcher Lexie Ritchie made   the all-district team.

All-district players are eligible for the All-State team that is announced on June 30.

College baseball

Catawba right fielder Dylan Driver (Carson) ia a Gold Glove winner for all of Division II baseball.

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Catcher  Bo Rusher (Salisbury), who played four years at Gardner-Webb, announced that he’ll use his COVID redshirt season to play at Catawba as a graduate student.

He’ll join Payne Stolsworth (West Rowan), who will pitch for Catawba as a graduate student after starring at N.C. Wesleyan.

Pro baseball

The Texas Rangers have promoted Owen White (Carson), their No. 2 overall prospect, to Triple-A Round Rock.

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Texas Ranges shortstop Corey Seager (NW Cabarrus, Kannapolis Legion) has been on a tear since returning from injury and is batting .358.

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St. Louis Cardinals prospect Austin Love (West Rowan) has been sidelined by injury since April.

Summer baseball

Salisbury legend Bill “Jet” Gillispie helped coach the Carolina Tigers  14U team to a  national championship in a  major tournament held in  Sanford, Fla.

The Tigers went 7-0 against a field that included international teams.

Gillispie is the founder of the Tigers.

Lady Legion

Rain washed out the two most recent Rowan  County Lady Legion softball games on the schedule.

The next scheduled game is at home against Davidson County on June 26.

High school hoops

Salisbury rising senior MaKayla Noble, a 6-foot forward, is one of the fastest rising players in the Class of 2024 and has gotten some D-I offers.

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Former West Rowan player Bryson Cowan received an offer from Chicago State.

The 6-foot-9 Cowan played for Moravian Prep last season.

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North Hills standout Champion Hayden announced on social media that he’s transferring.

Local golf

Play in the Rowan Masters match play tournament at Warrior will be conducted this weekend, with the finals set for Sunday.

William Little led qualifying with a 3-under 68.

There will be a new champion this year.

Nick Lyerly, who won the last four Rowan Masters events, has turned pro.

LYERLY DEBUT

Steady rain and intense course saturation prevented the GPro Mimosa Open from being completed, and only first round results counted.

Nick Lyerly (East Rowan) shot 3-under 67 in his pro debut and tied for 14th. He won $1,016.56.

Michael Childress (Cannon School) and Davis Richards (South Rowan) shot 1-over 71.

  GARS

GARS members played at McCanless.

Low ‘A’ Flight player was Larry Petrea with a net of 69.42.

Low ‘B’ Flight player was Mike Whitaker with a net of 64.81.

Low ‘C’ Flight player was John Cress with a net of 61.83.

Low ‘D’ Flight player was Jim Brown with a net of 61.51.

Petrea shot a 75 to win low gross, while Brown had low net score.

Randy Lipe eagled the par-5 No. 18 hole.

Fishing

LEXINGTON— Boater Rodney Bell of Salisbury,  caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce  to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on High Rock Lake.

The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Piedmont Division.

Bell earned $5,024 for his victory.

Three of Bell’s six BFL wins have come on High Rock Lake.

Travis Donaldson of Cleveland took second place, with five bass, weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces and won $2,197.

L-R Hall of Fame

Larry Lentz (South Rowan) has been elected to the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame.

Lentz starred in basketball for the Bears in the early 1990s and was an Honorable Mention NAIA All-America.

In 1992-93, he shot 61.4 percent and led the Bears in scoring and rebounding.

He scored 1,035 points for the Bears and ranks second in career feld-goal percentage (57.7).

Lentz scored 1,122 points at South and still is the leading scorer in program history.

College football

The South Atlantic Conference  announced  that it has joined with the Mountain East Conference in a football scheduling alliance for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

In a historic partnership, the football member institutions from both conferences will fill available non-conference dates with a focus on travel distance and competitive balance.

In addition to providing quality non-conference matchups, the collaboration will ensure that every team in each conference will be able to complete a full 11-game regular season schedule.

Both conferences will have 11 football members in 2025, making a non-conference scheduling agreement between the conferences a natural fit.

College softball

UNC catcher Ellen Yang (Salisbury) was named a second team All-America for club softball by Rawlings.

Yang earlier was named to the All-Southeast Region team.

College basketball

  Pfeiffer University announced the hiring of  Vontreece Hayes, a former Falcon, as the new head women’s basketball coach.

Hayes returns to The Village after serving the past two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Millersville University in Pennsylvania.

College track

Josh Parks (A.L. Brown), an All-America hurdler, has opted to use his COVID redshirt season and will compete  again next year for the UNC Wilmington Seahawks.