Staff report

KANNAPOLIS — South Rowan will play A.L. Brown in Monday night’s championship game of the F&M Bank Cannon Ballers Easter Tournament.

First pitch at Atrium Health Ballpark is scheduled for 7 p.m.

A.L. Brown entered the tournament with a 3-7 record but beat Salisbury and Robinson to get to the championship game.

South shut out Concord 4-0 in Friday’s first round behind the pitching of Logan Ballard and Colton Helms. Ballard, James Ritchie, Brett Morris and Corbin Cross had RBIs.

Marshal Faw was the key figure in Saturday’s 9-2 semifinal win against West Cabarrus. On the mound, Faw held West Cabarrus to four hits in five innings before Helms finished up.

At the plate, Faw went 3-for-4, including a two-run homer that gave the Raiders a 4-0 lead.

Morris and Macon Fuller had three RBIs each against the Wolverines. Morris and Ballard had two hits each.

The standout for the Wonders is usually CJ Gray, a two-way baseball player who also is the football team’s quarterback. He’s the son of former Livingstone Blue Bear Charlie Gray, who has coached at several area schools.

The tournament games are important for South, beyond the chance to bring back a trophy. South is No. 32 in the 3A RPI rankings, so the Raiders are on the bubble to make the 3A West state playoffs, which will have a 32-team bracket.

Salisbury has not fared well in the tournament so far, losing 11-0 to the Wonders and 10-0 to Central Cabarrus. The Hornets will try to salvage a game in the tournament on Monday morning when they play Northwest Cabarrus at A.L. Brown High for seventh place.

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GRANITE QUARRY — Action also continues on Monday at Staton Field in East Rowan’s Spring Break Tournament.

East and West Rowan have continued to roll, but Carson, which has lost its first two games in the tournament is down to 6-6 now, has lost five straight games and really could use a win Monday night against Mooresville. Mooresville (1-12) doesn’t have a good record, but is more competitive than it sounds. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Center fielder Jayven Parks has been a standout for the Cougars. He’s batting .429 with three homers, three doubles and 11 RBIs.

Ranked No. 1 in 3A West RPI, East Rowan pounded South Iredell and Mooresville in its first two tournament games. East (12-1) takes on Northwest Guilford (9-3) Monday at 4 p.m. in what should be one of the best games of the tournament.

East has produced overwhelming offense so far this season and is batting .376 as a team.

Cobb Hightower and Harrison Ailshie have hit three homers each. Logan Dyer (4-0) and Ailshie (4-0) have been strong on the mound, and four more Mustangs have won a game apiece.

West Rowan (9-3) got off to a miserable start but has won eight in a row and is the only team that’s beaten East Rowan this season. The Musatngs and Falcons split their South Piedmont Conference games.

The Falcons still are only batting a modest .252 as a team, but West has a deep pitching staff and the offensive numbers have been picking up lately.

Cole Blevins has been the standout offensive player for West. The sophomore outfielder is batting .368 with 13 RBIs and 16 runs scored.

Corbin Bailey is 2-0 with a 0.25 ERA for the Falcons.

Ranked 10th in the 3A West RPI, the Falcons take on South Iredell at 1 p.m. at Staton Field on Monday. The Vikings lost to East, but have beaten Carson twice and own an 8-5 record.