From staff reports
David Thomas hit two home runs on Sunday, but Catawba lost to North Alabama 8-7 at Lane Field.
Thomas’ second homer with two outs in the eighth tied the game at 7-7, but Trey Pollard knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth for the Lions (21-14).
Jerry Sands hit a two-run homer in the first inning to get Catawba (28-14) off to a good start.
Chris Ahearn and Thomas hit back-to-back homers in the fourth for a 4-3 lead, and Craige Lyerly’s RBI single in the fifth gave the Indians a 5-3 advantage.
Josh Graham hit a sac fly and a three-run homer to put the Lions in front 7-5, before Thomas homered in the eighth with Andrew O’Neal on base.
Tim Holmes and Travis McSweeney pitched four innings each for the Indians. Matt Seabolt took the loss when the Lions scored in the ninth.
Thomas, Sands and Lyerly had two hits each for Catawba.
* Elon freshman Neal Pritchard hit a grand slam to highlight a doubleheader sweep of Georgia Southern on Sunday. Elon is 25-7 and 10-2 in the Southern Conference.
* Anderson swept Pfeiffer 4-3 and 5-3 in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader on Sunday.
Bryan Braxton hit a homer in each game for Pfeiffer (20-23, 7-13), while Shawn Coke smacked one in the nightcap.
* Appalachian State lost to College of Charleston twice on Sunday, losing a suspended game 8-2 and dropping the scheduled game 7-6 in 10 innings.
Garrett Sherrill (A.L. Brown) made a noteworthy relief appearance in the second game, throwing four shutout innings and allowing only one hit to one of the nation’s highest-scoring teams. Sherrill fanned seven of the first eight hitters he faced.
* Minors: Intimidators at home
The Kannapolis Intimidators play their first home game tonight at 7:05 p.m. against the Asheville Tourists.
Kannapolis (3-1) and Asheville (3-1) are part of a four-way tie for first place in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League.
The Intimidators split a doubleheader at Greenville on Sunday. They lost the opener 6-0, but won the nightcap 5-4 behind strong relief pitching by Levi Maxwell, who allowed two hits and no runs and struck out six in four frames.
Logan Johnson and Matt Inouye drove in two runs apiece for the Intimidators.
* Jeremy Johnson (Mooresville) got a win in Triple-A on Saturday when the Toledo Mud Hens beat the Durham Bulls 6-1.
Johnson entered the game to start the second inning after Toledo starter Macay McBride injured an elbow. Johnson worked three innings, allowing one run and four hits. He fanned five and walked none.
Jeff Larish hit two homers to help Johnson get the victory.
* Hornets fifth in Cup
Salisbury ranks fifth in 2A in the Wachovia Cup standings that reflect overall athletic excellence.
Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons has a huge lead in 2A. Next in line are East Lincoln, Orange and West Henderson.
West Davidson is 10th. Mount Pleasant is 12th.
In 3A, Charlotte Catholic holds a commanding advantage over Asheville. Lake Norman is fourth, while Mooresville is seventh.
Chapel Hill leads in 4A. Bishop McGuinness paces the 1A standings.
* All-star game
North Carolina’s boys beat South Carolina 84-80 in the Carolinas All-Star Classic on Saturday at Bobcats Arena.
Kinston’s Bo Ingram had 17 points and 12 rebounds and was named MVP. Winston-Salem Prep’s Reggie Johnson had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
South Carolina’s girls defeated North Carolina 81-66. Thomasville’s Secily Ray scored 17 points.
* Prep football
West Iredell quarterback Jared Thompson, who passed for 1,583 yards and 14 TDs as a senior, will play at Elon.
* Northwest Cabarrus is accepting applications for the next two weeks as it seeks to replace successful head coach Mike Helms.
Helms is seeking a coaching post nearer his Hickory residence.
* College lacrosse
Catawba got four goals from sophomore Sean Duggan and defeated Saint Leo 10-4 in Deep South Conference men’s lacrosse on Sunday night at the Queens Sports Complex.
Catawba is 6-5 overall and 3-0 in the DSC, setting up a conference championship game at Wingate on Saturday afternoon against the ninth-ranked Bulldogs, who are also 3-0 in the league. The Lions fall to 6-6 and 0-2.
Catawba got goals from Duggan and Kurt Green in the opening three minutes, but goals 37 seconds apart from Nick Bova and Benjamin Brigham tied the game for Saint Leo at the 9:07 mark.
Duggan scored twice to start a 4-0 spurt that gave the Indians a 6-2 bulge at the half.
Nick Desper followed Duggan with three goals, while Green had two goals and two assists. Wayne Carbiener picked up three assists before leaving at the end of third quarter with a knee injury.
Freshman Colin McClimans made six saves for the Indians.
* Eddie Gourley scored five goals as Pfeiffer battered Rollins 11-4 on Sunday.
Pfeiffer (3-6) rolled to a 6-2 halftime edge.