From staff reports
West Rowan coach David Wright called last week “horrible” after three straight NPC losses.
This week is starting off much better.The Falcons ripped Statesville for 17 hits in a 13-3, five-inning victory in Mount Ulla on Tuesday.
Five different Falcons had multiple-hit games and starter Brantley Horton struck out nine in four innings of work.
West (4-8, 9-9) led just 3-2 going into the second, but five straight hits started a five-run inning. Hernan Bautista added a solo homer in the third against the Greyhounds (1-10, 2-11), one of his four hits on the night.
“We needed this bad,” Wright said. “I told the guys that being young isn’t an excuse anymore. Tonight, we swung it well, fielded it well and pitched it well.”
Brett Huffman had three hits for the winners, including two doubles. Tyler King, Zach Simpson and Horton all had two hits.
* Preston Penninger’s two-out, walkoff homer in the seventh inning lifted South Rowan to a 6-3 NPC victory over West Iredell.
Ryan Bostian (4-2) threw his sixth consecutive complete game for the Raiders.
South trailed 3-1 in the third when Blake Houston tied the game with a two-run single.
First baseman Jordan Lowder’s great defensive play ó he made a stretch to pull down a throw and kept his foot on the bag ó prevented two runs.
* Tyler Christenberry hit two home runs to lead North Iredell to a 6-3 NPC victory over Northwest Cabarrus.
* Central Davidson beat Ledford 5-1 in a key CCC game. Trevor Leonard outdueled Ricky Vaughn.
Drew Hampton’s two-run triple was the key blow for the Spartans. Patrick Koontz was 3-for-3 for the Panthers.
* North Rowan (2-14, 2-7) scored eight runs in the sixth inning and beat East Davidson 14-7 for a CCC victory on Tuesday.
Billy Veal was the winning pitcher.
Dakota Brown had three hits, including two doubles. Travis Honeycutt went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Kyle Munday had a 3-for-3 night.
Chad Ferguson had three hits for East Davidson.
* A.L. Brown lost 6-5 in eight innings in an SPC game at Parkwood.
Jacob Wright homered and stole two bases for the Wonders. Zach Fesperman had a run-scoring double.
– Jayvee baseball
West Rowan’s jayvees won a doubleheader from Statesville, winning the first game 12-0 and the nightcap 11-1.
In Game 1, Justin Morris was the winning pitcher. Chandler Jones had two hits. In Game 2, Ethan Marsh was the winning pitcher. Getting two hits each were Jones, Steven Wetmore, Steven Crandall.
* West Davidson’s jayvees beat Salisbury 10-0 behind the pitching of Zach Myers. He fanned nine and allowed one hit. Adam Heitman went 3-for-3, including a home run.
– South Rowan Legion
South Rowan has released its American Legion schedule.
The season starts May 17, with games against Asheboro and Mocksville at Rich Park. The first scheduled home game is on May 18 against Asheboro.
Wright returns as head coach, along with assistants Brian Goodnight and Kenny Simpson. Mike Fisher is the athletic officer and is assisted by Ernie Faw, Gary Earnhardt and Randy Shepherd.
– Intimidators win
The Kannapolis Intimidators (6-7) won at Augusta 2-0 on Tuesday behind the pitching of Anthony Carter.
Kannapolis broke a scoreless tie in the sixth on Christian Marrero’s sac fly.
– Middle School baseball
China Grove outslugged Southeast 17-10 on Tuesday. Southeast was led by Chase Johnson, Andy Austin and Ethan Free, all with two hits. Greg Tonneson added a double.
China Grove was led by Josh Martin and Mitch Galloway with three hits each. Caleb Trexler, Connor Bridges and Scottie Hinson had two apiece.
– College baseball
Brett Shore (South Rowan) scored three runs for Davidson in a 9-3 victory over Wake Forest on Monday.
– Prep soccer
Salisbury defeated East Davidson 6-2 on Tuesday to further strengthen its hold on the CCC.
Jamie Dagenhart led the Hornets (12-0, 8-0 CCC) with a hat trick, and Karen Presnell, Lindsey Davis and Madison Kennedy also scored.
Dagenhart’s third goal came on Kaitlyn Cuevas’ record-tying 65th career assist. Brynn Dailey also had 65 in her Salisbury career.
Kennedy and Davis also had assists, and Cuevas had an earlier assist to get within one of the record.
Salisbury coach Matt Parrish praised Cuevas for her passing ability, but he also lauded Kennedy for her goal. Kennedy carried the ball from 25 yards out and beat the goalkeeper with a shot to the upper corner.
“Phenomenal shot,” Parrish said. “The only way (the keeper) could have stopped it was by growing.”
– Middle School soccer
Southeast tied China Grove 2-2 on Monday. Scoring for Southeast were Jordy Sanchez and Eduardo Carrillo. 
Southeast faces Corriher-Lipe at home Wednesday and North Rowan on Thursday.
– College lacrosse
Catawba senior Kurt Green, who is second in the conference in goals and assists per game, has been named the 2008 Deep South Conference Player of the Year.
Green is the first Catawba player to claim the honor from DSC. He has collected 29 goals and 41 points.
* Pfeiffer’s Eddie Gourley was named All-Carolinas Conference first team, while teammates Chad Olsen and Anthony LaMarca were second team.
– Prep track
The Rowan County Track Meet will be held today at East Rowan.
Field events begin at 4 p.m. and the running events at 5.
Admission is $5.
– Speed skating
Katelyn Horning, a junior at Salisbury, competed in the Tax Relief Invitational in Atlanta on April 11-14, coming away with three firsts, two seconds and three thirds in eight indoor events.
Outdoors, Horning placed third overall in the World Class Division, consisting of 500-meter sprint, 1,500-meter and 10-K races.
Horning has been named to the 2008 USA National Inline Speed Skating Team. She will travel to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs April 25-29 to train with the national team.
– SAC tournaments
Catawba’s men’s golf team finished fifth in the two-day, three-round SAC Championships at Lake Hickory.
Led by medalist Ben Lown, Newberry won the championship.
Eric Schmehl shot 77-80-74 ó 231 to pace Catawba. He finished 21st.
Derek Paschal shot 87-73-76 ó 235. Todd Janssen shot 76-78-81 ó 235. They tied for 28th.
* Catawba’s women’s team finished fourth at Lake Hickory.
Wingate won the team title with a 44-shot victory over Tusculum.
Catawba’s Kelsey Babos was fourth and earned SAC All-Tournament honors. She had a total of 241. Danielle Freed shot 262 and finished 13th.
* Catawba’s tennis team lost 5-0 to Newberry in the first round.
– College golf
Salisbury’s Will Collins led Virginia to its second-best 18-hole finish of the year as the Cavaliers placed seventh in the River Landing Intercollegiate tournament, hosted by N.C. State in Wallace.
The freshman equaled his career-best with a 4-under 68 during the final round to tie for 20th overall at 2-over 218.
Collins shot 76-74 in the first two rounds on the par-72, 7,112-yard course.
Duke shot 11-under Sunday to win the tournament at 851.
The Cavaliers travel to the ACC Championships in New London on April 18-20.
– GARS golf
Fifty-one GARS members played an ABCD low net tournament at Lexington Country Club on Monday.
Clifford Full won ‘A’ flight with a net of 67.05. Cliff Cutrell won ‘B’ flight with a net of 63.84. ‘C’ flight with a net of 61.98 was Boyce Caudle. ‘D’ flight winner was Clete Beaubein with a net of 63.24.
– Corbin Hills golf
The Corbin Hill Ladies Golf Association played in a low gross-low net event on Monday. Toni Iossi was first in low gross, followed by Wanda Sanders. Gail Capone was first in low net, followed by Sharon Deal and Mary Seaford. Low putts went to Ruth Bowles.
– Salisbury Academy golf
Salisbury Academy (161) defeated North Hills (184) and Southeast (216) in a golf match at Crescent on Monday.
The Jaguars were led by medalist Troy Beaver (38), Alex Nianouris (39), Alex Lee (40) and Chad Hoskins (43).
Cameron Beck led B North Hills with a 41. He was followed by John Murphy (43), Tripp Caldwell (49) and Carson Mann (51).
Pacing Southeast were Garrett Yelton (52), Matt Yates (53), Bryan Burke (55) and Conner Gantt (56).
Salisbury Academy (9-0) plays April 22 at River Run against Woodlawn.
– Golf tournaments
The 17th annual DCCC Foundation Scholarship Golf Tournament will be held May 1 at Sapona in Lexington.
Golfers may register through April 17 for the morning round, which begins at 8 a.m.
– Rocky River Golf Club in Concord will be the site of the third-annual Birdies for Breast Cancer Golf Tournament on Monday, May 12.
The Captain’s Choice tournament begins at noon with a shotgun start. Entry fee is $80 per golfer. Entry fee includes brunch, range balls, golf, Southern BBQ dinner, a goody bag and opportunities to win prizes.
The entry deadline is May 5. Registration forms are available at Rocky River Golf Club, Auld Golf of Concord, and Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops. Registration forms are also available online at www.queencitywalkers.org.