From staff reports

Former baseball Catawba star Craig Brooks made his Triple A debut for the Iowa Cubs on Monday, and it was a pretty good one.

Brooks entered the game on the mound early, in the third inning, and got five outs. He walked three, but he allowed only one hit and no runs and helped Iowa beat the New Orleans Baby Cakes, 4-3.

Brooks got a rare at-bat and singled home a run in the fourth inning.

He was a good-hitting shortstop and third baseman during his college career, as well as a pitcher. He was Catawba’s male athlete of the year for the 2014-15 school year and won national player of the year and pitcher of the year awards for Division II.

A seventh-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2015,  after helping Catawba get to the Division II World Series, Brooks is 25 and will turn 26 in September.

He made his pro debut in the Arizona Rookie League  after the 2015 draft and has steadily climbed the minor league ladder for the Cubs, pitching in Eugene, Ore., South Bend, Ind., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

He’s spent most of the last two seasons with the  Double A Tennessee Smokies.

He pitched in the recent Southern League All-Star Game and got his first chance in Triple A on Monday.

Prep softball

Taylor Walton, a rising sophomore at West Rowan, will play in a national all-star game for the Class of 2021 in Colorado tonight at 9 p.m. EST.

Local golf

In the first round of the North & South Amateur, held at Pinehurst No. 2,  Nick Lyerly (East Rowan, UNC Greensboro) shot 5-over 75.

Lyerly had eight pars on the front nine, but he carded a double bogey on No. 8.

He had six pars and three bogeys on the back side.

Lyerly is tied for 44th in a stellar field entering today’s final round of stroke play. The top 32 golfers will advance to match play.

Hurley Warriors

Macy Miller of the Hurley YMCA Warriors won the 11-12  girls high jump with an effort of 4 feet, 8 inches at the  USATF national qualifier held in Greensboro.

The top five in each event qualified for the Hershey national championships which will be held in Greensboro July 22-28.

Volunteer high jump coach Andy Eller coaches  Miller. Some of the Hurley Warriors will compete this weekend at UNC Charlotte at the AAU national qualifier.

Rowan Express

The Rowan Express track club competed in the USATF national qualifier in the Greensboro, with top-five finishers advancing.

Brittany Ellis (11-12) qualified in three events, taking first in the shot put (34 feet, 5.5 inches), third in the javelin (74-0) and fifth in the discus (69-5).

Salisbury High’s Christian Morgan  (15-16 boys) qualified with a fourth-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles (1:01.43).

Over 5000 athletes were entered in the meet, a record for Region 16.

Intimidators

   GREENSBORO — Marcos Rivera hit a run-scoring single in the third inning to trigger a five-run uprising as Greensboro beat Kannapolis, 7-1, on Monday.

Greensboro right-hander Dustin Beggs (3-1) picked up the win after allowing one run on four hits over five innings.

Opposing starter Luis Ledo (3-1) took the loss in the South Atlantic League game.   Craig Dedelow tripled and singled for the Intimidators.

Greensboro is 6-3 against Kannapolis.

Legion baseball

Brandon Warlick pitched brilliantly and led Davidson County to a 3-0 Northern Division win against Eastern Randolph on Monday.

Daultan Anderson had a triple for Post 8.

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Rowan County plays a division game tonight against Stanly County at 7 p.m. at Montgomery Park.

Maddux Holshouser is expected to hurl for Rowan.

Rowan returns home Wednesday to face Kannapolis. Daniel Durham, if he’s recovered from a virus,  is the probable starting pitcher for Rowan.

Kannapolis plays at Mocksville tonight in a division game. Both will be trying to get back on track after losing Sunday.

Kannapolis was shelled by Concord Sunday for its first division loss. Rowan has dropped two division games.

Legion softball

Rowan County plays at home tonight (at East Rowan High) against Kannapolis.

Rowan (3-4) will try to break  a four-game slide.

Games start at 7 p.m. Teams play a doubleheader with two five-inning contests.

Prep basketball

South Rowan basketball guard Tazah Hardin is headed to Catawba Valley Community College.

A knee injury cost Hardin three games as a senior and limited her in some others, but she scored in double figures 15 times, with a career-best 23 against Lexington.

Hardin has plenty of speed and quickness and was a second team all-county player for the Raiders as a junior and senior.

She also did well in track and field.

She was third in the Rowan County Championships in the 100 as a senior and fifth in the 200.

Junior Legion

Carson (16-3, 3-3) lost to Concord on Sunday.

Cole Hales, Dylan Driver and Aaron Misenheimer pitched for Carson. Hales, Jake Harris  and Logan Rogers  had two hits each.

Carson was washed out on Monday.