From staff reports
West Rowan freshman Matt Miller turned in one of the great relief appearances in history Tuesday afternoon as the Falcons defeated previously unbeaten Wilmington Laney 6-2 in a semifinal game of an Easter tournament in Wilmington.
Miller is too young to have heard of Ernie Shore, but he’s the modern Ernie Shore. In 1917, Babe Ruth started a game on the mound for the Boston Red Sox against the Washington Senators. Ruth lasted one batter. He walked him, then got into a verbal and physical confrontation with an umpire and was ejected. On short notice, Shore relieved Ruth. The batter on first was caught stealing. Shore proceeded to mow down all 26 hitters he faced.On Tuesday, Miller was called on to relieve Randy Shepherd with the bases loaded, one out and two runs already across in the first inning. Miller allowed three hits and no runs the rest of the way against the state’s third-ranked 4A team, and the Falcons reached the tournament championship game. Winners of its last four games, West will play Hoggard or host Ashley tonight at 7 p.m.
Tyler King and Brantley Horton had two hits each to pace West’s offense.
n Carson rolled over West Iredell 10-1 to stay in the NPC race.
Jesse Park pitched five strong innings for the Cougars and got relief help from Weston Snow.
Kyle Bridges’ two-run double in the second got Carson rolling.
“Park threw well after he found his groove,” Carson coach Chris Cauble said. “I was pleased with how well we played in some frigid temperatures.”
n Zach Smith crushed the first pitch of the game for a homer, and East Rowan went on to pound Statesville 14-2 in five innings.
Noah Holmes had a two-run double in the first inning. David Ijames smacked three doubles, including a two-run double in East’s nine-run fourth. Ben DeCelle had a two-run single in the big fourth.
Kent Basinger (3-0) was the winning pitcher.
n South Rowan belted seven extra-base hits and got a complete game on the mound from J.D. Bare to beat North Iredell 11-3. Steve Erwin had a huge game with two doubles and three RBIs. Alex Ingold also knocked in three runs.
“We had two four-run innings and Erwin had a big double in both of them,” South coach Thad Chrismon said.
n A.L. Brown upset Anson 6-4 in the SPC. John Tuttle threw a complete game with eight strikeouts.
Zach Wright and Spencer Falls delivered two-run doubles in Brown’s four-run fifth.
n Christian Hicks pitched a two-hitter and Kyle Kiker hit two homers to lead the Cabarrus-Rowan Homeschool Stallions to an 8-1 victory over Central Cabarrus.
Hicks struck out 10.
Benji Jackson homered and drove in four runs. Kiker had three hits. Josh Tossas had two hits.
n Alex Grubb went 3-for-3 and was the winning pitcher as West Davidson beat Central Davidson 5-4 in a matchup of the CCC’s top teams. Joe Patterson’s three-run homer keyed the Green Dragons’ victory.
n Ryan Coleman pitched his fourth straight complete game to lead East Davidson to a 6-3 CCC win against Ledford. Keaton Hawks had a homer, double and single for the Eagles.
n Lake Norman stayed on top in the NPC with a 6-2 victory against Northwest Cabarrus. Scottie Williams and Ross Whitley shut down the Trojans. Nick Keith went 2-for-2, Joe Faist had two RBIs, and Eric Manser had a triple.
n Mooresville pummeled Reynoldsburg (Ohio) 15-0 in a Myrtle Beach tournament. Jeffrey Mason got his first varsity win for the Devils.
n Prep softball
Carson took a licking ó physically and on the scoreboard ó from West Iredell in Tuesday’s NPC game.
It was tied after five innings, but the Warriors had seven of their 15 hits in the sixth, took advantage of Carson miscues and built a seven-run frame that keyed an 11-4 victory.
Carson (5-5, 3-5) rallied from 1-0 and 4-3 deficits, but there was no way to get seven runs back with the wind gusting, temperature dropping and West Iredell’s Heather Pennell striking out eight batters.
Alex Mendillo’s groundout scored Marissa Sellers for a 1-1 tie in the first inning.
Throwing errors on pickoff attempts at third base handed the Cougars their next two runs. Lauren Bost scored in the second inning.
In the third, Carson’s Heather Yount made a painful journey around the bases. First, she was hit on the foot by a pitch ó no fun at all on a miserably cold day. She moved to second on a passed ball, sliding in safely as the throw bounced off her. She shook that off just in time to take third base on Mendillo’s groundout. She scored from there on the throwing error, tumbling past the catcher and landing hard.
Carson pitcher Megan Meismer had it even rougher. West Iredell’s Emily Walden drilled a solid liner in the fourth that caught Meismer on her hand, ricocheted off her arm and then struck her nose. Meismer shrugged it off and kept pitching.
Carson failed to catch two balls hit high in the air in the fifth and fell behind 4-3, but the Cougars tied the score for the last time in the bottom of the inning when Sellers tripled to the right-field fence and scored on Yount’s groundout.
Bunts keyed West Iredell’s huge sixth inning. Pennell laid down a bunt to plate the go-ahead run before Staci Woodie hammered a two-run double for a cushion. Things unraveled for the Cougars after that.
“It was just frustrating,” Carson coach Casey White said. “If there was a good thing, it was that we got a chance to how getting bunts down can help you win a ballgame.”
West Iredell (5-3, 4-3) is on a roll. It hit three homers to beat South Rowan 9-4 on Monday.
n College baseball
Catawba was shut out again Tuesday, losing at 24th-ranked USC Aiken 1-0. The Indians (19-13) were also blanked Sunday.
Chris Ahearn had three hits for the Indians. Catawba starter Alex Fairweather allowed six hits in six innings.
n UNC third baseman Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) tied a school record with four doubles in Sunday’s 13-10 victory against Georgia Tech.
Seager is batting .380 with 15 doubles (second in the ACC) and 22 RBIs.
n Lenoir-Rhyne senior Zach Glass (Salisbury) is batting .342 with five homers and 36 RBIs. He’s been charged with only one error in 34 games and has walked more (24 times) than he’s struck out (19).
n Montreat’s Ryan Bostian (South Rowan) hit his first college homer in a 16-5 romp over Toccoa Falls. Bostian had four hits in the game.
n Charlotte’s Rob Lyerly was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. Lyerly hit three homers and knocked in 13 runs in five games. His parents are Rowan natives.
n Catawba golf
Catawba placed fifth among 19 schools at the rain-shortened Agnes McAmis Memorial women’s golf tournament. Snow canceled Tuesday’s round. Belmont Abbey shot a 310 to take the team title. Catawba posted a score of 336. Catawba’s Kelsey Babos shot 74 for runner-up honors.
n Clayton honored
Carson-Newman head men’s coach Dale Clayton has been named president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
n Adams stepping down
Charlie Adams, executive director of the NCHSAA since 1984, announced plans Tuesday to retire Jan. 31, 2010.
n Corbin Hills golf
The Corbin Hills Ladies Golf Association played Tuesday. Beth Calhoun won low gross and Mary Seaford won low net. Azalee Story had low putts.