Area Sports Briefs: Attendance restricted for NC3 baseball
Published 12:00 am Friday, June 19, 2020
From staff reports
Rowan County coach Jim Gantt said instructions received Thursday from North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will restrict attendance at Newman Park for the NC3 baseball league.
Rowan’s games, at least those played prior to June 26, will be basically fan-less. Only 25 fans can be allowed in the park.
The program had hoped to have 25 fans per bleacher section.
Those attending Saturday’s opener will be parents of Rowan players. Gantt said one parent from each player will have their name on a list.
Admission is $5.
Hot dogs will be sold.
Donations to the Rowan program, which has facility expenses, travel expenses and umpire expenses, will be accepted.
The games will be broadcast by WSAT 1280.
Local golf
In Thursday’s first round of the North Carolina Amateur, Walker Cress (Concord, James Madison) shot 6-under 64 for a 3-shot lead in the 72-hole tournament.
Cress shot 31 on the back nine.
2016 champion Nick Lyerly (East Rowan, UNCG) is tied for seventh after a 36-34 — 70.
Michael Childress (Cannon School, Richmond) shot 77.
The top 60 golfers will make the cut. The scond round is scheduled for today.
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Childress was one of two Richmond Spiders named as an All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America this week.
A golfer must compete in at least 40 percent of his team’s competitive rounds while posting a stroke average under 76.0 and maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or better. Only sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible.
Childress led the Spiders with a 74.00 stroke average as a sophomore in 2019-20, nearly a full stroke improvement from his freshman season. He recorded his first career top-10 finish at the Hamptons Intercollegiate in October, shooting 227 (+11) in difficult weather conditions to finish tied for seventh.
Childress’ Cannon School and Richmond teammate Michael Baker, a junior, also was named to the All-America Scholar team.
SAC athletes of the year
Anderson University basketball player Alexy Mollenhauer and Lenoir-Rhyne football player Jaquan Artis are the 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference Athletes of the Year.
Mollenhauer, a senior guard on the Trojan women’s basketball team, was named SAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was a first team All-SAC selection.
Artis, a senior defensive end from Kinston, was named the D2CCA Super Region Two Defensive Player of the Year and helped Lenoir-Rhyne to a 13-1 mark as the Bears advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.
