From staff reports
To make it back to Raleigh and the 3A Final Four, East Rowanís softball team has to beat a familiar foe today.
East will face NPC rival North Iredell for the fourth time this season. Chelsea White will fire the first pitch in the fourth-round playoff matchup in Granite Quarry at 5 p.m.
WSAT will broadcast the game.
East is 23-2, with one of those losses coming to North Iredell and standout pitcher Karley Harkey in the championship game of the recent NPC tournament.
East swept the regular season NPC matchups with the Raiders (18-7).
White has thrown three straight shutouts in the playoffs, as the Mustangs beat Northern Guilford 10-0, Central Cabarrus 3-0 and Northwest Cabarrus 2-0 on catcher Bobbi Thomasí two-run homer in the sixth inning.
North Iredellís playoff victories have been 6-1 against Hickory Ridge, 2-1 over Marvin Ridge and 3-2 against Concord Jay M. Robinson.
n Legion baseball
Carsonís Junior Legion team opened the season with a 10-5 win against visiting Stanly County on Thursday.
Colton Laws and Bryson Prugh had three hits each. Laws knocked in two runs. Dylan Carpenter and John Daugherty also had two hits each. Brandon Sloop, a China Grove eighth-grader, delivered a pinch-hit double.
Daugherty struck out six in three innings as the starting pitcher. Blake Cauble got the win with two strong relief innings, and Laws and Austin McNeill also worked in relief.
n College baseball
Keegan Linza (North Rowan) pitched Liberty to a 6-1 win against Charleston Southern in the Big South Conference Tournament on Thursday.
It was the 11th win of the season for Linza, tying the school record.
He tossed his fifth complete game, allowing six hits. He struck out seven and walked none.
n Corbin Shive (East Rowan) belted a two-run double to help Charlotte beat Richmond 6-0 in the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Thursday.
Ross Steedley (East) had an RBI double for the 49ers, and Justin Roland (East) scored a run.
n Trey Holmes (East) went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs for Appalachian State in a 6-4 Southern Conference Tournament win against UNC Greensboro on Thursday.
n Catawba relief pitcher Wil Huneycutt continues to receive accolades.
He is a third-team Capital One College Division Academic All-American.
Huneycutt posted a 3.98 GPA over his four years as a business major and was named to the Deanís List six times.
Huneycutt made a school-record 31 appearances this season and contributed nine saves.
n State Games baseball
Northwest Cabarrus pitcher Weston Smith, Robinson pitcher Brody Koerner and Mount Pleasant infielder Jake Kimble have been named to play for the Region 6 team in the State Games.
n Pro baseball
Wade Moore (West Rowan, Catawba) was placed on the restricted list by Hagerstown and is apparently serving a five-game suspension stemming from a confrontation with a rowdy fan in Greensboro.
Moore and the Suns will be in Kannapolis on Sunday, and weíll be able to get Mooreís side of the story.
n Jacksonís Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) went 2-for-3 with two RBIs on Thursday.
n The Kannapolis Intimidators were postponed in Greenville on Thursday. Theyíll play two games today, starting at 5 p.m.
n Prep baseball
Best-of-three baseball championship series are set to start tonight.
In the 4A West series, Southeast Guilford is at T.C Roberson.
In the 3A West series, Marvin Ridge is at South Point.
In the 2A West series, East Lincoln is at East Rutherford.
In the 1A West series, South Stanly will be at Murphy.
n Local golf
The Corbin Hills Ladies competed in their annual Grace Rodgers Spring Handicap Golf Tournament.
Winning with a low net score for the two-day event was Mary Seaford. Becky Isenhour finished second. Next were Kristi Laton and Susan Morris.
Winning low gross was Phyllis Durland. Beth Calhoun was second.
n Jayne Hubbard shot a 35 and finished first in the Womenís Golf Association Low Net Blind 9 tournament held at the Country Club of Salisbury.
Jo Shaw shot 39 for runner-up honors. Cindy Carmazzi finished at 42, with Blanche Glover at 43.
n Youth basketball
The Phenoms basketball team won the 5th Grade Division I state championship in Raleigh recently.
The Phenoms went 6-0 and beat the reigning state champs to capture the first state title for any of the Phenoms teams.
The Phenoms also have qualified for the USBA Nationals in North Myrtle Beach in July.
A championship photo of the Phenoms will be on an upcoming ěYour Sportsî page.