4-10-23 roundup: Pro basketball, baseball and soccer, High school baseball and softball, College basketball, NASCAR

By Richard Walker

Fifteen area products are on major leagues or minor league rosters this spring highlighted by three major leaguers.

Pagan, who played for Gardner-Webb (2010-11) and Belmont Abbey (2012-13) is a reliever for the Minnesota Twins.

Springs, a 2011 South Point High graduate, is a starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays.

And Burleson, a 2017 East Lincoln High graduate, is an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Twelves others are in the minor leagues.

Will Wilson, a 2016 Kings Mountain High graduate, is an infielder for the Class AAA Sacramento River Cats of the San Francisco Giants’ organization.

Tyler White, a former Gastonia Post 23 American Legion player, is an infielder for the Class AAA St. Paul Saints of the Minnesota Twins’ organization.

Garrett Davila, a 2015 South Point High graduate, is a pitcher for the Class AAA Charlotte Knights of the Chicago White Sox organization.

Mason Fox, who played for Gardner-Webb (2016-18), is a pitcher for the Class AAA El Paso Chihuahuas of the San Diego Padres’ organization.

Chandler Redmond, who played for Gardner-Webb (2916-19), is an outfielder for the Class AA Springfield Cardinals of the St. Louis Cardinals’ organizaton.

Blake Brown, a 2016 North Gaston High graduate, is a pitcher for the Class AA Reading Fightin Phils

Jeremy Walker, who played for Gardner-Webb (2014-16), is a pitcher for the Class AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs of the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization.

Mason Miller, who played for Gardner-Webb (2021), is a pitcher for the Class AA Midland RockHounds of the Oakland Athletics’ organization.

Isaiah Lowe, a 2022 Combine Academy graduate from Shelby, is a pitcher for the Class A Lake Elsinore Storm of the San Diego Padres’ organization.

C.J. Mayhue, a 2019 Crest High graduate, is a pitcher for the Rookie League Los Angeles Angels of the Arizona Complex League.

Connor Godwin, a 2021 Combine Academy graduate, is a pitcher for the Rookie League Los Angeles Dodgers of the Arizona Complex League.

And Ben Gobbel, who played for Belmont Abbey (2019-22), is a shortstop for the Class A Inland Empire 66ers of the Los Angeles Angeles’ organization.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College athletics

Former Gardner-Webb women’s basketball player Sherika A. Montgomery was named Big South Conference Commissioner on Monday following a national search.

Montgomery, who played at G-W from 2007 to 2010, earned her bachelor of science degree in sports management in 2009 and a master’s degree in sports science in 2011. While playing with the Runnin’ Bulldogs, she was a member of the 2010 Big South Conference regular season championship squad that posted a 28-5 record.

She will begin her new role on May 15 by replacing future Big South Hall of Famer Kyle Kallander, who is retiring after 27 years in the position. Montgomery becomes the league’s fourth commissioner in its history that began in 1983.

Montgomery joins the Big South from the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), where she was appointed Deputy Commissioner this past year. She joined the MVC staff in the summer of 2021 as Associate Commissioner and Senior Woman Administrator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College basketball

Burns’ Mya Cosby has committed to play at Virginia Wesleyan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school baseball

-Easter holiday high school baseball tournament schedules/results:

Gaston County Baseball Tournament (at Sims Legion Park, Gastonia)
Host: East Gaston
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
North Gaston 10, Highland Tech 0 (5 innings): Caleb Cloninger (4 innings, 5 strikeouts) and Wyatt McSwain (1 inning, 3 strikeouts) combined on a no-hitter and Chase Gantt (3 hits, triple, 4 RBIs), Ashton Pope (2 hits, double, 2 RBIs), Caleb Bates (2 hits, 1 RBI), Houston Rector (2 hits) and Carter Wright (2 hits) led the North Gaston offense.

South Point 15, Bessemer City 1 (5 innings)

Forestview 11, Ashbrook 6

East Gaston 2, Cramer 1 (9 innings)

(Tuesday, April 11 – consolation)
Highland Tech vs. Bessemer City, 11 a.m.
Ashbrook vs. Cramer, 1:30 p.m.
(Tuesday, April 11 – semifinals)
North Gaston vs. South Point, 4 p.m.
Forestview vs. East Gaston, 7 p.m.
(Thursday, April 13 – consolations, final)
7th place, 11 a.m.
5th place, 1:30 p.m.
3rd place, 4 p.m.
Final, 7 p.m.

Shelby Easter Tournament (at Shelby HS)
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Kings Mountain 7, Brevard 2

South Caldwell def. Shelby

(Tuesday, April 11)
Piedmont vs. Burns, 4 p.m.
Bandys vs. Crest, 7 p.m.
(Wednesday, April 12)
Brevard vs. Shelby, 11 a.m.
Tuesday losers, 1:30 p.m.
Kings Mountain vs. South Caldwell, 4 p.m.
Tuesday winners, 7 p.m.
(Thursday, April 13)
7th place, 11 a.m.
5th place, 1:30 p.m.
3rd place, 4 p.m.
Final, 7 p.m.

Beach Diamond Invitational (at West Brunswick HS)
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Pine Lake Prep 6, West Columbus 2

Cox Mill 14, Southwest Guilford 7

West Stanly 6, Cherryville 1

West Brunswick 8, Cornerstone Charter 3

(Tuesday, April 11 – second round)
West Columbus vs. Southwest Guilford
Cherryville vs. Cornerstone Charter
Pine Lake Prep vs. Cox Mill
West Stanly vs. West Brunswick

(Wednesday, April 12 – final round)

Catawba County Easter Tournament (at Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds)
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Newton-Conover def. Foard

St. Stephens 5, West Lincoln 1

Hickory 8, Hibriten 0

Alexander Central 15, Bunker Hill 5 (6 innings)

(Tuesday, April 11)
Foard vs. Hibriten, 11 a.m.
West Lincoln vs. Bunker Hill, 1:30 p.m.
Newton-Conover vs. Hickory, 4 p.m.
St. Stephens vs. Alexander Central, 6:30 p.m.
(Wednesday, April 12)
Third place, 4 p.m.
Final, 6:30 p.m.

Myrtle Beach Invitational (at Ripken Complex)
(Tuesday, April 11)
East Lincoln vs. Maury, Va., 4 p.m.
(Wednesday, April 12)
East Lincoln vs. Highland Regional, N.J., 9 p.m.
North Lincoln vs. Sumter, S.C., Wilson Hall, 6:30 p.m.
(Thursday, April 13)
North Lincoln vs. Leonardtown, Md., St. Mary’s Ryken, 8:30 a.m.
East Lincoln vs. Bowling Green, Ohio, 11 a.m.
(Friday, April 14)
North Lincoln vs. Bay Village, Ohio, 11 a.m.

Tony Causby Classic (at Patton)
(Monday, April 10)
R-S Central 10, West Caldwell 0

Lincoln Charter 5, Maiden 4

Draughn 10, East Burke 1

Patton 6, Freedom 1

(Tuesday, April 11)
West Caldwell vs. Maiden, 11 a.m.
East Burke vs. Freedom, 2 p.m.
R-S Central vs. Lincoln Charter, 4:30 p.m.
Draughn vs. Patton, 7:30 p.m.
(Wednesdsay, April 12)
3rd day games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school softball

-This week’s games:

South Point HS tournament
(Monday, April 10)
Cramer 8, Cherryville 6

Kings Mountain 10, Cherryville 0

Cramer 8, Kings Mountain 3

West Lincoln 3, Forestview 2

West Lincoln def. South Point

Forestview def. South Point

(Tuesday, April 11)
5th place game – Cherryville vs. South Point, 1 p.m.
3rd place game – Forestview vs. Kings Mountain, 4 p.m.
Final – Cramer vs. West Lincoln, 7 p.m.

(Wednesday, April 12)
Crest at Mooresville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

Here is Charlotte FC’s full 2023 schedule:

(1-4-2 record)
Feb. 25 New England Revolution (L 0-1)
March 4 at St. Louis City SC (L 1-3)
March 11 Atlanta United FC (L 0-3)
March 18 at Orlando City SC (W 2-1)
March 25 New York Red Bulls (T 1-1)
April 1 at Toronto FC (T 2-2)
April 8 at Real Salt Lake (L 1-3)
April 15 Colorado Rapids, 7:30 p.m.
April 22 Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.
April 29 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
May 6 New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
May 13 at Atlanta United FC, 7:30 p.m.
May 17 Chicago Fire FC, 7:30 p.m.
May 20 Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m.
May 27 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
May 31 at Philadelphia Union, 7:30 0.m.
June 3 at Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.
June 10 Seattle Sounders FC, 7:30 p.m.
June 21 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
June 24 CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 5 at New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
July 8 FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
July 15 at CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 20 at Inter Miami CF, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 26 L.A. FC, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 30 Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2 at Nashville SC, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 at FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 30 at New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7 at Chicago Fire FC, 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 Inter Miami CF, TBD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

The NBA play-in tournament games:

(Tuesday, April 11)
Game 1- East No. 8 Atlanta at East No. 7 Miami, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Game 2- West No. 8 Minnesota at West No. 7 L.A. Lakers, 10 p.m. (TNT)

(Wednesday, April 12)
Game 3- East No. 10 Chicago at East No. 9 Toronto, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4- West No. 10 Oklahoma City at West No. 9 New Orleans, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

(Friday, April 14)
Winner Game 3 at Loser Game 1, 7 or 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Winner Game 4 at Loser Game 2, 9:30 or 10 p.m. (ESPN)

The first round NBA playoffs schedule opening games:

(Saturday, April 15)
East No. 6 Boston at East No. 3 Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
East No. 7 at East No. 2 Boston, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
East No. 5 New York at East No. 4 Cleveland, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
West No. 6 Golden State at West No. 3 Sacramento, 8:30 p.m. (ABC)

(Sunday, April 16 – times and network TBD)
East No. 8 at East No. 1 Milwaukee
West No. 8 at West No. 1 Denver
West No. 7 at West No. 2 Memphis
West No. 5 L.A. Clippers at West No. 4 Phoenix

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auto racing

The 2023 NASCAR schedule (with winners in parentheses):

Feb 5 Clash at The Coliseum, Los Angeles CA (Martin Truex, Jr.)
Feb 16 Duel No. 1, Daytona Beach FL (Joey Logano)
Feb 16 Duel No. 2, Daytona Beach FL (Aric Almirola)
Feb 19 Daytona 500, Daytona Beach FL (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.)
Feb 26 NASCAR Cup Series at California, Fontana CA (Kyle Busch)
Mar 5 NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, Las Vegas NV (William Byron)
Mar 12 NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix, Avondale AZ (William Byron-2)
Mar 19 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, Hampton GA (Joey Logano-2)
Mar 26 NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of the Americas, Austin TX (Tyler Reddick)
Apr 2 NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond, Richmond VA (Kyle Larson)
Apr 9 NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol, Bristol TN (Christopher Bell)
Apr 16 NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville, Martinsville VA, 3 p.m. on FS1
Apr 23 NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega, Lincoln AL, 3 p.m. on FOX
Apr 30 NASCAR Cup Series at Dover, Dover DE, 2 p.m. on FS1
May 7 NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas, Kansas City KS, 3 p.m. on FS1
May 14 NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington, Darlington SC, 3 p.m. on FS1
May 21 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open Race, North Wilkesboro NC, 6 p.m. on FS1
May 21 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race, North Wilkesboro NC, 8 p.m. on FS1
May 28 NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte, Concord NC, 6 p.m. at FOX
Jun 4 NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison IL, 3:30 p.m. on FS1
Jun 11 NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma, Sonoma CA, 3:30 p.m. on FOX
Jun 25 NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville, Lebanon TN, 7 p.m. on NBC
Jul 2 NASCAR Cup Series at Chicago, Chicago IL, 5:30 p.m. on NBC
Jul 9 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, Hampton GA, 7 p.m. on USA
Jul 16 NASCAR Cup Series at New Hampshire, Loudon NH, 2:30 p.m. on USA
Jul 23 NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono, Long Pond PA, 2:30 p.m. on USA
Jul 30 NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond, Richmond VA, 3 p.m. on USA
Aug 6 NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan, Brooklyn MI, 2:30 p.m. on USA
Aug 13 NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Road Course, Speedway IN, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Aug 20 NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen NY, 3 p.m. on USA
Aug 26 NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona, Daytona Beach FL, 7 p.m. on NBC

(Cup Playoffs)
Sep 3 NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington, Darlington SC, 6 p.m. on USA
Sep 10 NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas, Kansas City KS, 3 p.m. on USA
Sep 16 NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol, Bristol TN, 7:30 p.m. on USA
Sep 24 NASCAR Cup Series at Texas, Fort Worth TX, 3:30 p.m. on USA
Oct 1 NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega, Lincoln AL, 2 p.m. on NBC
Oct 8 NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte, Concord NC, 2 p.m. on NBC
Oct 15 NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, Las Vegas NV, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Oct 22 NASCAR Cup Series at Miami, Homestead FL, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
Oct 29 NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville, Martinsville, 2 p.m. on NBC
Nov 5 NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix, Avondale AZ, 3 p.m. on NBC