4-12-23 roundup: Pro basketball, baseball and soccer, High school baseball and softball, Middle school football, NASCAR
By Richard Walker
The Charlotte 49ers will host their annual Green-White football game on Saturday, April 22 at 7 p.m. at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
It’ll mark the initial spring game under new coach Biff Poggi and gates will open at 6 p.m. with free admission to any fans who want to attend.
Named head coach in November, Poggi’s roster includes 40 new players, including 15 transfers from power five schools and a total of 29 NCAA Division I transfers.
The 49ers revamped roster will help Charlotte make its debut in the American Athletic Conference this fall.
Poggi stresses physical play with a focus on controlling the line of scrimmage in order to establish the run on offense and limit the run on defense.
Among the players on the 49ers’ roster are redshirt junior linebacker Prince Bemah, a former Huss High standout.
The full 2023 Charlotte schedule is as follows with an asterisk (*) listed with AAC games:
Sept. 2 S.C. State
Sept. 9 at Maryland
Sept. 16 Georgia State
Sept. 23 at Florida
Sept. 30 at SMU*
Oct. 14 Navy*
Oct. 21 at East Carolina*
Oct. 27 Florida Atlantic*
Nov. 4 at Tulsa*
Nov. 11 Memphis*
Nov. 18 Rice*
Nov. 25 at South Florida*
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)
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 10, Bessemer City 0 (5 innings)
Cramer 10, Ashbrook 0 (5 innings)
(Tuesday, April 11 – semifinals)
North Gaston 11, South Point 10: C Bates (3 hits, 4 RBIs), W McSwain (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and C Gantt (5 1-3 innings, 1 earned run, 9 strikouts, win) led North Gaston.
East Gaston 10, Forestview 8
(Thursday, April 13 – consolations, final)
7th place- Bessemer City vs. Ashbrook, 11 a.m.
5th place- Highland Tech vs. Cramer, 1:30 p.m.
3rd place- South Point vs. Forestview, 4 p.m.
Final- North Gaston vs. East Gaston, 7 p.m.
Shelby Easter Tournament (at Shelby HS)
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Kings Mountain 7, Brevard 2
South Caldwell 9, Shelby 0
(Tuesday, April 11)
Burns 6, Piedmont 0
Crest 2, Bandys 1
(Wednesday, April 12-consolation)
Shelby 5, Brevard 1
Bandys 8, Piedmont 7
(Wednesday, April 12-semifinals)
Kings Mountain 4, South Caldwell 3
Burns 7, Crest 5
(Thursday, April 13)
7th place- Brevard vs. Piedmont, 11 a.m.
5th place- Shelby vs. Bandys, 1:30 p.m.
3rd place- South Caldwell vs. Crest, 4 p.m.
Final- Kings Mountain vs. Burns, 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)
Southwest Guilford 16, West Columbus 6 (5 innings)
Cherryville 15, Cornerstone Charter 1 (5 innings)
Pine Lake Prep 6, Cox Mill 4
West Brunswick 2, West Stanly 1
(Wednesday, April 12 – final round)
7th place- Cornerstone Charter 4, West Columbus 0
5th place- Cherryville 2, Southwest Guilford 0: Eli Newsome pitched a 2-hitter with 9 strikeouts for Cherryville.
3rd place- West Stanly 3, Cox Mill 1
Final- West Brunswick 9, Pine Lake Prep 1
Catawba County Easter Tournament (at Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds)
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Newton-Conover 12, Foard 8
St. Stephens 5, West Lincoln 1
Hickory 8, Hibriten 0
Alexander Central 15, Bunker Hill 5 (6 innings)
(Tuesday, April 11)
Foard 6, Hibriten 2
Bunker Hill 4, West Lincoln 3
Newton-Conover 2, St. Stephens 1
Alexander Central 14, Hickory 3 (5 innings)
(Wednesday, April 12)
3rd place- St. Stephens 10, Hickory 2
Final- Alexander Central 10, Newton-Conover 0 (6 innings)
Myrtle Beach Invitational (at Ripken Complex)
(Tuesday, April 11)
Maury, Va. 2, East Lincoln 1
(Wednesday, April 12)
East Lincoln def. Highland Regional, N.J.
North Lincoln 15, Sumter, S.C., Wilson Hall 0 (3 innings)
(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)
Maiden 10, West Caldwell 0 (5 innings)
East Burke vs. Freedom, no report
R-S Central 4, Lincoln Charter 3 (11 innings)
Draughn 9, Patton 4
(Wednesday, April 12)
3rd place- Lincoln Charter 18, Patton 7
Final- R-S Central 4, Draughn 1
Middle school football
Longtime area football coach Lamar Woods has been named head coach for Shelby Middle School. A 1983 Burns High graduate, Woods has been a football coach for 26 years, including the past 12 as a Shelby Middle School assistant coach.
Woods replaces Justin Bowden, who guided the Blue Devils to a 27-3 overall record the last four seasons with three straight league championships. Bowden left Shelby for an assistant coaching position at Charlotte’s Olympic High School.
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 14, South Point 2 (4 innings)
Forestview 15, South Point 0 (4 innings)
(Tuesday, April 11)
5th place- Cherryville 10, South Point 3
3rd place- Kings Mountain 7, Forestview 3
Final- Cramer 8, West Lincoln 0
Hibriten HS tournament
(Tuesday, April 11)
St. Stephens 6, Burns 5
West Caldwell 6, Burns 5
(Wednesday, April 12)
Burns 21, Hibriten 6 (6 innings): Sayge Strange (7 strikeouts, double, 3 RBIs), Peyton Cook (3 hits, double, 4 RBIs) and Hunter Morgan (1 hit, 4 RBIs) led Burns.
(Wednesday, April 12)
Crest 8, Mooresville 5
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 – Atlanta 116-105
Game 2- West No. 8 Minnesota at West No. 7 L.A. Lakers – L.A. Lakers 108-102 (OT)
(Wednesday, April 12)
Game 3- East No. 10 Chicago at East No. 9 Toronto – Chicago 109-105
Game 4- West No. 10 Oklahoma City at West No. 9 New Orleans – Oklahoma City 123-118
(Friday, April 14)
East No. 10 Chicago at East No. 7 Miami, 7 p.m. (TNT)
West No. 10 Oklahoma City at West No. 8 Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
The first round NBA playoffs schedule opening games:
(Saturday, April 15)
East No. 6 Brooklyn at East No. 3 Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
East No. 7 Atlanta 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)
West No. 7 L.A. Lakers at West No. 2 Memphis, 3 p.m. (ABC)
East No. 8 at East No. 1 Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m. (TNT)
West No. 5 L.A. Clippers at West No. 4 Phoenix, 8 p.m. (TNT)
West No. 8 at West No. 1 Denver, 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
Pro baseball
Jacksonville 3, Charlotte 1: Victor Reyes had two hits for the Knights and Yolbert Sanchez had a RBI double for the Knights in a home loss. The third game of the 6-game series is at 7:04 p.m. at Charlotte’s Truist Field.
Also on Wednesday, the Knights sent 2015 South Point High graduate Garrett Davila to Class AA Birmingham. Davila had been added to the Charlotte roster last weekend.
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