4-8-23 roundup: Pro basketball, soccer, golf and baseball, High school baseball and softball, College volleyball, Middle school baseball and soccer, NASCAR

By Richard Walker

Former South Point High standout Garrett Davila will be making a homecoming for a stop that has him one step away from the major leagues.

Davila, a 2015 South Point High graduate, was promoted by the Chicago White Sox organization from Class AA Birmingham to Class AAA Charlotte on Saturday.

A 4th-round major league draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 2015, Davila is a left-handed pitcher who has appeared in 127 games (62 starts) with a 34-27 record with seven saves and a 4.82 ERA in his 6-year minor league career.

The 2015 Big South Conference player of the year, Davila has pitched for Rookie League Burlington in 2016, Class A Lexington in 2017 and 2018, Class A Quad Cities in 2021, Class AA Northwest Arkansas in 2022 and Class AA Birmingham in 2022. He’s helped Lexington win the 2018 South Atlantic League title and Northwest Arkansas with the Central title.

Pro golf

Former Forestview High standout Harold Varner III completed 13 holes on Saturday before rains forced a postponement of the third round of The Masters to early Sunday in Augusta, Ga.

He’ll enter Sunday’s resumption of the tournament tied for 47th at 4-over par.

A 2008 Forestview High graduate, Varner is msking his second appearance in the PGA’s most prestigious tournament; He shot a three-over-par 291 to finish tied for 23rd in the 2022 event.

College beach volleyball

Gaston College’s beach volleyball program set school history by becoming the first team in program history to qualify for National Junior College Athletic Association national championships on Friday.

The 2023 NJCAA championships will be held April 20 to 22 at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares, Fla.

To make their historic appearance, Gaston College coach Rachel Noreika’s team won a pair of nailbiting matches at Friday’s Region 10 championships at Sandhills Community College in Southern Pines. The Rhinos defeated Wake Tech 3-2, lost to eventual Region 10 champion Richard Bland 5-0 before edging Bryant & Stratton, Va., 3-2 in the 3rd place match.

High school baseball

Here are the area’s standings with conference record, overall record through games of April 6:

Big South 3A
Kings Mountain 8-0, 11-2
Crest 8-0, 10-4
South Point 6-2, 8-5
North Gaston 5-3, 9-5
Cramer 3-5, 9-5
Forestview 2-6, 4-10
Ashbrook 0-8, 1-13
Huss 0-8, 0-10

Southern Piedmont 1A/2A
Burns 7-1, 13-2
Cherryville 7-1, 11-3
Shelby 5-3, 8-6
East Gaston 5-4, 9-5
Highland Tech 3-5, 8-7
Bessemer City 1-7, 5-11
Thomas Jefferson 1-8, 3-8

Western Foothills 3A
Hickory 7-1, 12-1
St. Stephens 6-2, 11-3
Foard 5-3, 9-3
North Lincoln 5-3, 7-6
North Iredell 4-4, 8-6
East Lincoln 3-4, 6-6
West Iredell 1-7, 5-8
Statesville 0-7, 0-10

Catawba Valley 2A
Maiden 9-1, 10-4
Bandys 8-2, 9-5
West Lincoln 6-4, 9-7
East Burke 6-4, 6-6
Bunker Hill 5-5, 7-7
Newton-Conover 4-6, 4-9
Lincolnton 2-8, 4-11
West Caldwell 0-10, 0-15

Catawba Shores 1A/2A
Lincoln Charter 6-0, 9-4
Comm Sch of Davidson 7-1, 9-6
Christ the King 6-1, 9-4
Langtree Charter 2-5, 4-10
Pine Lake Prep 2-5, 3-11
Mtn Island Charter 2-7, 2-10
Bradford Prep 0-6, 0-11

Others
Gaston Christian 6-7
Gaston Day 3-7
Piedmont CC 6-5

-Easter holiday high school baseball tournament schedules

Gaston County Baseball Tournament (at Sims Legion Park, Gastonia)
Host: East Gaston
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Highland Tech vs. North Gaston, 11 a.m.
Bessemer City vs. South Point, 1:30 p.m.
Forestview vs. Ashbrook, 4 p.m.
Cramer vs. East Gaston, 7 p.m.
(Tuesday, April 11 – consolation)
10 a.m., 1 p.m. April 10 losers, 11 a.m.
4 p.m, 7 p.m. April 10 losers, 1:30 p.m.
(Tuesday, April 11 – semifinals)
10 a.m., 1 p.m. April 10 winners, 4 p.m.
4 p.m, 7 p.m. April 10 winner, 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)
Brevard vs. Kings Mountain, 4 p.m.
South Caldwell vs. Shelby, 7 p.m.
(Tuesday, April 11)
Piedmont vs. Burns, 4 p.m.
Bandys vs. Crest, 7 p.m.
(Wednesday, April 12)
Monday losers, 11 a.m.
Tuesday losers, 1:30 p.m.
Monday winners, 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)
West Columbus vs. Pine Lake Prep, 11 a.m.
Cox Mill vs. Southwest Guilford, 1:30 p.m.
Cherryville vs. West Stanly, 4 p.m.
West Brunswick vs. Cornerstone Charter, 6:30 p.m.

Catawba County Easter Tournament (at Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds)
(Monday, April 10 – first round)
Foard vs. West Lincoln, 11 a.m.
St. Stephens vs. Bunker Hill, 1:30 p.m.
Alexander Central vs. Newton-Conover, 4 p.m.
Hibriten vs. Hickory, 6:30 p.m.
(Tuesday, April 11)
Consolations and semifinals
(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.

High school softball

Here are the area’s standings with conference record, overall record through games of April 6:

Big South 3A
Crest 8-0, 11-3
North Gaston 6-2, 10-3
Kings Mountain 6-2, 7-4
Cramer 5-3, 7-7
Forestview 3-4, 7-5
South Point 1-6, 3-10
Ashbrook 1-7, 2-10
Huss 0-6, 0-8

Southern Piedmont 1A/2A
Burns 8-0, 11-3
Cherryville 6-2, 11-3
Highland Tech 6-2, 9-4
East Gaston 5-4, 6-8
Shelby 2-6, 5-9
Bessemer City 2-6, 4-10
Thomas Jefferson 0-9, 0-11

Western Foothills 3A
Foard 7-1, 9-3
East Lincoln 6-1, 10-1
North Lincoln 6-2, 7-7
North Iredell 5-3, 9-4
St. Stephens 3-5, 4-9
West Iredell 3-5, 3-6
Hickory 1-7, 1-13
Statesville 0-7, 0-7

Catawba Valley 2A
Maiden 10-0, 14-1
Bandys 9-2, 13-2
West Caldwell 6-4, 11-5
West Lincoln 5-4, 8-6
East Burke 4-6, 6-7
Lincolnton 3-7, 6-10
Bunker Hill 2-7, 3-8
Newton-Conover 0-10, 0-10

Catawba Shores 1A/2A
Lincoln Charter 6-0, 9-3
Pine Lake Prep 5-2, 6-7
Mtn Isl Charter 4-6, 6-6
Bradford Prep 2-1, 2-3
Christ the King 0-5, 0-7
Langtree Charter 0-7, 0-13

Others
Gaston Christian 3-8
Piedmont CC 6-5

-This week’s games:

South Point HS tournament
(Monday, April 10)
Cherryville vs. Cramer, 9 a.m.
Kings Mountain vs. Cherryville, 11 a.m.
Kings Mountain vs. Cramer, 1 p.m.
Forestview vs. West Lincoln, 3 p.m.
West Lincoln vs. South Point, 5 p.m.
Forestview vs. South Point, 7 p.m.
(Tuesday, April 11)
5th place game, 1 p.m.
3rd place game, 4 p.m.
Final, 7 p.m.

(Wednesday, April 12)
Crest at Mooresville

Middle school baseball

Standings through games of April 6:
Belmont 6-0
Chavis 5-0
Stanley 5-1
Cramerton 4-1
Mount Holly 4-1
W.C. Friday 3-2
Holbrook 1-4
Bessemer City 1-5
York Chester 1-5
Grier 0-5
Southwest 0-6

(April 17 games)
Chavis at Belmont, Cramerton at York Chester, W.C. Friday at Stanley, Grier at Southwest, Holbrook at Mount Holly

Middle school girls soccer

Standings through games of April 6:
Belmont 6-0
Stanley 5-1
Cramerton 4-1
W.C. Friday 4-1
Mount Holly 4-1
Chavis 3-2
Grier 2-3
Holbrook 2-3
Bessemer City 0-6
Southwest 0-6
York Chester 0-6

(April 17 games)
Chavis at Belmont, Cramerton at York Chester, W.C. Friday at Stanley, Grier at Southwest, Holbrook at Mount Holly

Pro basketball

Here’s the 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets schedule:

(26-55 record)
October
19 at San Antonio (W 129-102)
21 New Orleans (L 112-124)
23 at Atlanta (W 126-109)
26 at New York (L 131-134, OT)
28 at Orlando (L 93-113)
29 Golden State (W 120-113, OT)
31 Sacramento (L 108-115)
November
2 at Chicago (L 88-106)
4 at Memphis (L 99-130)
5 Brooklyn (L 94-98)
7 Washington (L 100-108)
9 Portland (L 95-105)
10 at Miami (L 112-117, OT)
12 at Miami (L 115-132)
14 at Orlando (W 112-105)
16 Indiana (L 113-125)
18 at Cleveland (L 122-132, 2 OT)
20 at Washington (L 102-106)
23 Philadelphia (W 107-101)
25 Minnesota (W 110-108)
28 at Boston (L 105-140)
December
2 Washington (W 117-116)
3 Milwaukee (L 96-105)
5 L.A. Clippers (L 117-119)
7 at Brooklyn (L 116-122)
9 New York (L 102-121)
11 at Philadelphia (L 113-131)
14 Detroit (L 134-141, OT)
16 Atlanta (L 106-125)
18 at Denver (L 115-119)
19 at Sacramento (W 125-119)
21 at L.A. Clippers (L 105-126)
23 at L.A. Lakers (W 134-130)
26 at Portland (L 113-124)
27 at Golden State (L 105-110)
29 Oklahoma City (W 121-113)
31 Brooklyn (L 106-123)
January
2 L.A. Lakers (L 115-121)
4 Memphis (L 107-131)
6 at Milwaukee (W 138-109)
8 at Indiana (L 111-116)
10 at Toronto (L 120-132)
12 at Toronto (L 114-124)
14 Boston (L 106-122)
16 Boston (L 118-130)
18 at Houston (W 122-117)
21 at Atlanta (W 122-118)
23 at Utah (L 102-120)
24 at Phoenix (L 97-128)
26 Chicago (W 111-96)
29 Miami (W 122-117)
31 at Milwaukee (L 115-124)
February
2 at Chicago (L 98-114)
3 at Detroit (L 112-118)
5 Orlando (L 113-119)
8 at Washington (L 104-118)
10 at Boston (L 116-127)
11 Denver (L 105-119)
13 Atlanta (W 144-138)
15 San Antonio (W 120-110)
24 at Minnesota (W 121-113)
25 Miami (W 108-103)
27 Detroit (W 117-106)
March
1 Phoenix (L 91-105)
3 Orlando (L 106-117)
5 at Brooklyn (L 86-102)
7 at New York (W 112-105)
9 at Detroit (W 113-103)
11 Utah (L 111-119)
12 Cleveland (L 114-118)
14 Cleveland (L 104-120)
17 Philadelphia (L 82-121)
20 Indiana (W 115-109)
23 at New Orleans (L 96-115)
24 at Dallas (W 117-109)
26 Dallas (W 110-104)
28 at Oklahoma City (W 137-134)
31 Chicago (L 91-121)
April
2 Toronto (L 108-128)
4 Toronto (L 100-120)
7 Houston (L 109-112)
9 at Cleveland, 1 p.m.

Pro baseball

Charlotte 8, Columbus 2: Shortstop Lenyn Sosa had two hits and four RBIs as the Knights improved to 4-4 in the fifth game of a 6-game series at Columbus. The series finale is Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

Pro soccer

Here is Charlotte FC’s full 2023 schedule:

(1-3-2 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, 9:30 p.m.
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

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, 7 p.m. on FOX
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