6-29-26 roundup: Pro football, basketball, baseball, auto racing, soccer and rodeo, Legion baseball, High school athletics
By Richard Walker
Cherryville American Legion Post 100 pitcher Collin Chappel made history and moved his team closer to a divisional title in Monday’s 15-0, 5-inning victory over Shelby at Fraley Field.
Chappel, who retired 15 of 17 batters, threw the 22nd no-hitter in Gaston County Legion baseball history – and fourth in Post 100 history.
The last Gaston County no-hitter was Gastonia’s Jackson Livingston last season and the previous Cherryville no-hitters were thrown by Stan Crisson (1957), Ronnie Hovis (1959) and Chris Mason (2002).
The win moves Cherryville (14-4, 12-1) within one win or one Shelby (13-6, 10-3) loss of winning their N.C. Area IV-best 26th regular season championship. Cherryville has three games left in its regular season; Post 100 visits Shelby on Tuesday night and Gastonia on Thursday and also has an unscheduled resumption of a suspended game at Caldwell County to be finished.
In Monday’s victory, Post 100 scored in each of the four innings in which it batted and was led by Nate Rollins (3 hits, home run, 1 RBI), Tucker Sigmon (3 hits, 2 home runs, 4 RBIs), Cason McGinnis (2 hits, triple, 1 RBI), Elliott Dellinger (2 hits, double, 1 RBI), Adam Rogers (2 hits, double, 1 RBI), Preston Henson (2 hits, triple, 1 RBI) and Tyler Gates (2 hits, 2 RBIs).
Recent area schedule/results:
x-non division games
Monday, June 22
Shelby vs. Gaston Braves (at East Gaston) – Shelby 17-16
Tuesday, June 23
Asheville at Gastonia – Asheville 13-1 in 5, Gastonia 6-4
Cherryville at Rutherford County – Cherryville 11-0 in 5
Shelby at Caldwell County – Shelby 15-11
Wednesday, June 24
Gastonia at Cherryville – Cherryville 11-3
Shelby at Asheville – Asheville 10-5
Thursday, June 25
Gaston Braves at Asheville – GBraves 11-2
Rutherford County at Shelby – Shelby 2-1
Friday, June 26
Burke County at Shelby – Shelby 10-0 in 5
Gaston Braves at Cherryville – Cherryville 7-1
Gastonia at Hickory – Hickory 4-2
Saturday, June 27
Cherryville at Burke County – Cherryville 10-0 in 6
Sunday, June 28
Asheville at Cherryville – Cherryville 8-6
Gaston Braves at Burke County – GBraves 15-0 in 6
Gastonia at Caldwell County – Caldwell 8-3
Hickory at Shelby – Shelby 7-2
Monday, June 29
Shelby at Cherryville
Tuesday, June 30
Asheville vs. Gaston Braves (at East Gaston)
Cherryville at Shelby
Gastonia at Burke County
Wednesday July 1
x-Anderson, S.C. at Shelby
Caldwell County at Burke County
Shelby at Rutherford County
Thursday, July 2
Caldwell County at Asheville
Hickory at Cherryville
Shelby at Gastonia
-END REGULAR SEASON
High school athletics
North Lincoln is one of eight champions for the 2025-26 N.C. High School Athletic Association Wells Fargo Cup Champions that honor all-sports excellence.
North Lincoln won the 5A classification title and joins N.C. School of Science and Math-Morganton (1A), Community School of Davidson (2A), Pine Lake Prep (3A), Lake Norman Charter (4A), Charlotte Catholic (6A), Cardinal Gibbons (7A) and Hoggard (8A).
State cup points are earned for top eight finishes and playoffs qualifications relative to a school’s own classification. Schools accumulate points through each academic year’s fall, winter, and spring seasons.
The final leaders of each classification:
(8A)
Hoggard (Wilmington) – 655
Myers Park (Charlotte) – 635
Broughton (Raleigh) – 480
Ardrey Kell (Charlotte) – 452.5
Pinecrest (Southern Pines) – 450
(7A)
Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh) – 875
Marvin Ridge (Waxhaw) – 842.5
Weddington (Matthews) – 570
Cuthbertson (Waxhaw) – 495
Chapel Hill – 425
(6A)
Charlotte Catholic – 655
Watauga – 580
East Chapel Hill – 515
Northern Guilford – 507.5
Middle Creek (Apex) – 450.83
(5A)
North Lincoln – 580
Seaforth (Pittsboro) – 467.5
Croatan (Newport) – 465
Hickory – 410
Orange – 375
(4A)
Lake Norman Charter (Huntersville) – 697.5
First Flight (Kill Devil Hills) – 597.5
Carrboro – 565
Lincoln Charter – 392.5
West Stokes – 342.5
(3A)
Pine Lake Preparatory (Mooresville) – 825
NCSSM-Durham – 485
Union Academy (Monroe) – 467.5
Northwood (Pittsboro) – 427.5
Wake Preparatory – 395
(2A)
Community School of Davidson – 550
Christ The King (Huntersville) – 500
Bishop McGuinness (Kernersville) – 485
Mountain Island Charter (Mount Holly) – 417.5
Corvian Community (Charlotte) – 295
(1A)
NCSSM-Morganton – 572.5
Thomas Jefferson Classical (Mooresboro) – 537.5
Robbinsville – 485
NC Leadership Academy (Kernersville) – 422
Northside (Pinetown) – 377.5
Pro basketball
The Charlotte Hornets released their 2026 Las Vegas Summer League schedule:
July 9 Orlando Magic (7:30 PM ET, Prime)
July 11 New Orleans (4 PM ET, ESPN)
July 12 Boston Celtics (5 PM ET, ESPN2)
July 15 Milwaukee Bucks (7:30 PM ET, Prime)
Pro soccer
The 2026 Charlotte FC schedule:
(6-6-3 record)
Saturday, Feb. 21 at St. Louis (T 1-1)
Saturday, Feb. 28 at L.A. Galaxy (L 0-3)
Saturday, March 7 Austin (W 3-1)
Saturday, March 14 Miami (T 0-0)
Saturday, March 21 New York Red Bulls (W 6-1)
Saturday, Apr. 4 Philadelphia (W 2-1)
Saturday, Apr. 11 Nashville (L 1-2)
Saturday, Apr. 18 at New York (W 2-1)
Wednesday, Apr. 22 at Orlando (L 1-4)
Saturday, Apr. 25 at Nashville (L 2-4)
Saturday, May 2 at New England (L 0-1)
Saturday, May 9 Cincinnati (T 2-2)
Wednesday, May 13 New York (L 0-1)
Saturday, May 16 Toronto (W 3-1)
Saturday, May 23 New England (W 1-0)
Wednesday, July 22 Atlanta, 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 25 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 1 at Chicago, 8:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 15 Columbus, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Aug. 19 at Toronto, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 22 DC, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 29 at Atlanta, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 5 Houston, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Montreal, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 12 at Cincinnati, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 19 at DC, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 26 Chicago, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 10 Dallas, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Columbus, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 17 at Philadelphia, 2:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 24 at Portland, 10:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 28 Montreal, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 31 Orlando, 1:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 7 at Miami, 4:00 PM
(U.S. Open Cup)
Wednesday, Apr. 15 Charlotte Independence (W 6-0)
…at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex
Tuesday, Apr. 28 Atlanta United FC (L 0-2)
…at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex
Pro football
Here is the Panthers’ full 2026 schedule:
(preseason)
Aug. 6 – Arizona (at Canton, Ohio), 8 p.m.
Aug. 15 – at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Aug. 21 – at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 – Houston, 7 p.m.
(regular season)
Sept. 13 – Chicago, 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 – at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 – at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 – Detroit, 8:20 p.m.
Oct. 8-12 – BYE week
Oct. 18 – at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 25 – Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Oct. 29 – at Green Bay, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 8 – Denver, 1 p.m.
Nov. 15 – at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 – Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Nov. 30 – at Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m.
Dec. 6 – at Minnesota, 4:25 p.m.
Dec. 13 – New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 – Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Dec. 24-28 TBA – at Pittsburgh, TBA
Jan. 3 – Seattle, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9-10 TBA – Atlanta, TBA
Pro baseball
After taking Monday off, the Knights begin a six-game series at Memphis that begins Tuesday at 8:05 p.m.
Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2026 schedule:
(44-37 record, 42-33 1st half, 2-4 2nd half)
-1st half
March 27-29 Durham 3-0 (W 19-2, W 2-1 in 11, W 4-3)
March 31-April 5 at Nashville 1-4 (L 3-7, W 9-3, L 0-4, L 6-7, ppd, L 5-7)
April 7-12 Memphis 3-3 (L 4-9, W 7-3, L 1-4, W 9-8 in 10, L 4-6, W 13-4)
April 14-19 at Jacksonville 2-4 (L 0-3, L 2-3, L 3-5, L 1-4, W 2-0, W 9-4)
April 21-26 Nashville 4-3 (L 1-5, W 9-4, W 3-2 in 10, W 11-9, L 5-12, W 16-6, L 1-5)
April 28-May 3 Gwinnett 3-3 (L 7-10, W 10-9, L 5-9, L 3-4, W 21-1, W 10-9)
May 5-10 at Jacksonville 3-3 (W 5-3, L 6-8, W 16-1, W 8-5, L 5-6, L 1-6)
May 12-17 Norfolk 3-3 (L 6-9, L 8-9, W 4-1, W 4-1, L 10-11, W 15-3)
May 19-24 at Gwinnett 4-2 (W 5-4, W 4-3, L 3-7, W 4-3 in 10, L 1-5, W 3-2)
May 26-31 Jacksonville 3-3 (W 4-0, susp, L 3-6, W 12-5, W 12-4, L 6-15, L 5-6)
June 2-7 at Durham 6-0 (W 6-1, W 18-7, W 11-6, W 4-3, W 7-5, W 12-5)
June 9-14 Oklahoma City 3-3 (L 3-6, L 1-10, W 9-8, W 12-7, L 7-11, W 4-3)
June 16-21 at Buffalo 4-2 (L 5-9, W 5-1, W 4-0, W 10-5, L 2-4, W 5-0)
-2nd half
June 23-28 Rochester 2-4 (L 9-10, W 10-2, W 7-6 in 11, L 2-6, L 1-3, L 4-9)
June 30-July 5 at Memphis
July 7-12 Nashville
July 17-19 at Durham
July 21-26 Norfolk
July 28-August 2 at Nashville
August 4-9 Durham
August 11-16 at Rochester
August 18-23 at Scranton-WB
August 25-30 Memphis
September 1-6 at Gwinnett
September 8-13 Buffalo
September 15-20 at Norfolk
Here is the full Gastonia Ghost Peppers’ 2026 schedule:
(39-21 record, 39-21 1st half, 0-0 2nd half)
-1st half
April 21-23 at High Point 1-2 (W 3-1, L 5-6, L 0-5)
April 24-26 High Point 3-0 (W 4-3, W 18-8, W 9-2)
April 28-May 3 at York 4-2 (W 14-2, ppd, W 2-1, W 5-4, L 4-5, W 10-2, L 3-9)
May 5-10 Southern Maryland 1-5 (L 2-3, L 11-18, L 2-12, L 4-5, W 7-3, L 1-14)
May 12-17 at Long Island 3-3 (L 3-6, L 3-11, W 10-0, L 4-6, W 8-6, W 6-5)
May 19-20 Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 9-4, W 6-2, W 9-6)
May 22-24 at Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 17-4, W 8-4, W 12-4)
May 26-28 at Lexington 3-0 (W 10-6, W 3-2, W 3-1)
May 29-31 Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 6-3, W 10-7, W 9-2)
June 2-7 Lancaster 2-4 (W 11-2, L 1-3, W 14-3, L 3-4, L 8-9, L 5-17)
June 9-14 at Lexington 3-3 (L 13-15, L 6-8, W 7-5, L 9-10, W 7-1, W 12-8)
June 16-21 Staten Island 6-0 (W 10-4, W 9-6, W 26-3, W 11-4, W 12-3, W 13-8)
June 23-28 at Lexington 4-2 (W 4-3, W 6-3, W 7-4, W 8-6, L 5-12, L 4-9)
June 30-July 2 Lexington
-2nd half
July 3-5 Charleston, W.Va.
July 7-12 at Hagerstown
July 14-19 Lexington
July 21-26 at Charleston, W.Va.
July 28, 30-31-Aug. 2 Hagerstown
Aug. 4-6 Southern Maryland
Aug. 7-9 at Lexington
Aug. 11-16 at High Point
Aug. 18-23 Charleston, W.Va.
Aug. 25-30 at Southern Maryland
Sept. 1-6 High Point
Sept. 8-10 Lexington
Sept. 11-13 at High Point
Auto racing
Here is the full 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule with race winners in parentheses:
Feb. 4 — Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (Ryan Preece)
Feb. 15 — Daytona 500 (Tyler Reddick)
Feb. 22 — Atlanta (Reddick-2)
March 1 — Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (Reddick-3)
March 8 — Phoenix (Ryan Blaney)
March 15 — Las Vegas (Denny Hamlin)
March 22 — Darlington, South Carolina (Reddick-4)
March 29 — Martinsville, Virginia (Chase Elliott)
April 5 — off weekend
April 12 — Bristol, Tennessee (Ty Gibbs)
April 19 — Kansas (Reddick-5)
April 26 — Talladega, Alabama (Carson Hocevar)
May 3 — Texas (Elliott-2)
May 10 — Watkins Glen, New York (Shane van Gisbergen)
May 17 — All-Star Race (Dover) (Hamlin-2)
May 24 — Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte) (Daniel Suarez)
May 31 — Nashville, Tennessee (Hamlin-3)
June 7 — Michigan (Hamlin-4)
June 14 — Pocono in Long Pond, Pennsylvania (Hamlin-5)
June 21 — San Diego (Corey Heim)
June 28 — Sonoma, California (Shane van Gisbergen)
July 5 — Chicagoland
July 12 — Atlanta
July 19 — North Wilkesboro
July 26 — Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
Aug. 2 — off weekend
Aug. 9 — Iowa
Aug. 15 — Richmond, Virginia
Aug. 23 — New Hampshire
Aug. 29 — Daytona, Florida
Sept. 6 — Darlington
Sept. 13 — Gateway in Madison, Illinois
Sept. 19 — Bristol
Sept. 27 — Kansas
Oct. 4 — Las Vegas
Oct. 11 — Charlotte Roval
Oct. 18 — Phoenix
Oct. 25 — Talladega
Nov. 1 — Martinsville
Nov. 8 — Homestead, Florida
Rodeo
Professional Bull Riding Unleash the Beast tour schedule for Greensboro-based Carolina Cowboys:
Feb. 1 – Golden 1 Center Sacramento- Austin Gamblers (L 173.90-256.90)
Feb. 21 – Progressive PBR Jacksonville- Florida Freedom (L 158.70-169.25)
March 22 – Ram Trucks PBR Indianapolis- Nashville Stampede (W 88.70- 0.00)
(DNQ for playoffs)
Team Challenge playoff results
March 29 at Albuquerque: Semifinal- (No. 1 Missouri Thunder def. No. 4 Florida Freedom 83.65-0.00)
April 17 at Billings: Semifinal- (No. 2 Austin Gamblers def. No. 3 Kansas City Outlaws 87.10-84.50)
April 26 at Tacoma: Championship- (No. 1 Missouri Thunder def. No. 2 Austin Gamblers 254.75-171.35)
Upcoming events:
Sept. 18-20 – Greensboro First Horizon Coliseum Complex
Golf
The Rutherford County Sports Hall Of Fame (RCSHOF), presented by Hardin’s Drug, in conjunction with Golf Sponsors Forest City Honda and Chick-fil-A of Forest City, is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 T. Max Champion Memorial Golf Tournament.
The tournament will be held on Friday, July 31 at the Apple Vally Golf Course in Lake Luke, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Registration fee is $100.00 per player or $400.00 for a team of four and covers the green fee, cart usage and lunch.
First prize for Gross and Net Winners is $600.00 per team. Other prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries. Proceeds from the event go to support the RCSHOF Scholarship Fund and registration deadline is July 21.
For information or to register, please visit the RCSHOF website: https://www.rcshof.org/ or call Randy Page at 828-429-7773.