6-30-23 roundup: Pro basketball, football, baseball and soccer, Legion baseball, NASCAR

By Richard Walker

Cleveland County Post 82-155 will enter the 2023 N.C. Area IV playoffs as the top seeded team and is one of three teams that will receive a first round bye.

“The kids just came to play this year no matter what we faced,” said second-year Cleveland County Post 82-155 head caoch Charlie Ruff, who previously spent 17 as an assistant or Junior Legion coach for the post. “We had 12 players a lot because the Burns kids were winning the (Class 2A high school) state championship.
“When the six players from Burns joined us, we’ve really pulled together and played well together.”

Cleveland County Post 82-155 enters the playoffs with a 17-7 overall and a 9-3 Western Division record that gave the post its 18th Area IV regular season title overall and second in three seasons.

Marshall McGowan (.400), Tyler Smart (.386), Colby Putnam (.341), Steven Spaes (.313) and Connor Gantt (.307) have led the Cleveland County offense and Ryan Ropp (4-0 record), Parker Dixon (3-0), Putnam (2-0) and Aiden Taylor (2-0) leads the pitching staff.

Ruff credited his coaching staff of Brett Wease, Wil Sellers and Kevin Wellman for their roles in this year’s success.

“A lot of people have worked really hard,” Ruff said. “We played a tough schedule and had to add in those Burns players and the team has just figured out ways to win games.”

Cleveland County, Western Division runner-up Cherryville and Eastern Division champion Queen City received first round byes while five best-of-five series will begin on Saturday.

Cleveland awaits the winner of the Eastern No. 4 Matthews (8-10)-Western No. 5 Burke County (7-7) series in a best-of-five quarterfinal slated to start on July 6.

Cherryville (13-11) awaits the winner of the Eastern No. 3 Gaston Braves (9-6)-Western No. 6 Caldwell County (6-10) series.

And Queen City (12-6) awaits the winner of the Western No. 4 Rutherford County (9-6)-Eastern No. 5 Lincoln County (4-9) series. With Forest City’s McNair Field hosting Coastal Plain League games, Rutherford County will host its games at East Rutherford High School.

The winners of the other two first round series – Western No. 3 Asheville (9-6) meets Eastern No. 6 Gastonia (2-14) and Eastern No. 2 Mint Hill (8-4) meets Western No. 7 HIckory (4-12) – would advance to the other quarterfinal.

All first round series openers will be played on Saturday at 7 p.m. except the Asheville-Gastonia series which will play a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday at West Henderson High School. Also, when the Asheville-Gastonia series is played at at Gastonia’s Ashbrook High School on Sunday it’ll be at 2 p.m. doubleheader.

The full Area IV Junior Legion playoff schedule):

-First round (July 1-5, best of 5)

West No. 1 Cleveland County, West No. 2 Cherryville, East No. 1 Queen City – byes

East No. 4 Matthews vs. West No. 5 Burke
Game 1 – July 1 at M
Game 2 – July 2 at B
Game 3 – July 3 at M
Game 4 (if necessary) – July 4 at B
Game 5 (if necessary) – July 5 at M

West No. 3 Asheville vs. East No. 6 Gastonia
Games 1 & 2 – July 1 at A
Games 3 & 4 (if necessary) – July 2 at G
Game 5 (if necessary) – July 3 at A

East No. 2 Mint Hill vs. West No. 7 Hickory
Game 1 – July 1 at M
Game 2 – July 2 at H
Game 3 – July 3 at M
Game 4 (if necessary) – July 4 at H
Game 5 (if necessary) – July 5 at M

West No. 4 Rutherford vs. East No. 5 Lincoln
Game 1 – July 1 at R
Game 2 – July 2 at L
Game 3 – July 3 at R
Game 4 (if necessary) – July 4 at L
Game 5 (if necessary) – July 5 at R

East No. 3 Gaston Braves vs. West No. 6 Caldwell
Game 1 – July 1 at GB
Game 2 – July 2 at C
Game 3 – July 3 at GB
Game 4 (if necessary) – July 4 at C
Game 5 (if necessary) – July 5 at GB

-Quarterfinals (July 6-11, best of 5)
West No. 1 Cleveland vs. East No. 4 Matthews-West No. 5 Burke winner

West No. 3 Asheville-East No. 6 Gastonia winner vs. East No. 2 Mint Hill-West No. 7 Hickory winner

East No. 1 Queen City vs. West No. 4 Rutherford-East No. 5 Lincoln winner

East No. 3 Gaston Braves-West No. 6 Caldwell winner vs. West No. 2 Cherryville

-Semifinals (July 12-19, best of 7)

-Final (July 20-22, 1 game or best of 3)

 

The full Area IV Junior Legion playoff schedule (All series best-of-3):

Area IV Playoffs (All series best-of-3):

-Quarterfinals June 30-July 4
No. 1 South Caldwell-1 (10-0) vs. No. 8 R-S Central (6-4)
Game 1 – June 30 at SC – SC 3-0
Game 2 – July 1 at R-S
Game 3 (if necessary) – July 2 at SC

No. 4 Dallas (7-3) vs No. 5 Chase (7-3)
Game 1 – June 30 at Dallas – Dallas 8-1
Game 2 – July 1 at Chase
Game 3 (if necessary) – July 2 at Dallas

No. 3 Matthews (8-2) vs. No. 6 Cherryville (6-4)
Game 1 – June 30 at Matthews – Matthews 11-8
Game 2 – July 1 at Cherryville
Game 3 (if necessary) – July 2 at Matthews

No. 2 East Rutherford (9-1) vs. No. 7 South Caldwell-2 (6-4)
Game 1 – June 30 at ER – ER 9-4
Game 2 – July 1 at SC
Game 3 (if necessary) – July 2 at ER

-Semifinals July 5-8
No. 1-8 winner vs. No. 4-5 winner
No. 3-6 winner vs. No. 2-7 winner

-Finals July 9-12
Semifinal winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

The Charlotte Hornets announced their 2023 Summer League roster and coaching staff for their upcoming games on Friday.

The roster:

No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Prior to NBA/Home Country Yrs Pro

16 Angelo Allegri F 6-7 215 04/28/99 Eastern Washington/USA R

17 Amari Bailey G 6-5 185 02/17/04 UCLA/USA R

19 Leaky Black F 6-9 205 06/14/99 North Carolina/USA R

2 James Bouknight G 6-4 185 09/18/00 Connecticut/USA 2

41 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 209 7/22/98 Florida/USA 1

42 Cameron Henry G 6-6 210 03/08/99 Indiana State/USA R

23 Kai Jones F/C 6-11 230 01/19/01 Texas/Bahamas 2

35 Tajion Jones G 6-5 210 02/11/99 UNC Asheville/USA R

7 Bryce McGowens G/F 6-6 185 11/08/02 Nebraska/USA 1

31 Nathan Mensah C 6-10 230 04/09/98 San Diego State/Ghana R

24 Brandon Miller F 6-9 200 11/22/02 Alabama/USA R

46 James Nnaji C 6-11 250 08/14/04 FC Barcelona/Nigeria R

26 Justin Robinson G 6-1 195 10/12/97 Virginia Tech/USA 4

27 Jaylon Scott G 6-5 225 07/29/00 College of Charleston/USA R

18 Tre Scott F 6-8 225 11/25/96 Cincinnati/USA 3

14 Kobi Simmons G 6-5 180 07/04/97 Arizona/USA 3

33 Jaylen Sims G 6-6 195 12/11/98 UNC Wilmington/USA 1

00 Nick Smith Jr. G 6-5 185 04/18/04 Arkansas/USA R

22 Xavier Sneed F 6-5 215 12/21/97 Kansas State/USA 2

Head Coach: Marlon Garnett

Assistant Coaches: Rex Walters, Nick Friedman, Norm Richardson, Jackson Simmons, Brian O’Connor, Andrew Gardiner, Jordan Surenkamp, Donyell Marshall, Ben Resner, Collin Terry, Driss Akil

The Charlotte Hornets’ California Classic Summer League schedule in Sacramento:

July 3 vs. San Antonio Spurs (8 p.m., ESPN)
July 5 vs. Golden State Warriors (6 p.m., ESPN2)

The Charlotte Hornets’ Las Vegas Summer League schedule:

July 7 (Thomas & Mack Center) – vs. San Antonio Spurs (9 p.m., ESPN)
July 9 (Thomas & Mack Center) – vs. L.A. Lakers (4 p.m., ESPN2)
July 11 (Thomas & Mack Center) – vs. Portland (8:30 p.m., NBA TV)
July 13 (Cox Pavilion) – vs. New Orleans (7:30 p.m., NBA TV)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

Here is Charlotte FC’s full 2023 schedule with results:

(7-7-6 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 (T 2-2)
April 22 Columbus Crew (W 1-0)
April 29 at D.C. United (L 0-3)
May 6 New York City FC (W 3-2)
May 13 at Atlanta United FC (W 3-1)
May 17 Chicago Fire FC (W 2-1)
May 20 Nashville SC (L 1-2)
May 27 at L.A. Galaxy (W 1-0)
May 31 at Philadelphia Union (L 0-1)
June 3 at Columbus Crew (W 4-2)
June 10 Seattle Sounders FC (T 3-3)
June 21 at New York Red Bulls (T 2-2)
June 24 CF Montreal (T 0-0)
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 baseball

Norfolk 5, Charlotte 4 (10 innings): The host Tides scored once in the 9th to force extra inning and took a walkoff win in the 10th as the Knights fell despite two more home runs by Oscar Colas. The 4th game of the 6-game series is 6:35 p.m. on Saturday in Norfolk.

Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2023 schedule:

Overall record: 35-43
First half record: 35-40
Second half record: 0-3

-First half
March 31-April 2 Louisville (2-1)
April 4-9 at Columbus (3-3)
April 11-16 Jacksonville (3-3)
April 18-23 at Louisville (2-4)
April 25-30 Norfolk (2-4)
May 2-7 at Gwinnett (4-2)
May 9-14 Durham (3-3)
May 16-21 Scranton-Wilkes Barre (2-4)
May 23-28 at Jacksonville (4-2)
May 30-June 4 Nashville (3-3)
June 6-11 at Gwinnett (1-5)
June 13-18 at Durham (3-3)
June 20-25 Louisville (3-3)

-Second half
June 28-July 3 at Norfolk (0-3)
July 4-9 Jacksonville
July 14-16 at Lehigh Valley
July 18-23 Memphis
July 25-30 at Durham
Aug. 1-6 at Norfolk
Aug. 8-13 Gwinnett
Aug. 15-20 at Nashville
Aug. 22-24, 26-27 Memphis
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 at Jacksonville
Sept. 5-10 Durham
Sept. 12-17 Nashville
Sept. 18-24 at Memphis

Gastonia 15, Southern Maryland 0: Gunnar Kines, Jake Miednik and Jaime Schultz combined on a 3-hitter for the Honey Hunters.

Here is the full Gastonia Honey Hunters’ 2023 schedule:

Overall record: 39-17
First half record: 39-17
Second half record: 0-0

-First half
April (3-0)
28 Frederick (W 10-4)
29 Frederick (W 8-6)
30 Frederick (W 7-4)

May (17-9)
2 at So. Maryland (W 8-6)
3 at So. Maryland (W 11-6)
4 at So. Maryland (L 2-4)
5 at Long Island (W 3-2)
6 at Long Island (L 1-3)
7 at Long Island (L 4-6)
9 Frederick (W 2-1 in 10)
10 Frederick (W 10-0)
11 Frederick (W 9-7)
12 at High Point (L 5-8)
13 at High Point (W 12-5)
14 at High Point (L 3-4)
16 Charleston, W.Va. (W 13-4)
17 Charleston, W.Va. (W 4-2)
18 Charleston, W.Va. (L 4-6)
19 at Lexington (W 15-2)
20 at Lexington (W 8-0)
21 at Lexington (W 5-3)
23 at Frederick (W 6-0)
24 at Frederick (W 8-5)
25 at Frederick (W 8-3)
26 Lancaster (L 3-4 in 11)
27 Lancaster (ppd., rain)
28 Lancaster (ppd., rain)
29 Lancaster (W 9-1)
29 Lancaster (L 3-4)
30 High Point (L 8-10)
31 High Point (W 14-10)

June (19-8)
1 High Point (W 7-4)
2 Lexington (W 3-2)
3 Lexington (W 10-1)
4 Lexington (W 4-1)
6 at Charleston, W.Va. (W 4-1)
7 at Charleston, W.Va. (L 1-13)
8 at Charleston, W.Va. (L 2-4)
9 at Frederick (W 5-4)
10 at Frederick (W 12-7)
11 at Frederick (L 6-9)
13 So. Maryland (W 5-0)
14 So. Maryland (L 9-10)
15 So. Maryland (W 11-6)
16 Staten Island (W 5-4)
17 Staten Island (W 7-5)
18 Staten Island (W 5-1)
20 at Lancaster (L 0-6)
21 at Lancaster (W 9-7)
22 at Lancaster (W 4-1, L 2-6)
23 at Staten Island (W 7-1)
24 at Staten Island (W 12-3)
25 at Staten Island (L 2-7)
27 High Point (W 8-3)
28 High Point (W 7-3)
29 High Point (L 1-11)
30 So. Maryland (W 15-0)

July
1 So. Maryland
2 So. Maryland
4 at Frederick
5 at Frederick
6 at Frederick
7 at High Point
-Second half
8 at High Point
9 at High Point
11 at Charleston, W.Va.
12 at Charleston, W.Va.
13 at Charleston, W.Va.
14 Staten Island
15 Staten Island
16 Staten Island
18 High Point
19 High Point
20 High Point
21 at So. Maryland
22 at So. Maryland
23 at So. Maryland
25 at Staten Island
26 at Staten Island
27 at Staten Island
28 at Long Island
29 at Long Island
30 at Long Island

August
1 High Point
2 High Point
3 High Point
4 Lexington
5 Lexington
6 Lexington
8 Frederick
9 Frederick
10 Frederick
11 at Long Island
12 at Long Island
13 at Long Island
15 York
16 York
17 York
18 Lexington
19 Lexington
20 Lexington
22 at Long Island
23 at Long Island
24 at Long Island
25 at Lancaster
26 at Lancaster
27 at Lancaster
29 Frederick
30 Frederick
31 Frederick

September
1 So. Maryland
2 So. Maryland
3 So. Maryland
4 So. Maryland
5 at High Point
6 at High Point
7 at High Point
8 Charleston, W.Va.
9 Charleston, W.Va.
10 Charleston, W.Va.
12 So. Maryland
13 So. Maryland
14 So. Maryland
15 at Lexington
16 at Lexington
17 at Lexington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro football

The Carolina Panthers’ training camp schedule:

Practices (at Wofford unless noted):
July 26-27 10:15 a.m.
July 29 11 a.m.
July 31 10:25 a.m.
Aug. 1 10:15 p.m.
Aug. 2 Fan Fest at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, 7 p.m.
Aug. 4 10:25 a.m.
Aug. 5-6 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 8 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 9 Joint practice with N.Y. Jets, 10:15 a.m.
Aug. 10 Joint practice with N.Y. Jets, 9 a.m.

Here is the 2023 preseason and regular season schedule for the Carolina Panthers:

(Preseason)
Aug. 12 N.Y. Jets, 4 p.m.
Aug. 18 at N.Y. Giants, 7 p.m.
Aug. 25 Detroit, 8 p.m.

(Regular season)
Sept. 10 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Sept. 18 New Orleans, 7:15 p.m.
Sept. 24 at Seattle, 4:05 p.m.
Oct. 1 Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Oct. 8 at Detroit, 1 p.m.
Oct. 15 at Miami, 1 p.m.
Oct. 22 OFF WEEK
Oct. 29 Houston, 1 p.m.
Nov. 5 Indianapolis, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 9 at Chicago, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 19 Dallas, 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Dec. 3 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Dec. 10 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 17-18 Atlanta, TBD
Dec. 24 Green Bay, 1 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Jan. 6-7 Tampa Bay, 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 (Christopher Bell)
Apr 16 NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville, Martinsville VA (Kyle Larson-2)
Apr 23 NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega, Lincoln AL (Kyle Busch-2)
May 1 NASCAR Cup Series at Dover, Dover DE (Martin Truex, Jr.-2)
May 7 NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas, Kansas City KS (Denny Hamlin)
May 14 NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington, Darlington SC (William Byron-3)
May 21 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open Race, North Wilkesboro NC (Josh Berry)
May 21 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race, North Wilkesboro NC (Kyle Larson-3)
May 29 NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte, Concord NC (Ryan Blaney)
Jun 4 NASCAR Cup Series at World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison IL (Kyle Busch-3)
Jun 11 NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma, Sonoma CA (Martin Trues, Jr.-3)
Jun 25 NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville, Lebanon TN (Ross Chastain)
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