6-7-22 roundup: Pro football, basketball, baseball and soccer, High school football, softball and girls soccer, Legion baseball, College baseball and women’s lacrosse, Hall of Fame
By Richard Walker
An East Gaston High player and a pitcher and coach that helped Burns to the league title top the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference’s top softball honors in voting by league coaches for the 2022 season.
East Gaston’s Maddison York was named player of the year and league champion Burns was selected for pitcher of the year (Sayge Strange) and coach of the year (Joni Wellmon); The Bulldogs won the league’s regular season and tournament titles, their first championships since they won conference titles in 1992 and 2000.
The full all-conference team listed by school:
Burns: Sayge Strange, Maura Pendleton, Jaycee Bivins, Meah Ivie, Peyton Cook
Cherryville: Reagan Nowowiecki, Krista Davis, Laiyla Davis, Landyn McBride
East Gaston: Maddison York, Riley Pickler, Jordan McCorkle
Highland Tech: Emma Ghorley, Meredith Bolick, Makalah Wiggins
Shelby: Abby Clary, Anne Marie Spurling
Bessemer City: Lacy Pettry, Erin Moss
Thomas Jefferson: Sierra Lipscomb, Keren Hargro
High school girls soccer
After finishing 14-0 in the Big South 3A Conference and 23-1 overall and as Western N.C. 3A runner-up, South Point dominated top honors in the all-league selections following voting by league coaches.
Grace Smith was selected offensive player of the year, Grace Maynard defensive player of the year, Caitlyn Federation goalie of the year and Chris Baity coach of the year.
The full all-conference team listed by school:
South Point – Grace Smith, Grace Maynard, Caitlyn Federation, Jordan, Villemagne, Jenna Feduniec, Emme Lewandowski
Crest – Madison Setzer, Cadence Walker, Hannah Merritt, Cadence Setzer, Morgan Setzer
Forestview – Grace Hite, Layne Maitra, Bailey Hope, Anna Sprague
Cramer – Aubree Baker, Markayla Lawrence, Karis Peterson, Marley Accashian
Ashbrook – Trinity Osorio, Monica Velasco
Kings Mountain – Melia Myers, Sage Wright, Maggie Honeycutt
North Gaston – Angelina Diaz, Nevaeh Pena
Legion baseball
Rock Hill, S.C. 8, Cherryville 5
Caldwell County 8, Lincoln County 4
Junior Legion baseball
Dallas 10, Stuart Cramer 0
Area IV East Division standings (through Monday):
Matthews 1-0
Dallas 3-1
Burns 2-1
Gaston Christian 1-1
Cherryville 1-2
Stuart Cramer 1-2
Belmont 0-1
Shelby 0-1
Obituary
Former West Lincoln football coach Dan Hardee has died at 62.
A member of South Caldwell’s 1977 N.C. 3A runner-up team in that school’s inaugural season, Hardee played at Lenoir-Rhyne before embarking on a long coaching career that saw him become Ashe Central’s head coach from 1983 to 1986, West Lincoln’s head coach from 1987 to 1989 and South Caldwell’s coach from 1991 to 2000.
In 1994, he helped South Caldwell win its first first league title since the 1977 team that he played on.
College baseball
This weekend’s NCAA Division I best-of-three super regionals pairings:
Notre Dame at Tennessee
Texas at East Carolina
Louisville at Texas A&M
Oklahoma at Virginia Tech
Connecticut at Stanford
Arkansas at North Carolina
Mississippi at Southern Mississippi
Auburn at Oregon State
NCAA Division II World Series results/pairings at USA Baseball Training Complex at Cary:
June 4
No. 3 Southern Arkansas 3, No. 6 Rollins 1
No. 2 Point Loma 8, No. 7 Springfield 1
June 5
No. 5 Angelo State 7, No. 4 Southern New Hampshire 4
No. 1 North Greenville 3, No. 8 West Chester 1
June 6
Rollins 3, Springfield 2 (Springfield eliminated)
Point Loma 11, Southern Arkansas 3
June 7
West Chester 7, Southern New Hampshire 3 (Southern New Hampshire eliminated)
North Greenville 18, Angelo State 3
June 8
Southern Arkansas vs. Rollins, 1:30 p.m.
Angelo State vs. West Chester, 6 p.m.
June 9
Point Loma vs. SA-Rollins winner, 1:30 p.m.
North Greenville vs. AS-WC winner, 6 p.m.
June 10
Game(s) if necessary
June 11
National championship game
Hall of Fame
The Bessemer City Sports Hall of Fame will induct its second class on July 30 at the First Wesleyan Church of Bessemer City. The induction class will be comprised of baseball player Chris Mason, the 1986 Bessemer City High School baseball team, coach Calvin Albright, coach Marty Hatchell and football player Phillip Crosby. The keynote speaker will be 1990 Daytona 500 winner and current professional stock car driver and team owner Derrike Cope. The event, held at the church located on 510 East Alabama Avenue in Bessemer City, will start with a 5 p.m. meet and greet and include a 6 p.m. dinner before formal inducation. Tickets are $25 apiece and can be purchased at the City Hall Annex and Allan Farris Community Center in Bessemer City. Businesss casual is the preferred attire. For information, call 704-629-5111.
College women’s lacrosse
The Charlotte 49ers didn’t have to look far for their inaugural women’s lacrosse coach.
49ers Director of Athletics Mike Hill announced on Tuesday he had hired former Queens University coach Clare Short as Charlotte’s first head coach.
Short had more than 10 years of coaching experience, including the last six seasons as head coach at Queens with multiple trips to the NCAA Division II Final Four and numerous regular season and tournament conference championships.
“When we made the decision to add women’s lacrosse, it was with every intention of competing at a championship level,” Hill said in a school news release. “Clare Short has a championship pedigree and has built a national power right here in our own city. Her passion and competitive spirit coupled with her remarkable accomplishments as a head coach make her a perfect fit at Charlotte.”
Short, a two-time South Region Coach of the Year, won eight-straight South Atlantic Conference tournament titles with the Royals, seven regular season championships, three South Region titles and four appearances in the NCAA tournament. At Queens, Short coached 15 all-Americans, 22 all-region players and 42 all-conference athletes.
This past spring, Short led No. 1 ranked Queens to a 21-1 record – the lone loss a 13-12 overtime defeat to third-ranked East Stroudsburg in the national semifinals.
Pro football
Charlotte’s FOX affiliate, Queen City News (WJZY), and the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday announced a multi-year agreement that makes WJZY an official television partner and flagship television station of the Carolina Panthers.
WJZY will air Panthers pre-season games in the Charlotte market, and the team behind Queen City News’ award-winning sports show, Charlotte Sports Live, will also produce a variety of Panthers-based content including pre and post-game shows.
“The Panthers are excited to introduce Queen City News as an official television partner and the flagship television station of the Carolina Panthers,” Panthers chief commercial officer Jake Burns said in a team news release. “Queen City News is a leader in sports programming in the Carolinas with its award-winning Charlotte Sports Live show, and the station’s commitment to the market and the amount of local news and sports programming ensures that our fans will have access to more television content than ever before.”
Said WJZY vice president and general manager Lloyd Bucher: “I couldn’t be more proud to announce that Fox Charlotte/Queen City News will be the exclusive television partner of the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are beloved members of our community, and the ability to expand our partnership with them is incredibly exciting. Carolinas’ Own Queen City News is committed to the Queen City by doing more news than any other broadcast station, and this partnership with the Panthers gives our viewers and digital users that much more local content, and only further enhances this station’s commitment to our viewers in the Charlotte television market.”
Pro basketball
The Charlotte Hornets held a pre-draft workout on Tuesday with the following prospects:
Tyson Etienne (Wichita State)
Jordan Goldwire (Oklahoma)
John Meeks (College of Charleston)
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
D’Shawn Schwartz (George Mason)
Bryson Williams (Texas Tech)
Here’s the schedule for the NBA playoffs:
(Eastern Conference)
FIRST ROUND
1-Miami vs. 8-Atlanta (Miami wins series 4-1)
4-Philadelphia vs. 5-Toronto (Philadelphia wins series 4-2)
2-Boston vs. 7-Brooklyn (Boston wins series 4-0)
3-Milwaukee vs. 6-Chicago (Milwaukee wins series 4-1)
SEMIFINALS
1-Miami vs. 4-Philadelphia (Miami wins series 4-2)
2-Boston vs. 3-Milwaukee (Boston wins series 4-3)
FINALS
1-Miami vs. 2-Boston (Boston wins series 4-3)
(Western Conference)
FIRST ROUND
1-Phoenix vs. 8-New Orleans (Phoenix wins series 4-2)
4-Dallas vs. 5-Utah (Dallas wins series 4-2)
2-Memphis vs. 7-Minnesota (Memphis wins series 4-2)
3-Golden State vs. 6-Denver (Golden State wins series 4-1)
SEMIFINALS
1-Phoenix vs. 4-Dallas (Dallas wins series 4-3)
2-Memphis vs. 3-Golden State (Golden State wins series 4-2)
FINALS
3-Golden State vs. 4-Dallas (Golden State wins series 4-1)
(NBA Finals)
East-Boston vs. West-Golden State
Game 1 at Golden State: June 2 (Boston 120-108)
Game 2 at Golden State: June 5 (Golden State 107-88)
Game 3 at Boston: June 8
Game 4 at Boston: June 10
Game 5 at Golden State: June 13
Game 6 (if necessary) at Boston: June 16
Game 7 (if necessary) at Golden State: June 19
High school football
The ninth “Charlotte Kickoff Night” at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte will be Thursday Aug. 18 and feature four regional powers in their respecitve 2022 season-openers.
In the 5 p.m. opener, South Carolina power Dutch Fork will meet Hough High. Dutch Fork is coached by legendary coach Tom Knotts, who won eight state titles while coaching in Charlotte and six at Dutch Fork. Hough senior quarterback Tad Hudson is a University of North Carolina commitment.
The 8 p.m. nightcap will meet Charlotte powers Mallard Creek and Myers Park.
Pro baseball
The Gastonia Honey Hunters dropped the opener of their road series at Charleston, W.Va., 7-5 on Tuesday to fall to 27-14 on the season.
The full Gastonia Honey Hunters’ 2022 schedule (Games times 6:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 4:15 on Sunday):
April (8-1)
21 Lancaster, Pa. (L 2-5)
22 Lancaster, Pa. (W 4-3)
23 Lancaster, Pa. (W 8-1)
24 Lancaster, Pa. (W 13-4)
26 Wild Health, Ky. (W 12-1)
27 Wild Health, Ky. (W 17-4)
28 Wild Health, Ky. (W 6-4)
29 Staten Island (W 5-4)
30 Staten Island (W 6-5)
May (16-10)
1 Staten Island (W 10-5)
3 at York, Pa. (W 3-1)
4 at York, Pa. (L 4-5 in 10)
5 at York, Pa. (W 12-7)
6 at Staten Island (ppd.)
7 at Staten Island (ppd.)
8 at Staten Island (W 4-1)
8 at Staten Island (W 7-2)
10 at So. Maryland (W 2-0)
11 at So. Maryland (L 0-4)
12 at So. Maryland (L 2-4)
13 at Staten Island (ppd.)
14 at Staten Island (ppd.)
15 at Staten Island (L 1-2)
15 at Staten Island (W 1-0)
16 at Staten Island (W 8-3)
17 So. Maryland (L 4-5)
18 So. Maryland (L 6-8)
19 So. Maryland (W 13-1)
20 Charleston, W.Va.(W 12-10)
21 Charleston, W.Va.(W 6-4)
22 Charleston, W.Va.(L 1-8)
24 at Lancaster, Pa.(W 2-1)
25 at Lancaster, Pa.(L 3-13)
26 at Lancaster, Pa.(L 1-4)
27 at Long Island (W 5-3)
28 at Long Island (W 10-3)
29 at Long Island (W 3-2)
30 at Long Island (W 5-2)
31 Long Island (L 7-8)
June (3-3)
1 Long Island (L 9-10 in 11)
2 Long Island (L 0-5)
3 at High Point (W 5-4)
4 at High Point (W 8-3)
5 at High Point (W 8-3)
7 at Charleston,W.Va.(L 5-7)
8 at Charleston,W.Va.
9 at Charleston,W.Va.
10 High Point
11 High Point
12 High Point
14 Charleston, W.Va.
15 Charleston, W.Va.
16 Charleston, W.Va.
17 at Lexington, Ky.
18 at Lexington, Ky.
19 at Lexington, Ky.
21 Charleston, W.Va.
22 Charleston, W.Va.
23 Charleston, W.Va.
24 at So. Maryland
25 at So. Maryland
26 at So. Maryland
28 Wild Health, Ky.
29 Wild Health, Ky.
30 Wild Health, Ky.
July
1 at Lexington, Ky.
2 at Lexington, Ky.
3 at Lexington, Ky.
4 High Point
5 High Point
6 at High Point
7 at High Point
8 High Point
9 High Point
10 High Point
12 at Wild Health, Ky.
13 at Wild Health, Ky.
14 at Wild Health, Ky.
15 Lexington, Ky.
16 Lexington, Ky.
17 Lexington, Ky.
19 at York, Pa.
20 at York, Pa.
21 at York, Pa.
22 at High Point
23 at High Point
24 at High Point
26 Lexington, Ky.
27 Lexington, Ky.
28 Lexington, Ky.
29 York, Pa.
30 York, Pa.
31 York, Pa.
August
2 at Lexington, Ky.
3 at Lexington, Ky.
4 at Lexington, Ky.
5 High Point
6 High Point
7 High Point
9 Staten Island
10 Staten Island
11 Staten Island
12 at High Point
13 at High Point
14 at High Point
16 So. Maryland
17 So. Maryland
18 So. Maryland
19 High Point
20 High Point
21 High Point
23 at Charleston,W.Va.
24 at Charleston,W.Va.
25 at Charleston,W.Va.
26 at High Point
27 at High Point
28 at High Point
30 High Point
31 High Point
September
1 High Point
2 Wild Health, Ky.
3 Wild Health, Ky.
4 Wild Health, Ky.
6 at Wild Health, Ky.
7 at Wild Health, Ky.
8 at Wild Health, Ky.
9 Lexington, Ky.
10 Lexington, Ky.
11 Lexington, Ky.
13 at High Point
14 at High Point
15 at High Point
16 at Charleston,W.Va.
17 at Charleston,W.Va.
18 at Charleston,W.Va.
Pro soccer
Here’s the full Charlotte FC MLS schedule for the 2022 season (with results):
(5-8-1 record)
Feb. 26 at D.C. (L 0-3)
March 5, L.A. (L 0-1)
March 13, at Atlanta (L 1-2)
March 19, New England (W 3-1)
March 26, Cincinnati (W 2-0)
April 2, at Philadelphia (L 0-2)
April 10, Atlanta (W 1-0)
April 16, at New England (L 1-2)
April 23, at Colorado (T 0-0)
April 30, at Orlando (L 1-2)
May 7, Miami (W 1-0)
May 14, Montreal (L 0-2)
May 22, Vancouver (W 2-1)
May 29, at Seattle (L 1-2)
June 11, New York, 3 p.m.
June 18, at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
June 25, at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
June 30, Austin, 7 p.m.
July 3, at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
July 9, Nashville, 7 p.m.
July 16, at Miami, 8 p.m.
July 23, at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
July 30, Columbus, 7 p.m.
August 3, D.C., 7 p.m.
August 6, Chicago, 7 p.m.
August 13, at LAFC, 10:30 p.m.
August 17, at New York City, TBD
August 21, Orlando, 7 p.m.
August 27, Toronto, 7 p.m.
September 3, at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
September 10, New York City, 7 p.m.
September 17, at Chicago, 8 p.m.
October 1, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
October 9, at New York, TBD
Auto racing
The 2022 NASCAR cup schedule (with winners):
Feb. 6 Busch Light Clash (Joey Logano)
Feb. 17 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 (Brad Keselowski)
Feb. 17 Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 (Chris Buescher)
Feb. 20 Daytona 500 (Austin Cindric)
Feb. 27 Wise Power 400 (Kyle Larson)
Mar. 6 Pennzoil 400 (Alex Bowman)
Mar. 13 Ruoff Mortgage (Chase Briscoe)
Mar. 20 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (William Byron)
Mar. 27 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Ross Chastain)
Apr. 3 Toyota Owners (Denny Hamlin)
Apr. 9 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 (William Byron-2)
Apr. 17 Food City Dirt Race (Kyle Busch)
Apr. 24 Geico 500 (Ross Chastain-2)
May 2 DuraMAX Drydene 400 (Chase Elliott)
May 8 Goodyear 400 (Joey Logano)
May 15 AdventHealth 400 (Kurt Busch)
May 22 NASCAR All-Star Open (Daniel Suarez)
May 22 NASCAR All-Star (Ryan Blaney)
May 29 Coca-Cola 600 (Denny Hamlin-2)
June 5 Enjoy Illinois 300 (Joey Logano-2)
June 12 Toyota/Save Mart 350
June 26 Ally 400
July 3 Kwik Trip 250
July 10 Quaker State 400
July 17 Ambetter 301
July 24 NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono
July 31 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Aug. 7 FireKeepers Casino 400
Aug. 14 Federated Auto Parts 400
Aug. 21 Go Bowling at The Glen
Aug. 27 Coke Zero Sugar 400
Sept. 4 Cook Out Southern 500
Sept. 11 Hollywood Casino 400
Sept. 17 Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Sept. 24 AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500
Oct. 2 YellaWood 500
Oct. 9 Bank of America ROVAL 400
Oct. 16 South Point 400
Oct. 23 Dixie Vodka 400
Oct. 30 Xfinity 500
Nov. 6 NASCAR Cup Series Championship