7-15-23 roundup: Pro basketball, football, baseball and soccer, Legion baseball, NASCAR

By Richard Walker

Cleveland County punched its ticket to the 2023 North Carolina American Legion state tournament at Campbell University as Post 82-155 completed a 4-game sweep of Asheville in an Area IV semifinal series.

Cleveland County improved to 24-7 on the season – and 7-0 in the playoffs – with Saturday’s 10-3 victory in a game that endured a pair of weather delays at West Henderson High School.

Post 82-155 will be making its 10th appearance in the 23-year history of the state tournament that will be hosted for the second straight year at Barker-Lane Field from July 25 through 29.

Cherryville will be pursuing its 14th state tournament appearance when a Saturday game resumes after being suspended on Saturday; Rutherford County led 4-0 in the bottom of the 4th inning when the game was suspended in the 4th game of the series Cherryville leads 3-0.

The game resume on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Cherryville’s Fraley Field. Should Rutherford win the resumed contest, a 5th game in the best-of-7 will be played afterward.

Cherryville is 35-19 all-time in state tournament play with three titles while Cleveland County is 22-15 with two state titles. Only Wilmington (37) has more victories than Cherryville and only Wilmington, Cherryville, Rowan County (31) and Fuquay-Varina (27) have more victories than Cleveland County.

The full Area IV Senior 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 – suspended with M leading 1-0 in 2nd
Game 1 – July 2 at B – M 8-7
Game 2 – July 2 at B – M 9-3
Game 3 – July 3 at M – M 6-4 (M wins series 3-0)

West No. 3 Asheville vs. East No. 6 Gastonia
Game 1 – July 1 at A – A 13-3 in 5
Game 2 – July 1 at A – A 9-4
Game 3 – July 2 at G – A 13-3 in 6 (Asheville wins series 3-0)

East No. 2 Mint Hill vs. West No. 7 Hickory
Game 1 – July 1 at M – postponed
Game 1 – July 2 at H – M 4-1
Game 2 – July 2 at H – H 7-6
Game 3 – July 3 at M – H 12-0 in 5
Game 4 – July 4 at H – M 9-6
Game 5 – July 5 at M – H 13-3 (Hickory wins series 3-2)

West No. 4 Rutherford vs. East No. 5 Lincoln
Game 1 – July 1 at R – R 13-5
Game 2 – July 2 at L – R 8-6
Game 3 – July 3 at R – R 9-7 (R wins series 3-0)

East No. 3 Gaston Braves vs. West No. 6 Caldwell
Game 1 – July 1 at GB – C 9-2
Game 2 – July 2 at C – GB 8-4
Game 3 – July 3 at GB – C 9-5
Game 4 – July 4 at C – C by forfeit (C wins series 3-1)

-Quarterfinals (July 6-11, best of 5)
West No. 1 Cleveland vs. East No. 4 Matthews
Game 1 – July 6 at C – C 5-0
Game 2 – July 7 at M – ppd., rain
Game 2 – July 8 at M – C 6-2
Game 3 – July 9 at C – C 6-3 (C wins series 3-0)

West No. 3 Asheville vs. West No. 7 Hickory
Game 1 – July 6 at A – A 7-4
Game 2 – July 7 at H – A 3-2
Game 3 – July 8 at A – A by forfeit (A wins series 3-0)

East No. 1 Queen City vs. West No. 4 Rutherford
Game 1 – July 6 at Q – R 7-3
Game 2 – July 7 at Q – R 8-7
Game 3 – July 8 at R – R 7-6 (R wins series 3-0)

West No. 6 Caldwell vs. West No. 2 Cherryville
Game 1 – July 6 at Cville – Cville 2-1
Game 2 – July 7 at Caldwell – Cville 3-2 in 9
Game 3 – July 8 at Cville – Cville 10-2 (Cville wins series 3-0)

-Semifinals (July 12-19, best of 7)
West No. 1-East No. 4 winner vs. West No. 3 Asheville
Game 1 – July 12 at C – C 5-1
Game 2 – July 13 at A – suspended with C leading 4-2 after 2 1/2 innings
Game 2 – July 14 at C – C 6-2
Game 3 – July 14 at C – C 8-2
Game 4 – July 15 at A – C 10-3 (C wins series 4-0)

West No. 4 Rutherford vs. West No. 2 Cherryville
Game 1 – July 12 at C – C 9-2
Game 2 – July 13 at R – C 5-3
Game 3 – July 14 at C – C 4-1
Game 4 – July 15 at R – suspended with R leading 4-0 in bottom 4th
Game 4 – July 16 at C, 6 p.m.
Game 5 (if necessary) – July 16 at C
Game 6 (if necessary) – July 17 at R
Game 7 (if necessary) – July 18 at C

-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 – R-S 10-3
Game 3 – July 2 at SC – SC 5-4 in 10 (SC wins series 2-1)

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 – Dallas 13-1 (Dallas wins series 2-0)

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 – Matthews 6-1 (Matthews wins series 2-0)

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 – ER 18-7 (ER wins series 2-0)

-Semifinals July 5-8
No. 1 South Caldwell-1 vs. No. 4 Dallas
Game 1 – July 5 at SC – SC 7-0
Game 2 – July 6 at Dallas – SC 13-3 (SC wins series 2-0)

No. 3 Matthews vs. No. 2 East Rutherford
Game 1 – July 5 at ER – ER 6-5 in 8
Game 2 – July 6 at M – ER 10-0 in 5 (ER wins series 2-0)

-Finals July 9-12
No. 1 South Caldwell-1 vs. No. 2 East Rutherford
Game 1 – July 9 at SC – SC 4-3 in 8
Game 2 – July 10 at ER – SC 8-1 (SC wins series 2-0)

The pairings for the N.C. state tournament at Cherryville’s Fraley Field:

(Saturday, July 15)
Game 1 – Area 1 No. 2 (Beaufort Post 15) vs. Area 4 No. 1 (South Caldwell Post 29) – South Caldwell 9-1
Game 2 – Area 2 No. 2 (Wilmington Post 10) vs. Area 3 No. 1 (Davidson County Post 8) – Davidson County 12-2 in 5
Game 3 – Area 3 No. 2 (Carson Post 342) vs. Area 1 No. 1 (Roanoke Post 37) – Carson 9-7
Game 4 – Host (Cherryville Post 100) vs. Area 2 No. 1 (Calabash Post 503) – Cherryville wins by forfeit
(Sunday, July 16)
Game 5 – Beaufort vs. Wilmington, 10 a.m.
Game 6 – Roanoke vs. Calabash – Roanoke wins by forfeit
Game 7 – South Caldwell vs. Davidson County, 12:30 p.m.
Game 8 – Carson vs. Cherryville, 3 p.m.
(Monday, July 17)
Game 9 – Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7, 10 a.m.
Game 10 – Roanoke vs. Loser Game 8, 12:30 p.m.
Game 11 – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3 p.m.
(Tuesday, July 18)
Game 12 – Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 11, 11 a.m.
Game 13 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 9, 1:30 p.m.
(Wednesday, July 19)
Game 14 – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 11 a.m.
Game 15 – if necessary, 2 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

Charlotte 109, Minnesota 92: After losing their first 6 summer league games, the Hornets outscored the Timberwolves in each of the first 3 quarters and led by as many as 23 points before taking a victory.

Amari Bailey led a balanced Charlotte attack with 17 points. Nathan Mensah added 14 points, Kobi Simmons and Justin Robinson 13 apiece and Trevon Scott and James Nnaji 10 each.

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

July 3 vs. San Antonio Spurs (L 77-98)
July 5 vs. Golden State Warriors (L 83-98)

The Charlotte Hornets’ Las Vegas Summer League schedule:

July 7 vs. San Antonio Spurs (L 68-76)
July 9 vs. L.A. Lakers (L 75-93)
July 11 vs. Portland (L 93-97)
July 13 vs. New Orleans (L 83-89)
July 15 vs. Minnesota (W 109-92)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College athletics

The Charlotte 49ers will hold their next Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday, Sept. 15. The event will be held on-campus in the Popp Martin Student Union at 6 p.m.

Charlotte will induct both the 2022 and 2023 Hall of Fame classes during that ceremony.

The 2022 Class, announced in October of 2022, is made up of former men’s basketball coach Jeff Mullins, men’s basketball all-time greats Byron Dinkins and Henry Williams, women’s basketball All-America Paula Bennett and key contributors Gene and Vickie Johnson.

The 2023 Class, announced this May, includes all-time winningest men’s basketball coach Bobby Lutz, the department’s largest individual donor, Ike Belk, as well as men’s basketball standout DeMarco Johnson, women’s soccer star Lindsey Ozimek and baseball All-America Bo Robinson.

Charlotte opened its Hall of Fame in 2020 and inducted its inaugural class in 2022.

The evening will consist of a reception and silent auction followed by dinner and the induction ceremony.

Ticket prices for September’s ceremony are $125. Tables of eight can be purchased for $1,000. Individuals can register here: https://charlotte49ers.evenue.net/www/ev_uncc-athletics/ss/ev/SpecialEvent?specialEvent=HOF23&siteId=ev_uncc-athletics&locale=en_US&linkID=uncc-athletics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

CF Montreal 2, Charlotte FC 0: Host CF Montreal scored twice in the first half in a victory that ended a five-match streak of ties for Charlotte FC.

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

(7-8-8 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 (T 1-1)
July 8 FC Cincinnati (T 2-2)
July 15 at CF Montreal (L 0-2)
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

Lehigh Valley 4, Charlotte 0: The Knights got 5 hits in losing the 2nd game of the 3-game road series. The finale is 1:35 p.m. on Sunday at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pa.

Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2023 schedule:

Overall record: 37-51
First half record: 35-40
Second half record: 2-11

-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 (1-4)
July 4-9 Jacksonville (1-5)
July 14-16 at Lehigh Valley (0-2)
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

Staten Island 12, Gastonia 10 (10 innings): The visiting Ferry Hawks scored twice in the ninth to force extra innings then outscored the Honey Hunters 3-1 in the 10th inning.

Here is the full Gastonia Honey Hunters’ 2023 schedule:

Overall record: 45-24
First half record: 41-22
Second half record: 4-2

-First half
April (3-0)
28 Spire City (W 10-4)
29 Spire City (W 8-6)
30 Spire City (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 Spire City (W 2-1 in 10)
10 Spire City (W 10-0)
11 Spire City (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 Spire City (W 6-0)
24 at Spire City (W 8-5)
25 at Spire City (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 Spire City (W 5-4)
10 at Spire City (W 12-7)
11 at Spire City (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)
22 at Lancaster (L 2-6)
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 (6-7)
1 So. Maryland (L 6-7)
1 So. Maryland (W 8-7)
2 So. Maryland (W 3-2 in 10)
4 at Spire City (L 3-4)
5 at Spire City (L 8-18)
6 at Spire City (L 4-6)
7 at High Point (L 1-8)
-Second half
8 at High Point (W 7-2)
9 at High Point (L 13-14)
11 at Charleston, W.Va. (W 5-3)
12 at Charleston, W.Va. (W 2-1)
13 at Charleston, W.Va. (ppd.)
14 Staten Island (W 7-3)
15 Staten Island (L 10-12 in 10)
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 Spire City
9 Spire City
10 Spire City
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 Spire City
30 Spire City
31 Spire City

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 (Shane van Gisbergen)
Jul 9 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta, Hampton GA (William Byron-4)
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