8-18-21 roundup: Youth softball, Legion baseball, High school football, boys soccer and volleyball, Pro football and baseball, College cycling
By Richard Walker
Cherryville’s Dixie Angels All-Star softball recently won both the North Carolina state and the Dixie World Series tournament titles.
In the N.C. state tournament held in Cherryville from July 9-13, Cherryville routed three opponents by a 33-0 cumulative score and yielded only one hit.
In the Dixie World Series (Angels Division) held in Moncks Corner, S.C. from July 23-28, Cherryville defeated state champions from Florida, South Carolina and Georgia and the host Moncks Corner, S.C., team to win the World Series title.
Teams members were Darrah Beam, Mary Ellis Upchurch, Blair Culberson, Zoe Culberson, Jenny Brown, Kaitlin Huffman, Addy Morehead, Avery Price, Georgia Cruise, Chaslyn Montgomery, Haley Lynch and Addy Pruett and the coaches were Matthew Anthony, Wes Culberson and Dustin Morehead.
Legion baseball
Idaho Falls, Id., set history on Wednesday as the 2021 American Legion World Series came a close.
Post 56 became only the sixth team in ALWS history to win back-to-back championships with its 6-1 championship game victory over Honolulu, Hi.
Here are all scores from the 2021 American Legion World Series:
Pool play 4-team divisions (with records)
Stars – Central Plains (Fargo, N.D. 0-3), Mid-Atlantic (Ridge St. Mary’s, Md. 2-1), Southeast (Tupelo, Miss. 2-1), Western (Honolulu Team Central, Hi. 2-1)
Stripes – Great Lakes (Midland Berryhill, Mich. 1-2), Mid-South (Dubuque County, Ia. 2-1), Northeast (Beverly, Mass. 1-2), Northwest (Idaho Falls, Id. 2-1)
Thursday Aug. 12
Central Plains vs. Western, 10 a.m. – Honolulu 7, Fargo 1
Mid-South vs. Northeast, 1 p.m. – Beverly 8, Dubuque County 4
Great Lakes vs. Northwest, 4 p.m. – Idaho Falls 3, Midland 2
Southeast vs. Mid-Atlantic, 7:30 p.m. – Ridge 6, Tupelo 1
Friday, Aug. 13
Central Plains vs. Southeast, 4 p.m. – Tupelo 11, Fargo 1 (6 innings)
Mid-Atlantic vs. Western, 7 p.m. – Honolulu 5, Ridge 2
Idle – Great Lakes, Mid-South, Northeast, Northwest
Saturday, Aug. 14
Mid-South vs. Northwest, 1 p.m. – Dubuque County 10, Idaho Falls 2
Great Lakes vs. Northeast, 4 p.m. – Midland 6, Beverly 3
Southeast vs. Western, 7:30 p.m. – Tupelo 4, Honolulu 0
Idle – Central Plains, Mid-Atlantic
Sunday, Aug. 15
Mid-South vs. Great Lakes, 1 p.m. – Dubuque County 3, Midland 2
Mid-Atlantic vs. Central Plains, 4 p.m. – Ridge 8, Fargo 3
Northeast vs. Northwest, 7:30 p.m. – suspended to 10 a.m. Aug. 16 with Beverly leading Idaho Falls in bottom 1st
Idle – Southeast, Western
Monday, Aug. 16 – semifinals
Northeast vs. Northwest, 10 a.m. – Idaho Falls 13, Beverly 3 (6 innings)
Stars No. 1 (Tupelo) vs. Stripes No. 2 (Idaho Falls), 1 p.m. – Idaho Falls 9, Tupelo 3
Stripes No. 1 (Dubuque County) vs. Stars No. 2 (Honolulu), 4 p.m. – postponed to 5 p.m. Aug. 17
Tuesday, Aug. 17
Stripes No. 1 (Dubuque County) vs. Stars No. 2 (Honolulu), 5 p.m. – Honolulu 9, Dubuque County 1
Championship game – Idaho Falls vs. Honolulu, 8 p.m. – postponed to 1 p.m. Aug. 18
Wednesday, Aug. 18
Championship game – Idaho Falls vs. Honolulu, 1 p.m. – Idaho Falls 6-1
College athletics
Gastonia’s Leonard Hamilton is one of eight new members who will be inducting into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
A 1966 Highland High and 1968 Gaston College graduate, Hamilton will be joined by in the 2021 class by one of his players and a former Carolina Panthers standout.
Toney Douglas played for Hamilton from 2007 to 2009 and Graham Gano was placekicker for the Panthers from 2012 to 2019.
A three-time ACC coach of the year, Hamilton is Florida State’s all-time winningest coach and the fifth all-time winningest coach in ACC history. Hamilton led the Seminoles to their first ACC Championship in school history in 2012, first ACC regular season title in 2020 and has won at least 20 games in 13 of his 19 seasons as Florida State head coach with 16 postseason appearances in 19 years.
years and has advanced to the postseason in 16 of his 19 seasons.
High school football
For the second time this week, Crest has had its Friday home opener cancelled.
On Monday, Crest’s scheduled game against Freedom was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues at Freedom.
On Wednesday, Crest’s replacement game at home against Pisgah was cancelled due to excessive flooding in the Canton area during Tuesday’s rainstorms in the region.
Crest is now slated to open its 2021 season at Burns on Aug. 27.
Here is Friday’s slate for teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:
Bessemer City at Community School of Davidson
Burns at Forestview
Canton Pisgah at Crest, cancelled
Cherryville at Avery County
Cramer at Bunker Hill
Concord at Ashbrook
East Gaston at North Gaston
East Lincoln at Hibriten
Freedom at Crest, cancelled
Huss at Hickory Ridge
Lincolnton at South Point
Mountain Island Charter at Anson County
North Lincoln at West Lincoln
Shelby at Kings Mountain
High school boys soccer
The Gazette Cup began on Monday at Stuart Cramer High School as six teams were split into two pools to determine Saturday’s championship competition.
Here is the schedule and all games are being played at Cramer:
Pool A: West Charlotte (0-1), Stuart Cramer (2-0), Highland Tech (0-1)
Pool B: East Gaston (0-1), Forestview (1-0), South Point (0-0)
Monday’s games
Stuart Cramer 8, West Charlotte 1
Forestview 3, East Gaston 1: Devin Gutierrez scored two goals and Josh Martin one for Forestview.
Tuesday’s games
Stuart Cramer 4, Highland Tech 0
Forestview vs. South Point (suspended with Forestview leading 1-0 with approximately 37 minutes left)
Wednesday’s games
Highland Tech vs West Charlotte, 6 p.m.
South Point vs East Gaston, 8 p.m.
Thursday or Friday
Forestview vs. South Point resumed game, TBA
Saturday’s games
Pool A 3rd place vs Pool B 3rd place, 4 p.m.
Pool A 2nd place vs Pool B 2nd place, 6 p.m.
Pool A 1st place vs Pool B 1st place, 8 p.m.
High school volleyball
The Kings Mountain varsity and junior varsity teams are off to 2-0 starts to their seasons after sweeping Highland Tech on Monday and East Lincoln on Tuesday.
On Monday at home against Highland Tech, the varsity won 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) behind Aaliyah Byers (13 kills, 4 service points, 6 serve receptions, 3 blocks, 10 digs), Meile Songaila (6 kills, 11 service points, 23 serve receptions, 2 blocks, 13 digs), Lily Gold (5 kills, 6 service points, 8 digs) and Paige Bagwell (16 assists, 9 digs and 4 service points) and the junior varsity won 2-0 (25-11, 25-21) behind Sara Kate Bridges (11 assists, 7 digs, 5 service points), London Brown (6 kills, 4 digs, 5 serve receptions, 10 service points) and Addi Peeler (7 serve receptions, 5 digs, 10 service points).
On Tuesday at East Lincoln, the varsity won 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 29-27) behind Byers (15 kills, 9 digs, 6 serve receptions, 3 blocks, 7 service points), Songaila (9 kills, 9 digs, 13 serve receptions, 4 blocks, 6 service points), Jessie Ozmore (11 assists, 5 digs) and Bagwell (21 assists, 3 digs, 2 blocks, 11 service points) and the junior varsity won 2-1 (23-25, 25-17, 16-14) behind Brown (11 kills, 3 digs, 7 serve receptions, 4 service points), Peeler (7 digs, 20 serve receptions, 13 service points) and Bridges (6 digs, 18 assists, 6 service points).
Kings Mountain’s next matches at Thursday at T.C. Roberson.
College cycling
Belmont Abbey College has a new cycling coach.
The school announced on Wednesday it had hired 2020 graduate Nat Worcester as its new head coach.
“We are thrilled to name Nat Worcester as our new Head Cycling Coach at Belmont Abbey College,” Vice-President and Director of Athletics Stephen Miss said in a school new release. “As an alumnus of our college and cycling program, as well as a recent convert to Catholicism, Coach Worcester is the ideal individual to form and develop our students, maintain continuity and build upon the foundation established during his athletic career.”
Worcester returns to his alma mater where he was a four-year letterman and team captain, participating in the disciplines of track and road. Since graduation, he has been working at the Giordana Velodrome as a Track Assistant, providing instruction in the rider certification program, ensuring operational safety at the track and supervising equipment. He also has served as Director of the DDP Cycling Team, coordinating logistics for races and planning and implementing race strategies.
Pro football
Here is the Carolina Panthers’ full 2021 schedule:
(Preseason)
Aug. 15 at Indianapolis (Lost 18-21)
Aug. 21 Baltimore, 7 p.m.
Aug. 27 Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.
(Regular season)
Sept. 12 New York Jets, 1 p.m.
Sept. 19 New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Sept. 23 at Houston, 8:20 p.m.
Oct. 3 at Dallas, 1 p.m.
Oct. 10 Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 17 Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Oct. 24 at New York Giants, 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Nov. 7 New England, 1 p.m.
Nov. 14 at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 21 Washington, 1 p.m.
Nov. 28 at Miami, 1 p.m.
Dec. 5 BYE WEEK
Dec. 12 Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Dec. 18 or 19 at Buffalo, TBD
Dec. 26 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m
Pro baseball
West Virginia ended the Gastonia Honey Hunters’ three-game winning streak in a 7-2 victory on Wednesday CaroMont Health Park.
Gastonia (35-36) hosts West Virginia again on Thursday at 6:50 p.m.
College athletics
Gaston College will return to athletic competition this fall for the first time since 1975.
The school is holding a Block Party from 3-8 p.m. on Thursday to unveil the school’s new nickname, logo and colors.
Gaston College was nicknamed the Rebels from 1965 to 1969 and the Warriors from 1969 to 1972 before the school ceased its athletic programs.
With its restart this fall, it will again compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 10 and field teams in baseball, beach volleyball, esports, men’s basketball, softball and women’s cross country.