As teams take the field Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Division I College Baseball Tournament, two teams will do so with five former Greater Hickory area players on their rosters.
North Carolina (45-14), which faces Maine (32-22) in Chapel Hill at 6 p.m., has three area players on the team.
Former St. Stephens standout Patrick Johnson, a right-handed senior pitcher, will watch Friday’s game and will be the starter in Saturday’s game.
Johnson has an 11-1 record with a 2.56 ERA that includes 15 appearances and 14 starts. He has allowed 71 hits and struck out 102.
Former South Caldwell pitchers Jimmy Messer and Cody Penny are also on the Tar Heels roster.
Penny, a sophomore, is 1-0 in 22 appearances with a 5.62 ERA. He has allowed 17 hits and recorded 18 strikeouts.
Messer, a freshman, is 0-0 in 12 appearances with a 2.70 ERA. He has allowed 10 hits and recorded 11 strikeouts.
Charlotte (42-14) faces Arkansas (38-20) Friday at 5 p.m. in Tempe, Ariz.
The 49ers have two Greater Hickory area players on their roster.
Tyler Barnette is a freshman right-handed pitcher from Hickory. and junior right-hander Chad Rothlin is from Fred T. Foard.
Barnette, who was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is 9-1 in 15 starts. He has a 1.96 ERA, allowing 67 hits and striking out 56.
Rothlin is 4-2 in 16 appearances with a 2.45 ERA. He has allowed 25 hits and recorded 19 strikeouts.
Crawdads 5, Shorebirds 3
The Hickory Crawdads scored two runs in the third inning and added three more in the seventh to defeat the Shorebirds on Thursday at Delmarva, Md.
Jhonny Gomez walked to start the third inning for the Crawdads and scored when Alejandro Selen singled to right field. A throwing error back into the infield scored Gomez. Jonathon Roof then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Selen.
Hickory got three runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run triple by Jurickson Profar, to secure the win.
Nicholas Topesch picked up his first win of the season for the Crawdads.
Alexander Post 170 rained out
The Alexander County Post 170 baseball game scheduled for Thursday at Rutherford County Post 423 was postponed due to rain.
The game was rescheduled for June 23 at Rutherford County.
CVCC, Post 48 team up for June baseball camp
Catawba Valley Community College and Hickory Legion Post 48 have scheduled a baseball camp for June 13-15 at the Legion Field off U.S. 64-70 in Newton.
The camp is for ages 8-14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day and will be directed by Fore Rembert, head coach of Post 48, and Frank Pait, head coach of CVCC.
Cost is $75 and spaces are limited.
Registration is open through June 10.
For more information, contact Pait at 327-7000 ext. 4119 or at fpait@cvcc.edu .
GOLF
Pavin joins Greater Hickory Classic field
Corey Pavin, the 1995 U.S. Open Championship winner, has joined the field for the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn presented by Kia Motors.
The ninth annual Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn is set for Monday through June 12 at Rock Barn Golf and Spa in Conover.
Pavin joins a Champions Tour field that already includes 2010 Charles Schwab Cup champion Bernhard Langer, 1992 PGA Championship winner Nick Price, two-time major championship winner Mark O’Meara, 1988 PGA Championship winner Jeff Sluman, John Cook, Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Funk, Peter Jacobsen, Gil Morgan, Kenny Perry, Olin Brown, 1987 PGA Championship winner Larry Nelson, 1992 U.S. Open champion Tom Kite, 1987 Masters winner Larry Mize, Hal Sutton, Joey Sindelar, Scott Hoch, 1979 Masters winner Fuzzy Zoeller, former Rock Barn winners Craig Stadler, Andy Bean and Doug Tewell, North Carolina residents Mike Goodes and Jim Thorpe as well as defending champion Gary Hallberg.
Ward, Boswell, Hoch voted into Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame
Scott Hoch of Raleigh, Howard Ward of Fayetteville and Larry Boswell of Jamestown have been voted the 2011 inductees into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.
Hoch, who will participate in next week's Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn Golf & Spa, won 11 times on the PGA Tour and played in 644 events. His total winnings were $18,530,156.
Ward worked for the Fayetteville Observer for 41 years, the last 27 years as sports editor, retiring in 1997. He has worked since 1998 as lead golf writer for The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines/Pinehurst, and has free-lanced for Golfweek, Golf World and Golf Magazine, as well as for newspapers in Great Britain and Canada.
Boswell, 67, holds 13 Carolinas Golf Association championships, which stands in as third most productive winner in CGA history, behind Dale Morey (24) and 2010 Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Paul Simson (22).
Wall qualifies for NC Amateur Championship
Rik Wall of Conover finished above the cut line in a tie for 17th on Thursday at the NC Amateur Sectional Qualifier in Holly Springs.
Wall shot a 76 to finish in a seven-way tie for 17th.
Brandon Reece of Raleigh was the event winner with a 71.
The 51st NC Amateur Championship is scheduled June 16-19 at the Greensboro Country Club.
SOFTBALL
LRU softball 10th in final NFCA Division II poll
The Lenoir-Rhyne University softball team ended the season ranked 10th in the country in the final 2011 NFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll. NFCA is the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
UC San Diego received all 16 first-place votes and finished the year ranked No. 1 after winning the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship, the first in school history.
LRU finished 45-10 record and won both the South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament championships for the second straight year.
The Bears also punched a ticket to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season and earned back-to-back berths to the NCAA Division II Southeast Super Regional.
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