By Ken Bradley
MaxPreps.com
In one of the season’s most-anticipated boys’ lacrosse matches, Charlotte Catholic proved to be the team to beat.
Catholic started strongly and continued on to a 10-6 victory against Providence Day this week.
Providence Day was coming off a win the previous week against rival Providence. But that momentum did not carry over against Catholic.
“Catholic came out ready to play and outhustled us,” Providence Day coach Bobby Thompson said. “They beat us to groundballs and controlled the time of possession in the first half. They played a very solid game. They are very talented offensively and did a great job of capitalizing on our mistakes.”
Thompson seemed convinced afterwards that Catholic is the area’s best team – for now.
“Catholic is definitely the team to beat right now,” Thompson said of the Cougars, whose 9-0 record includes wins against Providence and Charlotte Country Day. “It will take a very disciplined team to beat them. In order for a team to beat them, they have to be very patient on offense and try to keep the ball away from the Catholic attack.”
For Providence Day (7-2), it may not be the last time it faces Catholic.
“We do not have them on the schedule again, but we have the Queen City Tournament at the end of April,” Thompson said. “We may get another crack at them.”
Despite the loss, Thompson said his squad isn’t hanging their heads.
“Tough loss, but our goals have not changed,” he said. “We suffered a similar setback last season and used it as motivation moving forward. My hope is that this team will do the same.”
Baseball: Gastonia Forestview off to Quick Start
Back-to-back victories against Gaston County rivals Ashbrook and Hunter Huss are a couple of things Forestview coach Brian Horne will gladly take.
Luckily for Horne, his Jaguars took two from their Big South 3A/4A opponents in the past week. Both wins came in strikingly different ways.
In defeating Hunter Huss, Forestview ace Preston Lyon was nearly perfect. In fact, he came within two outs of a perfect game. He settled for a no-hitter in beating the Huskies 4-0 and improving his record to 5-0.
Earlier, against Ashbrook, the Jaguars scored two runs in their final two at-bats to edge the Green Wave, 7-6.
“We are off to a very good start,” Horne said. “The Ashbrook victory was very important for several reasons. First, it was the first time we had come from behind to win. We also had a very solid relief outing that helped us learn more about our pitching. It was also very important to keep our momentum.”
It was also big for Horne in a personal way.
“It was nice to have a good showing against a team where I spent the first eight years of my coaching career,” he said.
Like in the victory against Huss, Horne said pitching has been the team’s secret to success.
“The key for our season so far is very solid starting pitching,” Horne said. “Very timely hitting and outstanding team speed. Our team has very good role players as well.”
Lyon, who also bats leadoff for the Jaguars (10-3, 5-1), is the team leader and is committed to play next season for Pfeiffer University. Junior Griffin Wise is batting above .400, senior Jimmy Heracklis is near .400 and senior Josh Wood has stolen 10 bases.
“To continue our success, we must play solid defense and continue to put the ball in play and use our speed,” Horne said.
Baseball: Lane Stands Tall for Hopewell
Recently, when Hopewell won the Carolina Trust Bank Easter Tournament at Lincolnton High School, there was one player who stood out.
His standout performance earned him MVP of the tournament.
But that wasn’t the only reason he stood out.
Hopewell senior Jack Lane is an imposing player, standing 6-feet, 9-inches tall.
“Jack Lane has been a pleasant surprise for us this year,” Hopewell coach David Brown said.
Pleasant might be an understatement. The senior had only about 10 at-bats and 10 innings pitched his junior season. And he’s been able to spend time getting better because, despite his height, he doesn’t play basketball.
“He has worked very hard to put himself in this position,” Brown said.
Lane is the team’s No. 2 pitcher behind Adam Waters and usually bats fourth or fifth in the lineup and also plays first base.
According to the area baseball statistics in the Charlotte Observer, through Wednesday, Lane was batting .439, had four home runs and an area-best 24 RBIs. On the mound he is 3-0 with an ERA slightly above two runs per game.
Baseball: North Meck Draws First Blood
In the tough ME-CA 7 4A, North Meck took the early lead with a 4-2 win against Hopewell in a pitchers' duel.
Both teams entered the game undefeated in league play, but it was North Meck’s Sean Pope who proved to be the difference. The junior pitcher, according to the Observer, pitched five innings and struck out xx for the win.
The Vikings (11-1, 5-0) scored all four of their runs in the first three innings and held the Titans to just two hits – both by Rusty White. Hopewell is now 11-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
Baseball: Double Threats
* Myers Park has been good this season, compiling an 11-3 overall mark and 6-2 record in the Southwestern 4A. A big reason for the strong start is the play of Nate Cudney.
Earlier this week, in a 9-2 victory against Independence, Cudney earned the win on the mound and added a home run at the plate.
* Ardrey Kell is another team off to an excellent start. Its 5-4 win against Butler this week improved them to 10-2 and 7-1 in the Southwestern 4A. Jordan Darnell picked up the win pitching to improve to 4-1 and he added his fourth home run and three RBIs as well.
Softball: Butler Still Steamrolling the Competition
Ardrey Kell played well – well enough to win on most occasions.
The problem was, this occasion, they played well against defending state champion Butler and, well, playing well against Butler most days isn’t going to earn you a victory. You have to play great.
Kalie Lang allowed just five hits for Ardrey Kell, struck out six and surrendered just one earned run. The Knights (8-4, 4-4 in SW4A) collected one hit and left runners on base in four innings.
That’s what happens when Constance Orr is on the mound for the Bulldogs (11-0, 7-0). Orr improved to 7-0 with her 13-strikeout performance.
Ken Bradley, a former sports editor and writer in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, covers the Charlotte, N.C., area for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at kbradley14@yahoo.com.
