PETER PETROFF
Special to the Independent Tribune
CONCORD â On Monday night, the 15th-seeded East Rowan softball team came away with a 1-0, extra-inning victory over second-seeded Central Cabarrus to advance to the second round of the Class 3A state playoffs.
Each squadâs team/captain pitcher dominated throughout. Neither Mustangs senior Haley Strange nor Vikings junior Brantleigh Parrott allowed an earned run. Strange only gave up three hits and had 16 strikeouts. Parrott, meanwhile, only allowed a single hit and had 17 strikeouts, and had at least one strikeout in every inning.
âIt was a pitcherâs duel,â said Vikings coach Charlie Blackwelder. âIt was going to come down to who scored first.â
JOE HABINA
Special to the Independent Tribune
CONCORD â The Central Cabarrus softball team has some unfinished business in clinching the South Piedmont 3A Conference regular-season championship, but the Vikings took a big step toward wrapping it up at Cox Mill on Thursday.
First-place Central Cabarrus scored five runs over the final two innings to break open a tie game and push ahead for an 11-7 road victory over the second-place Chargers.
Cassidy Wall (3) beats the tag at second during Thursday evening softball against Central Cabarrus. Todd Maulden/Special to the Independent Tribune
The Vikings are 7-0 in conference play (7-1 overall) with three games left, while Cox Mill is 7-2 in the SPC (7-3) with just one game to play.
By Thomas Lott
CABARRUS COUNTY â The first community prom and prom dress giveaways were held this weekend and organizers couldnât have been more pleased with the events.
âIt was fantastic,â Cabarrus County Board of Commission member Barbara Strang said. âI cannot say enough about it. The kids were so well behaved, polite, we had no problems whatsoever out of the 240 children we had there and they just had the absolute best time.â
When Cabarrus County Schools cancelled all proms back on March 1 due to COVID-19 restrictions in place under Governor Roy Cooperâs orders, many members of the community were not happy. So some of them reached out to Strang to see if there was anything the County could do.
PETER PETROFF
Special to the Independent Tribune
KANNAPOLIS â On Thursday, the visiting Cox Mill Chargers squad defeated A.L. Brown, 3-2, in a Southern Piedmont 3A softball game that came down to the wire at Kannapolis Middle School.
Cox Mill freshman pitcher Bree Burris fanned A.L. Brownâs final batter, with a Wonder in scoring position, to secure the win.
Chargers Jordan Parkin takes a cut. Joan Moore/Special to The Independent Tribune
In the process, the Chargers (5-2 overall, 4-2 South Piedmont 3A Conference) solidified their second-place standing in the league, trailing only Central Cabarrus (5-1-1, 5-0).
C. JEMAL HORTON
MOUNT PLEASANT â His promising football career almost ended right there on the Mount Pleasant Lions Club field several years ago.
No orange slices, juice boxes or other postgame treats team parents hand out were going to be enough to convince Ryan Tyson otherwise.
He was ready to be done, hang up his cleats and his Lions Club Cowboys jersey, and maybe pursue the other sport he grew up loving: baseball.
But football?
Deuces. Peace out. Buh-bye.
The sport just wasnât fun for Tyson, not at the positions he had to play being one of the biggest kids in the league â 5 foot 8 and 135 pounds in the 10- to 12-year-old division.