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Cherryville baseball, KM softball trending upward in latest Gastonia, Shelby rankings

joe l hughes ii, gaston gazette
·5 min read

Here’s a look at how high school baseball teams in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties rank going into play April 15, 2024.

Trending upward

  • Cherryville baseball: Could coach Scott Heavner’s baseball club be preparing for another late season surge? A two-game sweep of East Gaston may indicate such, Cherryville (9-7, 6-2 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A) outscoring their Southern Piedmont 1A/2A rival 16-3 during last week’s series.

  • Kings Mountain softball: There’s still a lot of softball left to play, but the Lady Mountaineers (11-0, 7-0 Big South 3A) last week overcame their greatest hurdle in Big South 3A play with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Crest. It was the Chargers’ first loss to a league opponent since 2017, when it was part of the old South Mountain 2A/3A Conference.

On a downward slide

  • East Gaston baseball: A slump couldn’t come at a worse time for the Warriors, losers of three straight games after being swept by Cherryville in the teams’ two-game set.

  • East Gaston softball: The Warriors’ softball team finds itself in a more precarious situation after a pair of close losses to Cherryville last week. East Gaston (7-5, 5-3 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A) goes into this week’s two-game set with Burns knowing it must win both games to remain in contention for an automatic NCHSAA 2A playoff berth.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: Here are 9 Gastonia, Shelby high school baseball and softball games to watch this week

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Baseball

  1. Burns (18-0, 8-0 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A): The Bulldogs can clinch their spot in the NCHSAA 2A playoffs with a win in either of two games against East Gaston.

  2. Gaston Christian (10-2, 3-1 NCISAA Metrolina): The Eagles have averaged just shy of 11 runs per game during their seven-game win streak, including 51 total in their last four. Tuesday’s matchup with Hickory Grove Christian will provide a good litmus test as the NCISAA postseason looms.

  3. East Lincoln (14-3, 6-2 Western Foothills 3A): There are no off nights in Western Foothills 3A, something the Mustangs will learn this week in pivotal matchups against St. Stephens and rival North Lincoln, teams which earned wins over East Lincoln earlier this season.

  4. North Lincoln (11-4, 5-2 Western Foothills 3A): North Lincoln takes on both of Western Foothills 3A’s top teams this week, starting with a home date against Foard followed Friday night with a high stakes matchup against rival East Lincoln.

  5. Kings Mountain (12-4, 7-0 Big South 3A): The Mountaineers can’t get caught looking ahead to series against South Point and Crest just yet. A busy week looms for Kings Mountain, traveling to North Gaston on Monday before a two-game set against Forestview.

  6. South Point (10-4, 8-0 Big South 3A): The home stretch begins for the Red Raiders, their stiffest tests in Big South 3A play coming over the next three weeks in the form of Crest, Kings Mountain and North Gaston.

  7. Lincoln Charter (11-5, 10-0 Catawba Shores 1A/2A): The Eagles have won eight of their last nine games. Senior standouts Brody Thompson and Jacob Smith lead the way, each hitting above .400 and combining for six home runs and 29 RBIs.

  8. Stuart Cramer (9-6, 4-4 Big South 3A): Since being swept mid-March by Kings Mountain, the Storm have won seven of their last 11 games, including a sweep of Crest in which it allowed two runs in their two-game series.

Softball

  1. Kings Mountain (11-0, 7-0 Big South 3A): With her team’s bats silenced, pitcher Maddie Huffman limited Crest to two hits with 17 strikeouts in a 1-0 victory.

  2. Crest (10-3, 7-1 Big South 3A): Aidan Ledbetter allowed one run on one hit last week in 11 ⅔ innings last week, earning a no-hitter against Stuart Cramer and came just shy of doing the same to a vaunted Kings Mountain lineup.

  3. Cherryville (12-2, 6-0 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A): The Lady Ironmen passed their most significant test of the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A season, sweeping East Gaston to take a commanding lead in league play. Cherryville now leads the conference by two games.

  4. East Lincoln (7-5, 6-2 Western Foothills 3A): The Lady Mustangs rebounded from a 4-3 loss to Foard in extra innings by outscoring West Iredell and Statesville by a combined score of 36-2 later in the week.

  5. North Lincoln (10-4, 4-3, Western Foothills 3A): It’s a big week for the Knights, who hope to nudge themselves back into contention in Western Foothills 3A against league leaders Foard and North Iredell.

  6. Forestview (9-4, 6-2 Big South 3A): The Jaguars have averaged 16.8 runs per game during a five-game winning streak.

  7. Lincoln Charter (10-4, 9-0 Catawba Shores 1A/2A): The Eagles have won four in a row, averaging 11.3 runs during the stretch.

  8. East Gaston ((7-5, 5-3 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A): A conference title may not be in the cards, but the Warriors’ hope for a NCHSAA 2A state playoff berth remains in play Tuesday as they travel to East Gaston.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: NCHSAA sports: Gastonia, Shelby Week 8 baseball, softball rankings