High school sports rewind: Metrolina Christian punches ticket to NCISAA baseball finals
Metrolina Christian’s baseball team won its sixth game in row Monday night, beating Rabun Gap 9-2, and now the Warriors are heading to the state championship series.
Metrolina Christian will play High Point Wesleyan in the best-of-3 N.C. Independent Schools’ 4A finals. That series begins Friday and will conclude Saturday. The NCISAA has not announced the site yet.
High Point Wesleyan beat Charlotte Christian 14-4 in Monday’s other semifinal.
To get to the finals, Metrolina Christian broke a scoreless tie with Rabun Gap by scoring six runs in the second inning, playing on the road in Georgia (Rabun Gap has long been a member of the N.C. Independent Schools).
After the sixth inning, Metrolina led 7-1 and it added two more runs in the top of the seventh, before Rabun Gap got its final run in the bottom of the final inning.
Metrolina junior pitcher Chase Gibbs pitched 6.2 innings and had nine strikeouts.
Quick links
Four new teams, new No. 1 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll
NCHSAA, NCISAA baseball, softball scores, schedules
NCHSAA, NCISAA girls soccer, lacrosse, tennis scores
Monday’s #BIG5 top performers
Will Brooks, Metrolina Christian baseball: In a 9-2 win at Rabun Gap (GA), Brooks hit a grand slam home run.
Megan Coffey, Cuthbertson girls soccer: Coffey had two goals in a 3-0 win over Lake Norman in the first round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs.
Jack Hedrick, Charlotte Catholic baseball: The Duke commit was dominant in a 5-0 win at Cox Mill, striking out eight over 6.2 innings while allowing just one hit. Catholic is heading to the state quarterfinals.
Zoe Key, Weddington girls soccer: Key had two goals in a 4-0 win over Winston-Salem’s R.J. Reynolds in a first round NCHSAA 4A playoff match.
Avery Rush, Hough girls soccer: Rush had two goals and an assist in a 7-0 4A first round playoff win over Hough.
Girls’ soccer playoff recaps
Cuthbertson 3, Lake Norman 0: Megan Coffey, a sophomore, scored two goals in the first-round win. Sophomore Savanna Breslin added the other score. Goalie Maya Bakondi, a senior, got the shutout. Cuthbertson won its fifth straight game.
Ardrey Kell 9, East Mecklenburg 0: The Knights, the reigning 4A state champs, won their sixth straight game and will play Charlotte Catholic in the second round. On Monday, three Knights had two goals each — junior Ellie Riechman, junior Elie Newman and junior Brooke Watts.
Weddington 4, RJ Reynolds 0: Senior Zoe Key had two goals, and senior Madelyn James and sophomore Abbi Hoover scored the other two in a first-round playoffs win.
South Mecklenburg 2, Cox Mill 1: South Meck got goals from Ava Bernath, a senior, and freshman Riona Caszatt to advance in a first-round match. Senior goalie Lilly Heaslet had six saves.
Providence 3, Northern Guilford 2: The Panthers got goals from Payton Dragone, a freshman, junior Madison Detenber and junior Georgia-Allen Aaron.
Hough 7, Porter Ridge 0: Avery Rush scored twice for the Huskies in an easy win. She also had an assist. Seniors Gabrielle Dubiel and Sarah Funderburk each had two assists.
NCHSAA golf: Pine Lake Prep leading in 2A
Pine Lake Prep’s team and a golfer from Christ The King grabbed Day 1 leads at the NCHSAA state championships.
In the 2A finals at Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe, Pine Lake Prep took a three-shot lead over Seaforth. Salisbury and Newton-Conover were tied for third, 26 strokes back.
Seaforth sophomore Ty Willoughby shot 67 and grabbed a three-shot individual lead over Farmville Central’s Holden Rucker, Pine Lake Prep’s Aiden Penhall and Chase’s Brock Reid.
Meanwhile, in the 1A finals, Christ The King’s Colin Ferrick shot an even-par 71 to take a one-shot lead over Mitchell’s Connor Warren. Warren is looking to win his third straight state championship.
▪ At the 4A finals, Green Hope’s Jake Lewis shot a 6-under-par 66 to grab a two shot lead over teammate Jackson Bryce. Charlotte Catholic’s Will Hartman was tied for fifth just three strokes back.
▪ In 3A, Fayetteville Sanford took the Day 1 lead by two shots. Sanford’s Ethan Paschal shot a 66 to grab a one-shot lead over Stuart Cramer’s Rich Wills.
