Photo by En MMe
The Concord Mountain Lions face off with the WSSU Rams.
WSSU Rams baseball splits
pair of games with Concord
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The Winston-Salem State Baseball team split a double
header against the Concord Mountain Lions on
Wednesday evening, March 11, dropping Game One
before rebounding for a thrilling walk-off win in the night
cap, off the bat of Alex Grubb at BB&T Ballpark in down
town Winston-Salem.
In Game One, Concord broke open a scoreless game in
the fifth inning, when the team was able to reach the
WSSU pitching for two runs on three hits to take a 2-0
lead.
WSSU answered back with a run in the bottom half of
the fifth, when Jacob Barber led off with a single followed
by another single from Alex Grubb. After a walk from
Taylor Idol, Gavin Culler would bring home Jacob Barber
with a sacrifice fly to right field, cutting the Mountain
Lion lead to one, at 2-1.
Concord University added another run in the sixth
inning, on two hits, and helped by two WSSU errors, to
push out in front 3-1. And would add two more runs in the
top of the seventh to increase their lead to 5-1.
Winston-Salem State to add one more run in the bot
tom of the seventh inning when Des Roberts would bring
home Gavin Culler, to close out the scoring.
With the loss. WSSU falls to 14-5 overall, while
Concord University improves to 3-4 overall on the 2015
season.
Jordan Carlton took the loss for WSSU, pitching 5.0
innings, allowing two runs and four hits while walking
three and striking out three. Hayden O'Neal pitched 2.0
innings of relief, allowing three runs on three hits while
walking three.
Gavin Culler and Barber led the WSSU Rams, with
each going one for three with a run scored, while Culler
also added a run batted in. Connor Andrus, Nathan Steger
and Alex Grubb also each went one for three. Roberts fin
ished one for four with a run batted in.
In Game Two, Winston-Salem State manufactured a
run in the bottom half of the seventh inning, and Alex
Grubb would single to right field, scoring Connor Andrus
to give Winston-Salem State a 1-0 walk-off win.
The Rams used five pitchers to combine for the
shutout, getting some weekend starters some mid-week
work in preparation for CIAA play last weekend. Sam
Burton, the starter, along with Aaron Hatch pitched the
first two innings, of hitless baseball. Eric Corlett would
pitch two innings allowing two hits with a strikeout, and
Jordan Cummings also pitched two innings, allowing one
hit while striking out two. Devin McLemore picked up the
win, pitching a hitless sixth and struck out two Mountain
Lion batters.
Gavin Culler, Des Roberts, Dylan Dombrowskas,
Connor Andrus and Alex Grubb each went one for three,
while Andrus scored the winning run, and Grubb picked
up the RBI on the hit.
Winston-Salem State will travel to Murfreesboro, N.C.
this weekend to open CIAA play, when they face the
Chowan Hawks in a four game weekend series.
Charlotte's Time Warner Cable
Arena becomes smoke-free
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Time Warner Cable Arena will became
one of Charlotte's smoke-free government
grounds, on Wednesday, March 18. As a
result, smoking will not be allowed any
where on the Time Warner Cable Arena
property (building, grounds, sidewalks,
etc.).
Also, the designated outdoor smoking
areas currently available during Charlotte
Hornets games and other arena events will
also be eliminated. Per this policy, no light
ed smoking products will be allowed in the
building or on the grounds.
Since Time Warner Cable Arena is a
city-owned building, it falls under the new smoke-free
government grounds regulation. In October, an ordinance
was adopted by the Mecklenburg County Board of
Commissioners that bans smoking in county-, city- or
town-owned buildings, vehicles and grounds in
Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte and the six
townships.
A FAQ regarding the new smoke-free policy is avail
able at hornets.com.
For more information, please visit homets.com or
time wamercablearena .com.
*
Prep Girls
from page HT
tried to stay active and keep in front of her,"
Claytor said. "Coach talked to me during
the week and he explained all the different
things she likes to do when she has the ball
in her hands."
The Phoenix pushed the pace to a faster
tempo in the second quarter. Mychala
Wolfe, Chrisalyn Boston, Kay la Robinson
and Claytor led the charge on a 13-2 run
and Prep led 32-15 at the half.
The long-awaited moment for a cham
pionship-game victory was not lost on
Claytor. After Prep won West Regional two
weeks ago to advance to the state, Claytor
ended a press conference by saying "Hey,
we're going to the 'ship' y'all "
A week later, she was nearly speechless.
"Right now, I'm just too excited," she
said in a post-game interview. "Words can't
describe how I feel. When that buzzer went
off, I knew it (winning
tne snip ) was a done
deal
At the start of the
season. Prep's girls were
on a mission to make
amends for the previous
season that ended in a
nightmare. The Phoenix
lost by 3 points in
regionals to Bishop
McGuinness, which
went on to win its ninth
straight state championship.
The Phoenix players were haunted by
that memory and Love used it as motivation
to keep his team focused and hungry. "We
felt like we beat ourselves in that game
because we missed so many free throws."
said Love. "So, we went back to work and
found ways to improve in every game. I
give a lot of credit to these ladies for keep
ing their passion to work and win games.
We're going to enjoy this for a while."
Aside from Claytor, the Phoenix had
three other players to score in double fig
ures, which included two with double-dou
bles. Boston contributed 14 points and 11
rebounds and Robinson added 13 points
and 10 boards. Wolfe finished with 13
points on 5-of-10 field shooting from the
field.
"I just came out and did my job,"
Boston said, who was voted Most
Outstanding Player for the Phoenix. "I take
the shots when I'm open. When a shot goes
up, I grab the rebound and kick the ball out
so we can get our running game going."
Hwcfcy PniiT.efteJec1
Mychala Wolfe scored in double
figures in the title game.
Lor*
Prep Boys
from page BI
Prep pulled to within a
basket at 63-61 on Daivien
Williamson's drive. But
Johnson hit a pair of free
throws and Simmons got
free for an uncontested lay
up to put East Carteret up
by 6 (67-61) with 12 sec
onds to go. Josh Gould hit a
3-pointer to account for
Prep's final points of the
contest.
Hollingsworth led all
scorers 25 points in his
final game wearing a Prep
uniform. Zaire Williams
came close to posting a
double-double with 9
points and nine rebounds.
For East Carteret (28
2), Brown delivered a vir
tuoso performance (17
points, seven rebounds and
six assists) as the champi
onship game MVP.
Simmons contributed a
team-high 23 points.
East Carteret issued
some payback on Prep,
who beat the Mariners in
last year's state final on
Hollingsworth's put-back
with less than two seconds
left to play. "After going
through what they went
through last year, we knew
they'd be ready," said
Gould. "They're a scrappy
bunch that likes to com
pete. We didn't give it
(title) to them. They took
from us what we wanted to
keep."
This season's crew at
Prep could be viewed as
ovcrachievers. Gould lost
eight seniors from last sea
son. It was a core group
which won three straight
state championships. Five
of the eight are now play
ing college basketball. In
contrast, this year's group
had three seniors who got a
lot of playing time. The rest
of the squad was comprised
of freshmen and sopho
mores who got a lot of sea
soning as varsity newbies.
"We'll be back (to the
state championship), I can
promise you that," Gould
said. "If we don't, it won't
be because we didn't give it
our best shot. We've estab
lished a culture here and
we're not going any
where."
Reynolds/
from page 61
omore, draws as much
attention as a polished ball
handler who has the total
package. Wilson is
crafty with the ball
in her hands, and
she has the speed
to get to the rim. If
the lane gets
crowded, she's
developed a
dependable pull-up
jumper and she's
lethal from 3-point L
range.
"When I scouted
Reynolds during the state
playoffs, she was the one
player who really had me
worried," said Coach
Barbara Nelson of
>?
Charlotte Myers Park.
"She's such a good shooter
that you can't afford to give
her a step. That's why we
put our most athletic player
(Aliyah Mazyck) on her.
Aliyah s length
forced her to
take shots from
further out than
usual."
Reynolds,
who finished the
season at 27-1,
was over
matched against
J Myers Park in
the playoffs,
especially on the
front line. The Lady
Demons made a game of it
early and the first quarter
ended in a 10-10 tie. After
that, RJR went into an
offensive tailspin and the
end result was a 64-36
blow-out defeat.
"One game didn't
define our season," said
Gainey. "This team accom
plished a lot and wrote a
new chapter in the history
of the school. The key now
is to establish consistency
because the bar has been
set very high.
"We're going back to
work. It's important that
everybody continues to buy
in to what we're doing, to
have that willingness to fill
their roles. This is about
establishing a legacy and
establishing the right
habits. When you outwork
your opponents, you will
be successful."
Gainey
WyKevin Bazemore
earns second
Team All-Atlantic
Region honor
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. - Winston-Salem State
University senior forward WyKevin Bazemore has been
selected to the Daktronics/Division II Conference
Commissioners Association All-Atlantic Region second
basketball team.
WyKevin Bazemore is a rarity, as he was selected to
the All-CIAA Team for the fourth consecutive year. He is
only the fourth player in the history
of the C1AA to earn that honor four
times.
Bazemore started all 28 games
this season and averaged 13.3 points
and a team and CIA A high 9.8
rebounds per game. He scored a sea
son high 25 points versus Johnson C.
Smith and also pulled down 17
rebounds versus Fairmont State.
He finished his career with 1337
points and 984 rebounds. His rebounding total ranks him
3rd All-Time in WSSU history behind Carlos Terry's
(1975-78) 1,467 and Mike Robinson's (1976-80) 1,242.
West Liberty's Seger Bonifant has been named the
Adantic Region Player of the Year and headlines the
2014-15 Daktronics/Division II Conference
Commissioners Association All-Adantic Region Men's
Basketball Team. <
Bonifant, a junior from Berlin, Ohio, was the
Mountain East Conference Player of the Year after aver
aging 24 points per game for the Hilltoppers. WLU fin
ished the season ranked fifth in the country and is the
host for the NCAA Adantic Regional Tournament.
Joining Bonifant on the All-Adandc Region first
team are Adam Blazek of Gannon, Devante Chance of
Indiana (Pa.), Nick Harney of Fairmont State and Matt
Tobin of East Stroudsburg.
The second team consists of WyKevin Bazemore
(Winston-Salem State), Tyree Gaiter (Notre Dame
College), Wali Hepburn (Lock Haven), C J. Hester (West
Liberty) and Cameron Knox (Bowie State).
Sports information directors from NCAA Division II
Adandc Region schools and conferences selected the
two Daktronics All-Region teams and voted on the
Player of the Year. The process concludes with Ail
American selections announced later in the month.
The team is sponsored by Daktronics Inc., an acknowl
edged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable
display systems for virtually every sport at every level of
competition.
Bazemort
Winston-Salem to
host national
track and field
championships
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Salem will be host to the 2015 USATF
National Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships
from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22. The compe
tition will be on March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Village Inn
Event Center, the official meet Headquarters Hotel, 2505
Empire Drive.
USATF and JDL Fast Traoc are set to bring over 2,100
athletes, coaches and spectators from across the country
and internationally. The three-day event will feature for
mer All-Americans, Olympians and World Champions
ranging in age from 30 to 95+.
Competition at each age group will display their
speed, strength and endurance in the world's first sport -
Track and Field. Track events will range from 60 meters
to the 3,000 nfeter race-walk, while field events will
include the full range of jumps and throws.
For more information on the competition contact
event organizer and facility director, Craig Longhurst, at
336-722-2033 and craig@jdlcastlecorp.com. Website is
w ww.visitwinstonsalem .com/Masters