The Hickory Crawdads scored two runs in the too of the ninth inning, which proved to be the difference in a 9-7 win on the road against the Hagerstown Suns at Municipal Stadium Monday afternoon.

After a back-and-forth affair sent the game to the ninth inning tied 7-7, the Crawdads took the lead for good off of Hagerstown left-hander Aaron Fletcher (L, 1-3). After a double and a single put two men on to start the frame, Jonathan Ornelas singled into right to score the go-ahead run for the Crawdads. A Curtis Terry sacrifice fly later in the inning gave Hickory the two-run lead.

The Suns (19-24) couldn't answer Hickory's ninth-inning rally. Hagerstown put two men on base with two outs in the final frame, but Nick Snyder (S, 2) relieved Abdiel Mendoza (W, 2-0) to record the final out. He got Tyler Cropley to line out on the first pitch he threw to end the ballgame.

Hagerstown was trailing before the bats could even get to the plate in this one as the Crawdads (28-15) scored four runs in the first inning off of Suns starter Tim Cate. Run-scoring hits from Sherten Apostel, Melvin Novoa, and Frainyer Chavez put Hickory on top early.

Cate would settle down after that, however. The lefty ended up tossing six innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. The UConn product struck out five Crawdads and did not issue a walk. Despite finishing the start strong, Cate's streak of six consecutive quality starts was snapped.

Hagerstown's offense answered quickly in the first off of Crawdads starter Hans Crouse. Ricardo Mendez crossed home on an error and then Justin Connell scored on a double play to make it a 4-2 game.

The Suns got one more back in the fourth, and then trailing 5-3 in the seventh, started another rally. With the bases loaded and one out, a Gilbert Lara RBI single made it 5-4, and then Jacob Rhinesmith's RBI groundout tied the game.

It looked like Hickory would get out of the inning, but an error from Apostel at third base allowed Connell to score and put Hagerstown on top 6-5.

The situation would change twice again in the eighth. Curtis Terry's two-run homer in the top half put Hickory back on top, but Trey Vickers answered with an RBI double in the bottom half to tie the game at seven.

The Crawdads are 28-15 on the first half of the season and return home to L.P. Frans Stadium to face the Lexington Legends Tuesday night at 6:30.

After battling it out with nature and torrential rains the last two weeks Hickory Motor Speedway competitors were finally able to turn their attention back to America's Most Famous Short Track and battle it out on the famed 3/8 mile oval with a full slate of racing action on Whelen Night at the Races.

Leading off the evening's festivities would be the first of two 40 lap features for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models. Recent first-time Late Model winner, Vince Midas in the #14 would grab the top spot in qualifying with the #12 of Gage Painter, in his Late Model debut at Hickory Motor Speedway, starting second. Thomas Beane in the #31 and Bradley McCaskill in the #07 would make up row two for the start of the race. The green flag would see Midas and Painter side by side for the first lap of racing. Midas would nose ahead and Beane would use the opportunity to slide by Painter for second. Jake Crum in the #12C would start fifth but move up to third in the first five laps. Lap 17 would see the caution fly as Julia Landauer's #2 would come to a stop in turn four. The restart would see Midas choose the inside with Beane to his outside. The front row would battle side by side for a lap and be joined by Crum as he would take them three wide on lap 18 and emerge with the lead. Midas would bide his time, however and move back to the lead two laps later after passing Crum. Painter would see an opening after the scuffle up front and move to second. Midas would hold on to grab the win outlasting the field. Painter would grab 2nd in his first Late Model race. Beane, the Hickory Motor Speedway points leader, would hang on to finish 3rd. Bradley McCaskill in the #07 would finish 4th and Chris Hudspeth in the #28 would finish 5th.

The Street Stocks would roll off next for their 30 lap slugfest. The #21 of Drew Cox would grab the pole position with Ethan Johnson in the #2 starting to his outside. Cox and Johnson would battle door to door for the top spot. A couple of laps would be needed before Cox could nose ahead for the lead. Lap 9 would see Jesse Clark in the #5 and Mark Whitten in the #77 make contact and bring out the yellow flag. Clark would make repairs and continue but Whitten would have to park for the evening due to the damage. The restart would see Cox and Johnson up front once more. Lap 15 would see Kevin Eby in the #03 work his way around Johnson for the second spot. The yellow would fly once more on lap 17 as Clark would spin on the front stretch. Cox and Eby would start from the front on the restart. Cox would move ahead for the top spot as the battles would rage behind him. Lap 23 would see the #31 of Derek Fowler spin on the front stretch and bring out the caution. Cox and Eby would restart up front and Cox would nose ahead for the top spot. Cox would hold on to the top spot and take the win. Eby would finish 2nd and Johnson would bring home a hard fought 3rd. Jonathon Smith in the #16 would pressure Johnson hard for third but settle for 4th. Marshall Sutton in the #64 would work his way through the field to finish 5th.

Round #4 of the Paramount Kia ‘Big 10' Racing Challenge would be next up on the schedule with 50 laps for the Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models. Stevie Johns Jr in the #91 would snatch the top spot in qualifying with the #44 of Josh Kossek to his outside. Landon Huffman in the #71 and the #99 of Kyle Mansch would make up row two for the green flag. Johns and Kossek would dive into turn one side by side, but Kossek would use the high side to his advantage and pull ahead on the backstretch. Mansch would also use the high line to get around Johns for second. Johns would bide his time and work his way back around Mansch for the second spot on lap 18. Lap 27 would see Cody DeMarmels in the #18 work his way around Mansch for third. Kossek would hang on for his first Hickory Motor Speedway Victory, leading every lap on his way to the win. DeMarmels would grab another spot near the end of the race and finish 2nd. Johns would take the 3rd spot after a hard fought battle. Mansch would finish 4th and Huffman would hang on for 5th.

The Renegades would be the next to roll off with their 20 lap feature. Winner of the last Renegades feature Spencer Dickinson in the #6 would start from the top spot while current point leader Robbie Hollifield in the #51 would be close behind in qualifying and start second. Dickinson would move to the early lead and Brian Larkin in the #7 would move to second. The caution would fly on lap 3 as contact between Justin Austin in the #40 and the #97 of Danny Crump Jr would send both spinning. The restart would see Dickinson move to the front once more and battles would continue throughout the field. Lap 9 the caution would fly once again due to contact between Austin and Crump. Crump would continue but Austin would retire his ride for the night. Dickinson would move back to the front as the green flag flew. Caution would fly on lap 15 as the #69 of Megan Campbell would have mechanical problems and the track cleanup crew would be needed. One last restart would see Dickinson pull back to the lead and drive on to the win. Larkin would finish 2nd and Hollifield would come home in 3rd. Crump would finish 4th and Zachary Mullins in the #72 would finish 5th.

Next up would be the 4-Cylinders for their 25 lap feature. 2018 Champion Brian Mundy in the #6 would set the fast time and start from the point with the #25 of Dennis Ward starting to his outside. The green flag would see Mundy and Ward looking to battle into turn one, but Mundy suddenly slowed at the flagstand and coasted back around to the pits. Ward would move to the lead. Lap 9 would see caution as Don Wardo in the #59 would spin on the front stretch. Ward would move back to the lead on the restart, but see the caution fly again as Wardo would spin on the front stretch on lap 11. The restart would see Ward move to the lead with Robert Trivette in the #11 giving chase. Ward would hold on for the win with Trivette finishing 2nd. Cody Combs in the #9 would finish 3rd, Ashton Trivette in the #21 would finish 4th, and Allison Houston in the #29 would finish 5th.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models would finish out the night's events with their second 40 lap feature. With the nine car invert of the finishing order from race one Julia Landauer in the #2 would start from the top spot with Jake Crum in the #12C to his outside. The second row would be made up of Connor Mosack in the #18 and the #6 of Mike Darne. As the green flag would fly Landauer and Crum would race hard for the top spot. Landauer would nose ahead and take the lead. Crum would drop to second, but a few short laps later seize the first opportunity and move to the inside and pass Landauer for the lead. Darne would also use the opening and move around the #2 for second. Battles would rage throughout the field with good hard racing but no caution flags. Darne would catch Crum with ten laps to go and the pair would go side by side for the remainder of this exciting race. The pair would bring the fans to their feet with an epic battle that would culminate with Crum taking the win by a nose. Darne would race the leader hard but clean and take home 2nd. Thomas Beane in the #31 would cap off a good points night with another 3rd place finish on the evening. Bradley McCaskill in the #07 would finish 4th and Vince Midas in the #14 would cap off a good night after winning race one with a 5th place finish in race two.

Next week, May 25th, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returns to Hickory Motor Speedway with a full slate of racing action for 321 Lawnmower Night at the Races featuring Twin 40 lappers for our Late Model Stock Cars.

In two weeks, June 1st, the ever popular Knights of Destruction rolls back in to America's Most Famous Short Track for a fun-filled night of excitement.

Hickory Motor Speedway Results 5/18/19

Late Model Race #1
1 Vince Midas
2 Gage Painter
3 Thomas Beane
4 Bradley McCaskill
5 Chris Hudspeth
6 Mike Darne
7 Connor Mosack ( r )
8 Jake Crum
9 Julia Landauer
10 Charlie Watson
11 Pat Rachels ( r)
12 Ronald Renfrow
13 Adam Murray
14 Curtis Pardue

Late Model Race #2
1 Jake Crum
2 Mike Darne
3 Thomas Beane
4 Bradley McCaskill
5 Vince Midas
6 Chris Hudspeth
7 Pat Rachels ( r )
8 Gage Painter
9 Connor Mosack ( r)
10 Julia Landauer
11 Charlie Watson
12 Ronald Renfrow
13 Adam Murray
14 Curtis Pardue

Limited Late Model – Big 10
1 Josh Kossek
2 Cody DeMarmels
3 Stevie Johns Jr.
4 Kyle Mansch
5 Landon Huffman
6 Mitch Walker
7 Todd Midas
8 Josh Stark ( r )
9 Kosma Guznyakov ( r )
10 Nathan Lineback
11 Benji Woodward
12 Akinori Ogata
13 Ben Campbell ( r )
14 Curtis Pardue
15 Ronald Renfrow – DNS
16 Adam Murray - DNS

Street Stocks
1 Drew Cox
2 Kevin Eby
3 Ethan Johnson
4 Jonathon Smith
5 Marshall Sutton
6 Jesse Clark
7 J. Danny Gibson
8 Derek Fowler
9 Mark Whitten

Renegades
1 Spencer Dickinson ( r )
2 Brian Larkin
3 Robbie Hollifield
4 Danny Crump Jr.
5 Zachary Mullins ( r )
6 Rodney Elkins ( r )
7 Megan Campbell ( r )
8 Justin Austin

4 Cylinders
1 Dennis Ward
2 Robert Trivette
3 Cody Combs
4 Ashton Trivette
5 Allison Houston
6 Robbie Lewis
7 Brian Mundy
8 Donn Wardo - DQ

The Catawba Valley Community College softball has announced the addition of six softball players to its first-ever recruiting class.

Joining the Red Hawks starting this fall will be Bunker Hill’s Ashlyn Parsons, Cherryville’s Katie Camp, East Davidson’s Alli Ray and Franklin’s Audi Wallace, Sarah Stanley and Paige Norton.

‘To say this is a big week for CVCC Softball is a bit of an understatement,” said Red Hawks head softball coach Josh Bumgarner. “With six signings this week and more coming next, our program keeps getting stronger and stronger. We are very fortunate to be signing quality players like we have this week.”

Parsons joins the Red Hawks after last playing at Bunker Hill High School in 2016 where she was an all-conference performer for the Bears. She played in 23 games as a senior, recording 40 hits, scoring 22 runs and tallying a .465 batting average and .604 slugging percentage.

“Ashlyn has a strong arm on defense and can hit from both sides of the plate with speed that makes her a threat to opposing teams,” Bumgarner said.

Camp comes off her senior season with the Ironmen where she tallied a 34 hits, 14 RBIs, scored 32 runs and drew 17 walks. She finished the spring with a .410 batting average and .612 on-base percentage.

“Katie is capable of playing in the infield or outfield,” Bumgarner said. “She is also a very good hitter that can hit to all parts of the field.”

Ray played in 15 games as a junior in 2018 at East Davidson where she tallied a .537 batting average with 22 hits, including nine doubles and two home runs. She also scored 12 runs and drove in six RBIs.

“Alli is a versatile utility player with a strong bat that can help us in many ways,” Bumgarner said.

Norton is a four-year varsity softball player at Franklin. She’s played in 85 games and tallied 92 hits (18 doubles, three triples, nine home runs), 75 RBIs and scored 74 runs.

“Paige is a very solid player both with the glove and with the bat in her hands,” Bumgarner said. “She makes the hard plays look easy and has the ability to hit the long ball.”

Also a four-year softball player for the Panthers, Stanley has played in 65 games, tallying 45 hits (eight doubles, seven home runs), 44 RBIs and 41 runs scored.

“Sarah is a very skilled catcher that can block, frame and throw with the best,” Bumgarner said. “She has a big bat that will be counted on as well.”

Joining her friends and teammates on the CVCC softball team is Wallace, who has played in 61 career games so far at Franklin, tallying 44 hits (11 doubles, two home runs), 32 RBIs and a .301 batting average.

Audi isn’t the first person in her family to attend CVCC. Her sister Mariah was an All-American volleyball player for the Red Hawks during the 2016-17 school year.

“Audi’s big bat and ability to play multiple positions will be a huge asset for our team,” Bumgarner said.

All six of these athletes join a CVCC softball program that officially starts this fall and will be immediately eligible for championship contention in the spring of 2020.

Lenoir-Rhyne Head Coach Danny Williamson has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Southeast Region Coach of the Year.

In his second year at the helm, Williamson led the Bears to their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship and earned SAC Women's Coach of the Year honors. The team finished the regular season ranked third overall in the Southeast Region.

Winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCCA member coaches. Only those individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.