Appalachian State University men’s basketball finalized its 2017-18 non-conference schedule, head coach Jim Fox announced on Wednesday.

“This year’s schedule is one that excites our program and our fans,” said Fox. “It puts our University on a Broadway stage, but we tell our players all the time; ‘Don’t tell me what you want to do, show me what you want to do.’ So fans, we need your support. We need you in the Holmes Center, we need you in Puerto Rico and we need you on the road with us wearing your Black and Gold.”

The 13-game non-conference slate includes home games against Toccoa Falls College, Bridgewater College, Davidson, South Florida and road contests at James Madison, VCU, Western Carolina, Akron, Ohio State and Hampton. The schedule also includes a neutral site tournament in Puerto Rico - the previously announced 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

App State will host one exhibition game prior to the start of the season, hosting Warren Wilson College on Nov. 7.

The Mountaineers will open up their 2017-18 schedule with back-to-back home games beginning on Nov. 11 against Toccoa Falls College before taking on Bridgewater College on Nov. 12 (non-bracketed game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off).

Announced on July 26, App State will play in the 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-Off and will play Big 12 member Iowa State on Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The Apps will play two other tournament games on Nov. 17 and 19.

Appalachian’s first true road game will come on Nov. 22 when it travels to James Madison before returning home to face-off against former Southern Conference rival Davidson on Nov. 25.

The Black and Gold will alternate home and road games once more with a trip to VCU on Nov. 28 before returning to Boone for a home contest against American Athletic Conference foe South Florida on Dec. 2.

App State will finishes its non-league slate with four-straight road games beginning with a Dec. 4 matchup with another former league rival at Western Carolina.

The Mountaineers will play back-to-back games in the state of Ohio starting on Dec. 9 against Akron before returning a week later on Dec. 16 to face-off against Ohio State.

Before starting Sun Belt Conference play, the Mountaineers will finish its non-conference schedule with a trip to Hampton on Dec. 20.

The schedule features three teams that played in postseason tournaments last season, including two that earned NCAA Tournament bids - Iowa State and VCU. The Cyclones earned a win over Vermont before falling to Purdue in the Round of 32.

Hampton earned a berth in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and lost to fellow Sun Belt member Coastal Carolina.

The announcement of the 13-game non-conference schedule, combined with the previously announced 18-game Sun Belt Conference slate, rounds out Appalachian State’s 2017-18 schedule.

In a battle of first place teams atop the South Atlantic League Northern Division, the Hickory Crawdads (22-16, 49-59) outslugged the Hagerstown Suns (20-16, 58-47) for a second consecutive night with 15 base hits in a 10-1 victory on Tuesday at Municipal Stadium.

Hickory opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the first and Chuck LeBlanc added a solo homer in the second. The Crawdads ballooned their lead to 5-0 in the third, highlighted by a two-out, two-run double from Anderson Tejeda.

Reiver Sanmartin (Win, 1-0) earned his first SAL win with six shutout innings and two hits allowed. He combined with Edgar Arredondo to strike out seven of nine Suns between the sixth and eighth innings.

The Crawdads added four more two-out runs in the sixth.

Hickory improves to 22-16 on the second half of the season. The Crawdads return home to L.P. Frans Stadium Thursday with the Lexington Legends, and the homestand includes their Christian Concert night on Saturday with Building 429 performing after the 6pm game.

Lenoir-Rhyne University has announced the hiring of Aaron Bessey as Associate Athletic Director for Marketing & Promotions.

Bessey comes to LR after serving as Athletics Director of Marketing at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga., for the past two years. At GSU, Bessey implemented the Georgia State Blue Pride Student Marketing Organization and oversaw the marketing and budget of the Spirit Team (cheerleader and dance programs).

In addition, Bessey directed the oversight of planning, coordinating, producing and directing of the marketing and game day promotions for all of the Panthers’ home football, men’s basketball and baseball events and assisted with all of Georgia State’s sports.

Bessey helped enhance the game day environments with new promotions and giveaways, a disc jockey at basketball games and a better tailgating experience. Georgia State was able to raise football season ticket sales and Bessey also helped oversee the transition of the football team’s move to the old Turner Field, its new home stadium.

“I am beyond excited to join the Lenoir-Rhyne family” said Bessey. “I am very thankful to President Whitt & Athletics Director Kim Pate for giving me this opportunity. From everything I’ve seen and heard, the community and alumni’s support for LR is fantastic. I will work diligently to expand and build on our current corporate and community partnerships in support of enhancing the Bears’ student-athlete experience.”

The primary responsibilities of the Associate Athletic Director for Marketing & Promotions at Lenoir-Rhyne include procuring corporate sponsorships and enhancing our partners’ brand awareness, heading up the athletics marketing and promotional strategy with the goal of enhancing the fan experience and game day environment.

Prior to Georgia State, Bessey was Assistant Director of Promotions and Fan Engagement (2014-15) and Athletics Marketing Assistant (2013-14) at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. At Appalachian State, Bessey oversaw the Mountaineers Kids Club and helped begin the Street Team to enhance student engagement on campus.

“I am excited to add Aaron Bessey to our Bears’ Leadership Team,” said Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics Director Kim Pate. “He brings great experience, tremendous energy and has quickly proven himself to be a rising star amongst collegiate marketing professionals. He is the ideal person to take our marketing and corporate partnership strategy to the next level. I look forward to seeing him make an immediate impact on our game environment and fan engagement experience.”

Bessey graduated from North Carolina State University in May of 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in sport management/PRT (parks, recreation and tourism) with a double minor in business administration and law and justice. As a student at N.C. State, Bessey served as a men’s basketball student manager and a campus recreation intramural sports supervisor.

Lenoir-Rhyne University rising sophomore Jacob Queen (Hickory, N.C.) has qualified to compete in the USA Swimming Short Course National Championships. The event will take place this December on the campus of Ohio State University.

Queen holds four school records – 100-yard freestyle (47.48), 200-yard breaststroke (2:05.39), 200-yard individual medley (1:51.88) and 400-yard individual medley (4:00.68) – and earned a national “B” cut time in the 400-yard IM.

“Jacob (Queen) is such a dedicated hard trainer,” said Lenoir-Rhyne Head Men’s and Women’s Swimming Coach Paul Schiffel. “He has high goals and this qualifying time is the first of many. This is the first Senior National time standard one of my swimmers has achieved in many years. He will be competing against the best in the nation. It is a very exciting time for Lenoir-Rhyne University Swimming as well as the Catawba Valley Aquatic Club.”

In addition, Queen was named Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer Of The Week on October 18 and is a 2016-17 CSCAA Honorable Mention Scholar All-America honoree.

Recently, Queen finished third in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:05.30) at the 2017 North Carolina Swimming Senior State Championships in Greensboro, N.C..

Queen will also compete in the 2017 USA Swimming Futures Competition in Nashville, Tenn., during the first weekend in August with hopes of qualifying for the U.S. Open, one step below the Olympic Trials.

A dozen runs in the top of the second inning gave the Hickory Crawdads a resounding 16-4 win over the Hagerstown Suns on the road Monday night.

Hickory sent 16 batters to the plate during the marathon inning that included 10 runs batted in with two outs and a three-run homer by Franklin Rollin. The Hickory catcher tallied two hits, two runs, and four RBI in the second inning alone.

The 12-run frame eclipsed the previous season high of seven runs allowed by the Suns in the third inning on April 28 in a 16-4 loss at Lexington. Hagerstown allowed a new season high of 18 total hits to the Crawdads.

Hagerstown probable starter Tyler Watson was traded to the Minnesota Twins during a deadline deal with the Washington Nationals for Major League All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler. The Monday afternoon transaction forced reliever Hayden Howard into the starting role and he gave up nine runs in the second inning, with only one of them earned, following an error at third base.

With the win, the Crawdads improve to 21-16 on the second half of the season. Hickory remains at Hagerstown through Wednesday.

Lenoir-Rhyne University has named Lindsey Jones Assistant Softball Coach, school officials announced today.

Jones comes to LR after serving as Assistant Coach and Recruiting and Schedule Coordinator at USC Aiken in Aiken, S.C., for the past two years (2016-17). Jones led the Pacers to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament and a berth in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship in 2016.

"I'm very excited to hire Lindsey (Jones) as an assistant coach," said Lenoir-Rhyne Head Softball Coach Shena Hollar. "She has a good reputation in the softball community and brings a lot of experience to our program. She is very knowledgeable of the Southeast Region as she has coached and played at USC Aiken."

Jones started four years on USC Aiken Softball Team (2010-13) where she earned Second-Team All-Peach Belt Conference honors in 2013 and was named Team Most Valuable Player in 2012. Jones was also a three-year Team Captain (2011-13) and led the Pacers to the playoffs in 2011.

Jones graduated from USC Aiken with a bachelor's degree in history in 2015 and is currently working towards her master's in sport administration from Liberty University. Jones was also on the coaching staff at North Augusta High School in North Augusta, S.C., in 2015.

Lenoir-Rhyne continued its run of success last year, finishing 46-13 on the season – 16-4 in the South Atlantic Conference – and captured a share of the league regular season title. In addition, the Bears earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series roared to life Saturday at Hickory Motor Speedway with Sam's Club Night at the Races.

The One Design Super Trucks would lead off the evening's festivities with their 35 lap feature. Sheflon Clay in the #15 would lead the field to the green flag with Tyler Dayton in the #36 to his outside. Clay would take the early lead and hold the top spot until a caution would fly at lap 13. For the next several laps the pair would exchange the lead multiple times and the cautions would fly often. The last restart would fly on lap 20 and Clay would get around Dayton for the top spot and lead the final 15 laps to take the win with Dayton coming home in 2nd. Allen Huffman would battle back from repeated issues, a visit to pit road, and a loss of power steering to finish in 3rd, Charlie Neill would finish 4th, and Joey Shuryan in the #30 would round out the top 5.

Next to hit the track would be the 4-Cylinders and their 25 lap battle. The #17 of Curtis Pardue would start from the top spot with the #09 of Shane Canipe to his outside. Pardue would take the early lead but Canipe would work his way to the front around the midpoint of the race. Canipe would hold on for the win as Pardue would finish 2nd. Robert Trivette in the #11 would come home in 3rd, Allison Houston in the #29 would finish 4th, and Brian Mundy in the #6 would round out the top 5. 

Round #8 of the Paramount Kia 'Big 10' Chase for the Championship would see 50 laps for the Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models. Alex Reece in the #18 would set the fast time in qualifying and pace the field to the green flag with the #51 of Jeremy Pelfrey to his outside. Reece would move to the early lead and face an early challenge from the #21 of Monty Cox who would move briefly to the front. Reece would prove too strong on the night and drive on to the checkers and another win. Pelfrey would move around Cox for 2nd as he would suffer mechanical failure coming off of turn 4 on the final lap. Mitch Walker in the #29 would finish 3rd, Dylon Wilson in the #1 would snatch 4th, and Pat Rachel's in the #34 would round out the top 5 in a tough 16 car field. 

The Cosmo Motors Street Stocks would thunder out onto the famed 3/8 mile oval next for their 35 lap feature with Cody DeMarmels in the #18 at the point. DeMarmels would take the early lead as Mark Whitten in the #77, Kevin Eby in the #03, Marshall Sutton in the #64, and Trey Buff in the #69 would all vie for the second spot and the first opportunity to chase down the leader. DeMarmels would hang on for the win with Sutton coming home to finish 2nd. Eby would finish in 3rd, Whitten in 4th, and Buff would take home 5th.

100 laps for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bojangles Late Models would headline the night's racing action. Ryan Repko in the #14 would make his first 2017 appearance and make the most of it by snatching the pole position with the top qualifying speed. Ryan Millington in the #76 would start outside the front row with Kres VanDyke in the #15 and Charlie Watson in the #9 making up row two. Repko would lead early but Millington would pressure for a shot at the point. Neither would be able to hold off the hard charging Watson, who won a pair of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bojangles Late Model features last week, as he would come roaring around to take his turn at the top spot. As the battle would rage behind him Watson would drive hard to put some distance between himself and the field. As the dust would settle in the battle for second VanDyke would take the spot and set sail for the leader. Even though VanDyke made up some serious time in trying to catch the leader he would come up a little short as Watson would take the win and the trip to Victory Lane. VanDyke would finish off the night with 2nd place. Repko would hold on for a hard fought 3rd. Sam Mayer in the #41 would finish 4th and Millington would take home 5th.

Closing out the evening's events would be the Renegades and their 20 lap slugfest. Darren Dickinson in the #6 would lead the field to the green flag with Justin Austin in the #1 to his outside. Dickinson would lead early but face a tough challenge from Kyle DiVanna in the #71. DiVanna would move around and take the top spot with Dickinson and Austin hot on his heels. Contact between the leaders would send DiVanna spinning and Dickinson to the rear. Dickinson would sustain enough damage that he would end his night in the pits. Austin would capitalize on the opportunity and drive on to the win with DiVanna giving chase and finishing 2nd. Robbie Hollifield in the #51 would grab his best finish with a 3rd. Casey Meyer in the #18 would finish 4th and Robert DiVanna in the #71D would round out the top 5.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will take next week off at the the Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars as the CARS Tour rolls in for the Throwback 276. 138 laps for the CARS Tour Late Models and Super Late Models.
Grandstands open at 5pm, Qualifying at 5:05pm, Fan Fest starting at 6pm, and Racing at 8pm.

In 2 weeks the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returns to action with a full slate of weekly racing action including the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bojangles Late Models, Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models, One Design Super Trucks, Cosmo Motors Street Stocks, and Renegades.

For more info check us out at www.hickorymotorspeedway.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Hickory Motor Speedway
Race Results for 7/29/2017

4-Cylinders - Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 09C Shane Canipe Hildebran, NC
2 17 Curtis Pardue Hickory, NC
3 11 Robert Trivette Newton, NC
4 29H Allison Houston Conover, NC
5 6M Brian Mundy ,
6 0 Randy Canipe Maiden, NC

4-Cylinders - Qualifying
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 17 Curtis Pardue Hickory, NC
2 09C Shane Canipe Hildebran, NC
3 6M Brian Mundy ,
4 11 Robert Trivette Newton, NC
5 0 Randy Canipe Maiden, NC
6 29H Allison Houston Conover, NC

Late Model - Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 9W Charlie Watson Lenoir, NC
2 15V Kres VanDyke Abingdon, VA
3 14R Ryan Repko Denver, NC
4 41M Sam Mayer ,
5 76 Ryan Millington Statesville, NC
6 4F Jonathan Findley Bristow, VA
7 29 Jake Ruggles Kannapolis, NC
8 23P Ahnna Parkhurst ,
9 15O Omar Jurado Huntersville, NC
10 5X Juan Gonzales ,
11 5Z Abraham Jurado ,
12 3O Dylan Oliver Stanley, NC
13 91 Stevie Johns Jr. Mooresville, NC
14 29M Mitch Walker Newton, NC
15 51P Jeremy Pelfrey Lenoir, NC
16 11C Dawson Cram Mooresville, NC
17 1C Sheflon Clay ,
18 21 Monty Cox Granite Falls, NC DNS

Late Model - Qualifying
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 14R Ryan Repko Denver, NC
2 76 Ryan Millington Statesville, NC
3 15V Kres VanDyke Abingdon, VA
4 9W Charlie Watson Lenoir, NC
5 41M Sam Mayer ,
6 29 Jake Ruggles Kannapolis, NC
7 4F Jonathan Findley Bristow, VA
8 23P Ahnna Parkhurst ,
9 15O Omar Jurado Huntersville, NC
10 5X Juan Gonzales ,
11 5Z Abraham Jurado ,
12 51P Jeremy Pelfrey Lenoir, NC DNS
13 21 Monty Cox Granite Falls, NC DNS
14 29M Mitch Walker Newton, NC DNS
15 11C Dawson Cram Mooresville, NC DNS
16 3O Dylan Oliver Stanley, NC DNS
17 91 Stevie Johns Jr. Mooresville, NC DNS
18 1C Sheflon Clay , DNS

Limited Late Model - Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 18R Alex Reece Granite Falls, NC
2 51 Jeremy Pelfrey Lenoir, NC
3 29 Mitch Walker Newton, NC
4 1 Dylon Wilson Taylorsville, NC
5 91 Stevie Johns Jr. Mooresville, NC
6 34 Pat Rachels China Grove, NC
7 22L Brandon Lemke Eagle, WI
8 99F Sawyer Frady ,
9 21 Monty Cox Granite Falls, NC
10 29W Paul Williamson Kenansville, NC
11 3D Dylan Oliver Stanley, NC
12 28D Dennis Trivette Newton, NC
13 2P Travis Powell Kershaw, SC
14 11C Dawson Cram Mooresville, NC
15 14A Akinori Ogata Mooresville, NC
16 50 Haley Mood Kinston, NC

Limited Late Model - Qualifying
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 18R Alex Reece Granite Falls, NC
2 51 Jeremy Pelfrey Lenoir, NC
3 21 Monty Cox Granite Falls, NC
4 1 Dylon Wilson Taylorsville, NC
5 29 Mitch Walker Newton, NC
6 34 Pat Rachels China Grove, NC
7 11C Dawson Cram Mooresville, NC
8 91 Stevie Johns Jr. Mooresville, NC
9 22L Brandon Lemke Eagle, WI
10 3D Dylan Oliver Stanley, NC
11 99F Sawyer Frady ,
12 29W Paul Williamson Kenansville, NC
13 50 Haley Mood Kinston, NC
14 28D Dennis Trivette Newton, NC
15 14A Akinori Ogata Mooresville, NC
16 2P Travis Powell Kershaw, SC

Renegades - Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 1 Justin Austin ,
2 71 Kyle Divanna Statesville, NC
3 51 Robbie Hollifield Morganton, NC
4 18 Casey Meyer Troutman, NC
5 71D Robert Divanna Statesville, NC
6 83 David Hasson Newton, NC
7 6 Darren Dickinson Hickory, NC
8 21 RJ Williams Conover, NC
9 97 Danny Crump, Jr. Morganton, NC DNS

Renegades - Qualifying
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 6 Darren Dickinson Hickory, NC
2 1 Justin Austin ,
3 71 Kyle Divanna Statesville, NC
4 71D Robert Divanna Statesville, NC
5 21 RJ Williams Conover, NC
6 51 Robbie Hollifield Morganton, NC
7 83 David Hasson Newton, NC DQ
8 18 Casey Meyer Troutman, NC DQ
9 97 Danny Crump, Jr. Morganton, NC DNS

Street Stocks - Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 18D Cody DeMarmels Newton, NC
2 64 Marshall Sutton Burnsville, NC
3 3 Kevin Eby Lenoir, NC
4 77P Mark Whitten Hogtown, VA, VA
5 69 Trey Buff Hickory, NC
6 52 Don Machutta Mooresville, NC
7 4 Danny Brewer Thomasville, NC
8 2J Ethan Johnson Hudson, NC

Street Stocks - Qualifying
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 18D Cody DeMarmels Newton, NC
2 77P Mark Whitten Hogtown, VA, VA
3 64 Marshall Sutton Burnsville, NC
4 3 Kevin Eby Lenoir, NC
5 69 Trey Buff Hickory, NC
6 4 Danny Brewer Thomasville, NC
7 52 Don Machutta Mooresville, NC
8 2J Ethan Johnson Hudson, NC

Super Trucks - Feature
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 15C Sheflon Clay Asheville, NC
2 36D Tyler Dayton Mooresville, NC
3 51 Allen Huffman Hickory, NC
4 26 Charlie Neill Hickory, NC
5 30 Joey Shuryan Dearborn, MI
6 70B Travis Baity Hays, NC
7 3 Colby White Maiden, NC
8 80 Eddie Collins, Jr. Winston-Salem, NC
9 17A Terry Absher North Wilkesboro, NC DNS

Super Trucks - Qualifying
Finish Car No Driver Hometown DQ/DNS/DNF
1 15C Sheflon Clay Asheville, NC
2 36D Tyler Dayton Mooresville, NC
3 30 Joey Shuryan Dearborn, MI
4 51 Allen Huffman Hickory, NC
5 26 Charlie Neill Hickory, NC
6 70B Travis Baity Hays, NC
7 3 Colby White Maiden, NC
8 80 Eddie Collins, Jr. Winston-Salem, NC
9 17A Terry Absher North Wilkesboro, NC DNS

Appalachian State University track and field standout student-athletes Taylor Drummonds, Ryan Hastings and Tristin Van Ord earned U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honors for the 2016-17 Track and Field indoor and outdoor seasons, as announced by the USTFCCCA on Friday.

To qualify for the all-academic team, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and either be ranked nationally during the indoor season or participate in any round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Drummonds earned a 4.0 cumulative GPA before graduating with a chemistry degree in May. Van Ord, also a 2017 graduate, carried a 3.91 GPA with a sustainable development degree. Hastings earned a 3.79 GPA, as he pursues a history/social studies education degree.

In May, all three athletes competed in the 2017 NCAA East Region Preliminaries in Louisville, Ky. Drummonds finished 34th in the pole vault with a height of 12-5.50 feet while Hastings competed in the 800-meter run and finished 29th with a time of 1:50.52. Van Ord finished 36th in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 35:33.28 and took 38th in the 5,000-meters with a time of 17:14.60.

Van Ord earned the 2016-17 App State Women's Most Valuable Player award for her performances over the course of the outdoor season and finished as the Mountaineers' top overall scorer at the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships. A two-time Sun Belt Track Athlete of the Week, Van Ord ended her career as the program record holder in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 34:04.64.

A Chapel Hill, N.C. native, Van Ord claimed the silver medal in the 10,000-meter race at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships with a time of 36:41.96. In the 5,000-meter race, Van Ord picked up her third-consecutive title with a time of 16:55.29. At the Sun Belt Indoor Championships, she snatched a gold medal in the 3,000-meter race along with a silver-medal finish in the 5,000-meter race.

A Boone, N.C. native, Drummonds ended her career as the all-time App State outdoor season record holder in the pole vault with a jump of 13-2.25. She finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdle at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships with a personal best of 8.71, good for third-best in school history.

Two area basketball coaches will be a part of the East-West All Star Games next summer.

Freedom head boys basketball coach Casey Rogers has been named as the head coach for the west men's team. Rogers also played in this event as a just graduated senior at Freedom in 1998. Rogers has been the head coach at Freedom since 2007.

Hickory girls basketball coach Barbara Helms will serve as an assistant coach for west women's team. Helms has been the head girls coach at Hickory since 2003.

Anderson Tejeda hit a run-scoring triple in the ninth inning, leading the Hickory Crawdads to a 4-3 win over the Lakewood BlueClaws on Sunday.

Lakewood had runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, but Mickey Moniak struck out to end the game.

The triple by Tejeda, part of a two-run inning, gave the Crawdads a 3-2 lead before Yohel Pozo hit an RBI single later in the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Lakewood saw its comeback attempt come up short after Arquimedes Gamboa hit an RBI single, bringing home Jesus Alastre to cut the deficit to one.

Kaleb Fontenot (5-2) got the win in relief while Will Hibbs (5-3) took the loss in the South Atlantic League game.

For the BlueClaws, Alastre doubled and singled, scoring two runs.

Bailey Falter struck out nine hitters over seven innings, leading the Lakewood BlueClaws over the Hickory Crawdads in a 2-0 win on Saturday.

Ismael Cabrera got Leody Taveras to fly out with a runner on first to end the game for his second save of the season.

Falter (5-6) allowed three hits to get the win.

Both runs for Lakewood came in the first inning when Darick Hall and Henri Lartigue hit RBI doubles.

Demarcus Evans (2-5) went two innings, allowing two runs and two hits in the South Atlantic League game. He also struck out five and walked four.

The Crawdads were blanked for the fifth time this season, while the BlueClaws' staff recorded their 19th shutout of the year.

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Volleyball Team has earned 2016-17 AVCA Team Academic Award honors. AVCA is the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 grade point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.

Lenoir-Rhyne was one of 119 NCAA Division II institutions to earn the honor. The Bears have a team grade point average of 3.51.

Four Bears carry grade point averages of 3.9 or higher: senior elementary education major Serina Nickle (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with a 3.95, junior international studies major Kathryn Sizemore (Arden, N.C.) with a 3.96, freshman pre-nursing major Anna Smith (Harmony, N.C.) with a 3.92 and junior community health major Ada Thompson (Huntersville, N.C.) with a 3.95.

The AVCA Team Academic Award, celebrating its 25th year, is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-01 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but two, while amassing a 532 team increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 822.

Lenoir-Rhyne opens the 2017 season on Friday, September 1, against Saint Leo (11:30 a.m.) and American International (4:30 p.m.) in the Nova Southeastern Shark Invitational in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. LR hosts Lees-McRae in its home opener on Saturday, September 9, at 2:00 p.m., at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.

Alex Kowalczyk hit a grand slam in the second inning, and Michael Matuella allowed just two hits over 5 2/3 innings as the Hickory Crawdads topped the Lakewood BlueClaws 14-0 on Friday.

The grand slam by Kowalczyk gave the Crawdads an 8-0 lead and capped an eight-run inning for Hickory. Earlier in the inning, Hickory scored on three more plays, including a two-run home run by Tanner Gardner.

The Crawdads later added runs in five additional innings to finish off the shutout.

Matuella (2-5) picked up the win after he struck out four and walked one.

Felix Paulino (2-8) went 1 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs and six hits while walking three in the South Atlantic League game.

Hickory took advantage of some erratic Lakewood pitching, drawing a season-high eight walks in its victory.

The BlueClaws were held off the scoreboard for the sixth time this season, while the Crawdads' staff recorded their sixth shutout of the year.

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Women’s Lacrosse Team has been named a 2017 IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor squad. IWLCA is the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association.

To qualify for this prestigious honor, the team must have posted a 3.0 grade point average or higher for the academic year. A total of 308 schools across NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA earned the honor this academic year. The Bears have a cumulative GPA of 3.36.

Individually, Lenoir-Rhyne senior defenders Taylor Winters (Marietta, Ga.) and Noreen McAllister (Bayport, N.Y.) were named to the 2017 IWLCA Zag Sports NCAA Division II Academic Honor Roll. To be eligible for this honor, student-athletes must be a junior, senior or graduate assistant and have earned a cumulative academic GPA of 3.5 or greater.

Winters, a pre-engineering major with a grade point average of 3.65, played in 18 games (with four starts) and finished with 13 ground balls. Winters was a 2016 All-South Atlantic Conference Second-Team honoree.

McAllister, a middle grades education major with a GPA of 3.84, started all 19 games for the Bears this past spring and totaled 19 ground balls in 2017. In addition, McAllister was an honorable mention all-league selection as a junior two seasons ago. McAllister was also named the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete Of The Year.

Both players were also named to the inaugural Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Lenoir-Rhyne went 11-8 on the year – 5-3 in the SAC – and tied for fourth overall in league standings while earning a berth in the semifinals of the 2017 SAC Championship Tournament.

Reid Anderson allowed just five hits over six innings, leading the Hickory Crawdads over the Lakewood BlueClaws in a 7-2 win on Thursday.

Anderson allowed two runs while striking out four and walking one.

Down 2-0 in the third, Lakewood cut into the lead when Arquimedes Gamboa hit an RBI single, bringing home Jesus Alastre.

After Lakewood tied the game in the seventh, the Crawdads went out in front with four runs in the eighth inning, including a two-run triple by Yohel Pozo and an RBI single by Andretty Cordero.

Jake Lemoine (1-2) got the win with two innings of scoreless, one-hit relief while Tyler Hallead (1-1) took the loss in the South Atlantic League game.

The Crawdads are 18-15 on the second half of the season. They remain in Lakewood through the weekend.

Appalachian State University has named Bo Redman as Head Men’s Golf Coach, Director of Athletics Doug Gillinannounced on Thursday. Redman brings 36 years of PGA Professional experience to the App State program.

Redman, son of famed PGA instructor John Redman, has been Director of Golf at top clubs such as Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, the Grand Bear in Gulfport, Miss., and Quail Creek in Fairhope, Ala. On top of his wealth of experience directing and instructing at exclusive country clubs throughout the southeast, Redman spent several years caddying on both the PGA and LPGA tours. He has caddied for some of the game’s greats including Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, and Raymond Floyd, as well as Hollis Stacy and Julie Inkster on the LPGA Tour.

In addition to introducing Redman as the Men’s Head Coach, Gillin announced the promotion of current Head Women’s Golf Coach, Heather Brown, to Director of Golf at App State. Brown begin her 10th season at App this fall and is coming off a program-best third-place finish at the Sun Belt Championships, against a field full of NCAA Championship qualifiers.

“Bo brings a very broad range of professional experience and local knowledge to App State that will make him good fit for our program,” Gillin said. “He has been involved with some of the great players in the history of the game and is a proven teacher, our student-athletes will benefit from those experiences.”

“I am excited about the knowledge Bo is going to bring the program,” Brown said of Redman. “His team is full of good golfers, but are still developing as good players. I know Bo will have a great impact on the process of developing them into better players.”

Redman has been involved at every level of golf, including overseeing the junior program at Boone Golf Course in recent years, leading to a successful feeder program in the middle schools and high schools in the area.

Redman played his college golf at Brevard Community College and Southeast Louisiana University. He went on to play the Space Coast Mini-Tour. He lives in Lenoir, N.C. and has three grown children John, Ben and Jesse. John is the assistant basketball coach at University of Mobile, while Ben was a standout basketball player at Spring Hill College. His son Jesse was the SIAC Men's Golf Player of the Year at Spring Hill in 2016.

Appalachian State University men’s basketball, in coordination with ESPN Events, will participate in the 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-Off in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on Thursday, Friday and Sunday Nov. 16, 17 and 19 at the Coliseo Municipal Tomás Dones.

Other schools joining App State will be Boise State, Illinois State, Iowa State, South Carolina, Tulsa, UTEP and Western Michigan.

Appalachian will open the tourney with a 5:30 p.m. appearance on ESPNU against Iowa State on Thursday, Nov. 16. App State will also play a non-bracketed game against Bridgewater on Nov. 12 inside the Holmes Center.

The Cyclones are one of two teams to appear in the NCAA Tournament last season - joining South Carolina who made a Final Four appearance.

Both Illinois State and Boise State round out the postseason teams in bracket play with appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

This will mark the second time in program history that Appalachian will make a regular season tournament appearance in Puerto Rico. In 2006 the Mountaineers played in the San Juan Shootout and earned a key win over Vanderbilt in the tournament championship. The tourney also included wins over Virginia and Central Florida.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our program to participate in such a prestigious tournament. I can’t thank our staff and our director of athletics Doug Gillin enough for their continued help in this process,” said head coach Jim Fox. “It puts our program and University on a national stage and is a victory for the App State brand that continues to grow all across the country. We can’t wait to be a part of this experience.”

In addition to tickets, travel packages and discounted hotel accommodations are also available to fans through Anthony Travel, the official travel provider of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Packages include hotel accommodations, game-day transportation, an all-session pass to the games and access to an exclusive banquet reception with the players and coaches (limited availability). For more information or to book your travel to the tournament, please visit www.anthonytravel.com/espn/puerto-rico-tipoff or call (888) 632-6951.

The rest of the Mountaineers’ 2017-18 non-conference schedule will be revealed at a later date.

Christian Torres tossed five scoreless innings, leading the Hickory Crawdads over the Greenville Drive in a 3-1 win on Tuesday.

C.D. Pelham got Tucker Tubbs to fly out with a runner on first to end the game for his sixth save of the season.

Torres (2-2) allowed one hit while striking out three to pick up the win.

Hickory started the scoring in the first inning. After reaching base on an error, Eric Jenkins scored on a single by Andretty Cordero.

After Hickory added two runs, the Drive cut into the deficit in the seventh inning when Bobby Dalbec scored on a ground out.

Bryan Mata (3-3) went five innings, allowing two runs and five hits in the South Atlantic League game. He also struck out six and walked one.

Appalachian State University volleyball was among 145 NCAA Division I volleyball programs to earn a spot on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) list of Team Academic Award winners on Monday.

The Mountaineers are one of just four Sun Belt Conference teams to be named to the AVCA list for the 2016-17 campaign, joining Arkansas State, Georgia State and ULM.

“For another year, we get to be proud of our players for their work in the classroom,” said head coach Matt Ginipro. “It’s great to be surrounded by a team who work as hard on the academic side as they do on the court.”

Appalachian’s honor marks its ninth appearance on the Team Academic Award list and its eighth in a row during the tenure of coach Ginipro. The Apps have now earned the award a total of 10 times since its inception during the 1992-93 academic year.

In order to be named to the list, teams must compile a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.30 for the academic year. A record-total of 822 volleyball programs earned team academic honors, which broke the previous year’s total of 764. The list includes teams from all three NCAA women’s divisions, NCAA men’s volleyball, NAIA schools, two-year colleges, NCCAA institutions and high schools.

Tyler Hill homered and had two hits, and Hildemaro Requena threw five scoreless innings as the Greenville Drive beat the Hickory Crawdads 5-4 on Monday.

Matthew Gorst got Anderson Tejeda to fly out with a runner on first to end the game for his fourth save of the season.

Requena (5-3) picked up the win after he struck out five while allowing two hits.

Greenville got on the board first in the fourth inning when Bobby Dalbec hit a two-run home run.

Trailing 5-3, the Crawdads cut into the deficit in the eighth inning when Leody Taveras hit an RBI single, scoring Tejeda.

Walker Weickel (2-3) went seven innings, allowing four runs and five hits while striking out six in the South Atlantic League game.

Andretty Cordero homered and singled for the Crawdads.