Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Emily Murchland has been named the AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week, league officials announced earlier today.

Murchland, a junior from Mount Victoria, NEW ZEALAND, broke a four-all tie with Coker on Sunday by pulling out a 4-6, 6-3 and 6-3 victory at No. 4 singles in a thrilling, 5-4 victory over the Cobras. The win also helped Lenoir-Rhyne clinch its first-ever berth to the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship.

Murchland went 2-0 at singles play for the week and picked up a victory at first doubles in the Bears’ 6-3 triumph over Catawba on the road last Wednesday.

On the year, Murchland is 11-5 in singles play – 5-3 in league play – in addition to a 10-7 mark in doubles competition (4-4 against SAC foes).

Lenoir-Rhyne (10-7, 3-5), winners of two straight matches, returns to the court to take on Livingstone on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m., at the YMCA of Catawba Valley.

Appalachian State University men's soccer head coach Jason O'Keefe and the coaching staff is excited to announce the signing of newly-committed Aldo Tarantini to the 2018 signing class.

With Tarantini's signing, the Mountaineers now have 11 student-athletes for the recruiting class, giving the Apps three defenders, three goalkeepers, three midfielders and two forwards.

Aldo Tarantini | 6'1 | Midfielder | Houston, Texas | Bellaire
The future Mountaineer was a two-year letterwinner at Bellaire High School under the tutelage of Harrison Douglas. Tarantini was lead the team in his junior season with nine goals starting in all 12 games, which led to a first-team all-district selection. In travel ball, he played under Bruce Talbot/Carl Fleming for Texas SC. In addition, he represented two travel teams in Venezuela with the U-14 Da Fratelsa Sport squad and the U-16/U-18 Metropolitanos program. Aldo is the son of Miguel Tarantini and Ana Pacheco. He has one sister, Sofia. His hobbies include spending time with his friends and family and playing video games. He intends to major in international business.

O'Keefe on Tarantini
"Aldo is a versatile player who will come in and compete for multiple positions. He is mature and will bring a professional mentality from day one. He is playing at a high level being coached by Bruce Talbot and Carl Fleming with the Houston Texans SC Club, so he will be prepared when he arrives."

The Lenoir-Rhyne Baseball Team (24-16, 11-10) split a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Tusculum (20-20, 12-9) Sunday afternoon at Bears Field. Tusculum rallied to take the first game by a 7-5 score while Lenoir-Rhyne dominated the nightcap, 13-3, to salvage the split.

In game one, the Bears’ defense committed five errors which led to five unearned runs for the Pioneers. Tusculum jumped out to a 7-1 lead and was able to hold on for the victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne redshirt freshman Brock Johnson (Granite Falls, N.C.) hit a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning and was part of a three-run ninth frame for the Bears, who came up just short. LR also lost despite holding an 11-8 advantage in hits. Lenoir-Rhyne junior Hunter Martin (Stanfield, N.C.) fell to 1-5 after taking the loss.

Tusculum’s Daulton Martin (Lancaster, Pa.) scored twice while Chase McAllister (Powell, Tenn.) (3-1) earned the win and Mitch McCain (Lawrenceville, Ga.) was credited with his fourth save of the year.

In game two, Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 10-0 advantage after four innings of play and never looked back as the Bears salvaged the split.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior outfielder Aaron Stamper (Clemmons, N.C.) hit a three-run home run – his team-leading seventh of the year – while Johnson and junior outfielder Justin Dean (Mauldin, S.C.) both totaled three hits and two RBI in the victory.

Sophomore John Grigg (Lawndale, N.C.) improved to 7-1 after earning the win for the Bears.

Tusculum’s Seth DeHaven (Fort Myers, Fla.) hit a three-run home run but Tusculum’s Zach Sanders (Peachtree City, Ga.) fell to 3-4 after taking the loss.

The Bears remained above .500 in South Atlantic Conference play.

Lenoir-Rhyne remains at home to take on Erskine on Tuesday night at Bears Field beginning at 6:00 p.m.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Softball Team (36-5, 13-1), ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II, swept a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader from Mars Hill (12-14, 3-9), 6-5 and 10-1, Sunday afternoon at Bears Field on Senior Day.

In game one, three players hit home runs for the Bears – junior outfielder Erin Boone (Creedmoor, N.C.), freshman third baseman Talon LaClair (Statesville, N.C.) and senior outfielder Christina Walker (Roxboro, N.C.) – as Lenoir-Rhyne rallied from a 4-2 deficit to take the win.

Walker’s home run in the bottom of the sixth inning – a two-run round-tripper – broke a four-all tie and proved to be the game-winner. Lenoir-Rhyne junior Brandi Parks (Roaring River, N.C.) improved to 17-3 after going the distance and earning the win.

For Mars Hill, Christiana Marasa (Palm City, Fla.) drove in three runs and Ashley Evans (Columbia, S.C.) hit a solo home run but Casey Stanek (Winston-Salem, N.C.) fell to 7-6 after taking the loss.

In game two, Lenoir-Rhyne scored eight runs over the first two innings to take control and run-rule Mars Hill.

Freshman outfielder Savannah Moorefield (Claudville, Va.) hit a two-run home run while Boone drove in three runs for the Bears, who totaled 13 hits in the contest. Lenoir-Rhyne junior Emily Kenley (Charlotte, N.C.) improved to 18-2 after earning the victory.

Mars Hill’s Emily Burriss (Raleigh, N.C.) hit a solo home run while Cristi Pressley (Monroe, N.C.) fell to 1-1 after taking the loss.

Lenoir-Rhyne has won 10 straight games and improved to 20-0 at home this year. The Bears have also won 34 of their last 36 contests and maintained their four-game lead in the conference standings.

Lenoir-Rhyne hits the road to take on No. 22 Queens in a South Atlantic Conference doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 3:00 p.m., in Charlotte, N.C.

Appalachian State dropped its Sun Belt Conference series finale against visiting Troy, losing 15-3 in seven innings Sunday.

The Mountaineers will return to action Tuesday night at North Carolina.

Conner Leonard's two-run double to bring home Kendall McGowan and Riley Smith in the third inning cut App State's deficit to 4-2. Troy (21-10, 7-5) capitalized on two errors and scored 10 runs on nine hits in the top of the fourth inning, and Appalachian's Drew Beck led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to center field.

C.J. Brown went 3-for-3 with two doubles after coming off the bench for the Mountaineers (8-21, 1-11), Beck was 2-for-2 and Bailey Welch went 2-for-4. Leonard was 5-for-10 in the series and is 7-for-15 in the last five games.

"We were absolutely outplayed in all facets today," App State coach Kermit Smith said. "A lot of credit to Coach (Mark) Smartt and his staff. It was nice to see Conner Leonard swing the bat like this all weekend. CJ and Beck had a good day at the plate. It could be a big boost if those guys could continue that."

App State senior Reed Howell made his first start since his freshman year, when six of his 19 appearances were as a starter. The Mountaineers' other pitchers were Kaleb Bowman, Tristan Helms, Bobby Hampton and Cameron Kepley, who allowed one earned run over the final three innings.

Appalachian State University women's tennis (10-9, 0-4 SBC) fell to Georgia Southern (12-6, 2-2 SBC), 4-2, on Sunday morning at GSU Clarkston Campus.

Once again, the Mountaineers showcased a solid doubles outing, as they captured the point in doubles for a 1-0 lead, but the Eagles claimed four of five finished singles matches.

María José Zacarias (San Luis Potosi, Mexico/La Loma Centro Deportivo) and Heidi Swope (Weddington, N.C./Weddington) dealt Ella Monsey/Emilia Bujan a 6-3 defeat to improve to 11-5 on the season and a 7-3 mark in their past 10 matches.

Melissa Machado (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela) and Teodora Sevo (Futog, Serbia/Ucenika Futog) continued their solid weekend with a 6-3 victory against Charlotte Van Diemen/Paige Christian to clinch doubles and a 1-0 lead for the Black and Gold. Machado and Sevo are now 13-4 overall and 8-2 over the past 10 contests.

It was a tight affair in singles with four of the matches going to three sets. Machado fell to Christian 6-2, 6-1, which tied the contest at 1-1.

On court two, Sevo gave Appalachian a 2-1 edge thanks to her straight-set, 6-3, 6-3 win over Bujan, giving the freshman a team-high 11 wins in singles.

However, the Eagles claimed the final three matches to pick up the win. Taylor Bygrave (Monto, Australia/Miami Gold Coast) suffered a three-set loss in a hard-fought contest to Monsey, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Zacarias was also involved in a three-set battle against Arianne de Winter. The freshman won the first frame, 6-3, but fell in the next two sets, 6-2, 6-3.

Swope fell in the first set but stormed back to force a third match, 6-4. She provided a valiant effort but suffered the 6-3 decision in the final set to Paula Boixader.

App State will end the season at ETSU next Saturday in Johnson City at 1 p.m. The Mountaineers will look to build some momentum going into the conference tournament. With a win next Saturday, the Apps will clinch a winning season for the first time since 2013.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Women’s Lacrosse Team (6-7, 6-0) stayed perfect in the South Atlantic Conference standings with a 14-4 victory over Lincoln Memorial (6-6, 1-4) Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Moretz Stadium.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior attacker Gabby Sousa (Delran, N.J.) led all scorers with four goals as the Bears used a 12-1 run over both halves to take complete control of the contest.

Three players – sophomore attacker Cathleen Gaffney (Allentown, Pa.), junior midfielder Rachel Elmore (White Plains, Md.) and sophomore midfielder Michelle Tang (Calgary, Alberta, CANADA) – all scored three goals as well for the Bears, who held edge in shots taken (27-20) and ground balls (15-13).

Lenoir-Rhyne senior goalkeeper Ines Flueck (Coppell, Texas) earned the win after stopping nine shots while Lincoln Memorial’s Shannon Novak (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) suffered the loss in goal despite eight saves. In addition, the Lady Railsplitters’ Amara Moss (Woodbridge, Va.) scored twice.

The Bears need one more win to clinch at least a share of their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship.

Sousa and Elmore rank first and second on the team in goals scored with 44 and 34, respectively.

Lenoir-Rhyne now turns its attention to Wednesday when the Bears take on Catawba (9-5, 5-0) in a South Atlantic Conference showdown in Salisbury, N.C., beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Appalachian State dropped a 6-2 home game against Troy on Saturday.

Joel McDaniel (2-for-4, one double, one run) and Beau Myers had RBI singles during a rainy, chilly Game 2 for the Mountaineers, who were tied through three innings and trailed 4-2 until the sixth. Freshman pitcher Will Sprinkle retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced after relieving tough-luck starter Andrew Vaccacio in the sixth.

A dropped throw on a pickoff attempt set up Troy’s first-inning run, and two runs in a three-run third scored after a one-out grounder turned into a fielder’s choice instead of a double-play ball because of a fielding miscue. App State committed its first error on a double-play ball and had another error on a sixth-inning double that brought in the final two runs.

“It comes down to the ability to catch the baseball,” App State head coach Kermit Smith said. “If we simply catch the baseball, it's a 2-2 game in the ninth. Again, I thought our pitching staff did a great job.

“At some point, we need to be tired of being average. At some point, we need to put our best product on the field every day and see what happens. That's the disconnect. It's not that we lost, it's that we didn't play the way that we are capable. We play our best and lose, fine, I can put my head on the pillow tonight, especially on a day like today. Everything was there for us to take the series today — we play well Friday night, we get a good performance on the mound and the weather is way more conducive for us than it is for them.”

Vaccacio struck out seven batters before exiting with one out in the sixth, and Sprinkle lowered his ERA to 1.42 by allowing only one hit in 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. App State catcher Riley Smith erased a steal attempt right after Sprinkle took the mound, and Sprinkle finished with three strikeouts.

After Troy (21-10, 6-5) scored in the top of the first inning, the Mountaineers (8-20, 1-10) broke even when Conner Leonard led off the second inning with a double to left field and scored on McDaniel’s single to left.

The Trojans were ahead 4-1 in the fourth when McDaniel delivered a one-out double to right. He scored from third on a two-out single to left from Myers. Troy starter Daren Osby improved to 5-0 by allowing four hits through six innings.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Men’s Lacrosse Team (12-1, 5-0), ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, picked up a business-like victory over Lincoln Memorial (10-3, 4-2), 14-11, Saturday afternoon in a South Atlantic Conference contest at Moretz Stadium.

Lenoir-Rhyne senior midfielder Ben Corrigan (Alpharetta, Ga.) and junior midfielder Quinn Kuhn (Buffalo, N.Y.) led the way with three goals each as the Bears increased their winning streak to eight games.

The Bears – holding an 8-7 advantage with 6:13 remaining in the third period – took control by reeling off four straight goals to end the frame including back-to-back scores from freshman attacker Myles Moffat (Airdie, Alberta, CANADA).

Senior goalkeeper Ryan Crompton (Frederick, Md.) earned the win after making 11 stops for the Bears, who held the advantages in both shots taken (57-37) and ground balls (29-21).

For Lincoln Memorial, Robert Tucker (Wantagh, N.Y.) led all scorers with four goals while goalkeeper Michael Kessler (Wantagh, N.Y.) suffered loss despite 13 saves.

With two goals and a pair of assists today, Lenoir-Rhyne junior attacker Joe Buduo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) increased his league-leading total to 46 scores in addition to a team-high 64 points.

Lenoir-Rhyne has won 21 straight SAC Regular Season games and is now 35-4 in its last 39 contests.

Lenoir-Rhyne hits the road to take on Catawba in a South Atlantic Conference game on Wednesday evening in Salisbury, N.C., beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Appalachian State University women's tennis (10-8, 0-3 SBC) fell to a hot Troy (7-10, 3-2 SBC) at GSU Clarkston Campus.

The Mountaineers fell in the doubles point while the Trojans captured five of six singles contests.

Highlighting the Apps was the tandem of Teodora Sevo (Futog, Serbia/Ucenika Futog) and Melissa Machado (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela), who improved to a team-best 12-4 after a 6-3 triumph over Maria Casa Blas/Pei Ju Hsieh. The 12 wins are the most for a tandem since the 2012 campaign when Jennifer Ansari and Ellie Linsell won 12 contests.

Heidi Swope (Weddington, N.C./Weddington) and María José Zacarias (San Luis Potosi,Mexico/La Loma Centro Deportivo) fell to Nancy Karaky/Sanae Ohta in a valiant effort that went to a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-2). Sandra Anglesjö (Norrköping, Ostergotland Sweden)/Emily Gaskins (Marietta, Ga./Walton) fell to Jiayuan Xue and Efriliya Herlina, 6-3.

App looked to turn things around in singles, but the Trojans continued the momentum. The lone Mountaineer to earn a singles win was Swope, registering her sixth win of the season with a hard-fought three-set victory over Karaky. Swope fell in the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-2) before claiming the second frame, 6-2, followed by a second tiebreaking set 1-0 (10-5).

The Tusculum Baseball Team (19-19, 11-8) won the opener of a South Atlantic Conference weekend series with Lenoir-Rhyne (23-15, 10-9), 24-4, Friday evening at Bears Field.

The Pioneers put the contest away early, building a 9-0 advantage after three innings of play.

Tusculum was led by Daulton Martin (Lancaster, Pa.) and Jarel McDade (Magnolia, Texas). Martin hit a three-run home run and drove in six runs while McDade added five runs batted in for the Pioneers, who totaled 25 hits in the contest.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior outfielder Justin Dean (Mauldin, S.C.) had an RBI triple while junior catcher Zack Shoemaker (Colfax, N.C.) added a run and two hits in the losing effort.

On the mound, Charles Hall (Dumfries, Va.) (4-1) pitched eight innings and earned the win for Tusculum while Lenoir-Rhyne senior Matt Sullivan (Bristol, Va.) fell to 4-3 after taking the loss.

Appalachian State softball dropped game one to Troy 13-3 in five innings on Friday, April 6. Game two was halted due to weather.

The Mountaineers produced their three runs in the third inning. Alisha Josey's sixth home run of the season scored two for the Mountaineers after Laura Sales reached on an error. Jenny Dodd and Baylee Morton followed with back-to-back doubles to the fence, scoring the Mountaineers' third and final run of game one.

Troy's 12 hits, four of which were home runs, allowed the Trojans to close out the game with a win. Kenzie Longanecker, the starting pitcher for the Mountaineers, received the loss. Longanecker walked only two batters. Julianna Roupas entered the circle for the final two innings, allowing six hits from Troy and walking three batters. Eleven of Troy's runs were earned.

Due to weather, game two was stopped under the "halted game rule" and will resume on Saturday at 1 p.m. Game three of the series will follow after the conclusion of game two.

A day of firsts contributed to a milestone accomplishment.

Kermit Smith picked up his 500th victory as a college head coach as Appalachian State’s baseball team won 5-2 against Troy at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium on Friday. He received a game ball from assistant coach Britt Johnson, who drew cheers from App State’s players by surprising Smith with the news at the end of the team’s postgame huddle.

Playing its first Sun Belt Conference home game of 2018, the Mountaineers recorded their first league win of the season. Freshman designated hitter Jason Avers’ first career home run gave App State the lead for good in the second inning, and starting pitcher Colin Schmid (2-3) turned a 3-2 lead over to the bullpen after working six high-pressure innings.

Kaleb Bowman threw two scoreless innings, and two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth preceded a three-out save for senior Luke Watts.

“It never gets old watching Colin make big pitches over and over again,” said Smith, who became a college head coach at Belmont Abbey in 2001 and made a combined three Division II World Series appearances before leaving Lander for App State in 2016. “Any time you can win a game on Friday night in this league, it's a good night.

“When you break down the game, you can really point to Conner's pick with men on second and third in the fifth inning, Kendall's two-out RBI, Riley's two-out RBI and Jason's home run as the big plays of the day. I’m very proud of our guys tonight, and it's very important that we carry this momentum into the rest of the weekend.”

App State (8-19, 1-9) and Troy (20-10, 5-5) are scheduled to resume their series Saturday at 3 p.m., weather permitting. The finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Mountaineers took the series opener thanks to their strong pitching and timely offense against Troy starter Andrew Crane, the Sun Belt’s preseason pitcher of the year. Conner Leonard went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including a run-scoring single that followed a two-out RBI double from Riley Smith in the eighth inning. Smith was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored, and Alex Leshock also scored twice.

A leadoff double and RBI fielder’s choice in the top of the second inning briefly gave Troy the lead, but Smith’s leadoff double in the bottom of the second set up an RBI single to center from Leonard.

Avers opened the third inning with a leadoff homer to left-center off Crane, and Leshock was hit by a pitch with one out. A failed pickoff attempt with two away pushed him all the way to third base, and he scored on a single to center field from Kendall McGowan.

Troy responded with one run in the top of the fourth, and the score remained 3-2 thanks to a fifth-inning defensive gem from Leonard. He stretched and snagged a short-hopped throw toward first after Troy’s Brandon Lockridge hit a two-out grounder with runners on second and third.

Crane took the mound in the eighth inning with a low pitch count, and Leshock led off the frame with a hard-hit single to center. He was on second when Smith drilled a first-pitch double to left, and Leonard’s RBI single ended Crane’s outing.

Watts needed only nine pitches to retire three batters in the ninth and post his third save. He relieved Bowman, who gave up consecutive one-out singles with a one-run lead in the top of the eighth before inducing a foul-out to third baseman Drew Beck and a flyout to Leshock in center. Bowman has now given up no runs, allowed nine hits and struck out 16 batters in his last 14 innings.

Schmid scattered 10 hits (nine singles), struck out four batters and issued no walks over six innings. Double-play groundouts involving shortstop Joel McDaniel and second baseman Bailey Welch ended Troy threats in two of the first three innings, and the Trojans managed only one fourth-inning run despite putting up three hits and benefiting from a two-base error.

Schmid ended that frame on a swinging strikeout with runners on second and third, and a three-hit fifth inning didn’t produce any runs for Troy. A one-out single was erased by Schmid’s successful pickoff attempt, and he induced a groundout to third with two runners in scoring position.

Appalachian State University men's tennis (10-10) fell to a formidable Campbell (12-5) squad on Friday afternoon at Varsity Courts.

The Mountaineers once again captured the doubles point but fell the visitors came away with four of six singles matches. App State has been in some close matchups as it is the third straight setback by two points or less.

Alex Pavkovich (Queensland, Australia/Mansfield State) and Ben Webster (Perth, Australia/Scotch College) got it going with a convincing 6-2 win over Jonathan O'Neal and Gerard Sola to give App a leg up in doubles. Ben and Pavkovich are now an impressive 13-5 on the season. Scott Webster (Perth, Australia/Scotch College) and Milo Bargeron (Chislehurst, England/Bullerswood) would clinch for the Black and Gold, defeating Dustin Werner/Lorenz Schwab by a score of 6-2. App's No. 1 pairing is 13-4, giving the top two tandems a 26-9 mark on the season.

Campbell and App went back and forth in the first four matches, as both teams answered each other with wins.

Campbell Stone (Raleigh, N.C./Needham B. Broughton) fell to Sola in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, which tied up the match at 1-1.

Alexander Free (Johns Creek, Ga./James Madison), who was honored along with Scott before the match for Senior Day, was playing in his second singles match of the season. Free did not disappoint with a fitting 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Ted Williams to push App to a 2-1 lead.

After Ben fell to Werner, 6-2, 6-4, Scott tied the contest up with an impressive 6-4, 6-4 victory Ondrej Labek. The senior has won his last three contests and matches last season's win total with a 14-4 mark.

App would need just one more match to seal the deal, but the Camels came through in the last two singles affairs to pick up the win.

Bargeron suffered a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Scwhab that tied up the contests.

Pavkovich dealt Lukas Schaefer a 7-6 (7-5) defeat in the first set but Schaefer claimed the second set 6-1. The sophomore for App showcased valiant effort in the final frame, but fell 6-3.

Appalachian will have the rest of the week off before ending the regular season with a tough stretch against Davidson on Saturday, April 14 at 1 p.m. before hosting Coastal Carolina on Sunday, April 15 at 11 a.m.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is set to host and produce the inaugural Bears’ Choice Awards on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. The show is put on by athletes - for athletes - and will focus on their performances during the 2017-18 academic year.

The BCA is set to begin at 7:00 p.m., with red-carpet events beginning at 6:00 p.m., for the student-athletes to fellowship while taking interviews and photo shoots before the program’s start. The event is business casual attire at will take place and the P.E. Monroe Auditorium.

“I am excited about our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s leadership and vision to establish the Bears’ Choice Awards,” said Lenoir-Rhyne Athletics Director Kim Pate. “This event is a great way to celebrate the achievements of our student-athletes in a way that is special and fun for them. This is their night and I’m thrilled with the level of ownership and commitment they’ve dedicated to champion this initiative.”

The SAAC is providing video entertainment throughout the night while the Lenoir-Rhyne Jazz Band will provide in-house music and entertainment during the show.

The student-athletes have numerous awards to present to teams, student-athletes, and Lenoir-Rhyne faculty.

The following awards will be voted on by the SAAC, Senior Administration and Sports Information Directors:

Biggest Upset/Comeback Win

Bears Supporting Bears

Comeback Player of the Year (M&F)

Newcomer of the Year (M&F)

Play of the Year

Supportive Faculty of the Year (picked by the SAAC)

Team Community Service Award

Game of the Year

Athlete of the Year (M&F)

Neill McGeachy Award

“Lead the Charge”

Former Wayne B. Powell Scholar Athletes, Rufus Moretz Scholar Athletes and all 2017-18 graduating seniors will be honored at the show as well.

Your hosts for the night will be senior softball player Christina Walker and junior football player and decathlon athlete Anthony Brown.

“With this being the first year of the Bears’ Choice Awards, it has been a long process, a process I am grateful to be a part of,” said Walker. “Having an award ceremony is something that the SAAC has pushed for since I have been here and thanks to the senior administrators, we are finally having one! I could not be more excited and I hope everyone enjoys the show."

Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Brad Robinson has earned 2018 Honorable Mention All-South Atlantic Conference Men’s Golf honors, league officials announced earlier today.

Robinson, a junior from Newcastle, UNITED KINDGOM, leads with Bears with a stroke average of 73.5 so far this year.

Robinson tied for second at the Richard Rendleman Invitational (March 5-6) in Salisbury, N.C., and tied for fourth at the J. Ralph Hargett Memorial Intercollegiate (March 11-12), a tournament the Bears claimed victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne will next compete in the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Cobbs Glen Country Club in Anderson, S.C., on Sunday, April 8, through Tuesday, April 10.

2018 All-South Atlantic Conference

Men’s Golf Teams

FIRST TEAM

Spencer Skiff, Newberry

Carlos Leandro, Newberry

Tom Foster, Carson-Newman

Harry Bolton, Newberry

Sam Broadhurst, Lincoln Memorial

SECOND TEAM

Wanjoo Lee, Coker

Jake Headrick, Carson-Newman

Harry Boyle, Lincoln Memorial

Dan Bradbury, Lincoln Memorial

Harry Butler, Mars Hill

HONORABLE MENTION

Ben Thompson, Newberry

Brad Robinson, Lenoir-Rhyne

Charles Joubert, Wingate

Gilberto Pena, Queens

Trey Burton, Catawba

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Dan Bradbury, Lincoln Memorial

GOLFER OF THE YEAR

Carlos Leandro, Newberry

COACH OF THE YEAR

Howard Vroon, Newberry

Highlighted by 11 home matches, the always-tough Sun Belt slate and a date with ACC foe Maryland, Appalachian State University women's head soccer coach Sarah Strickland has announced the 2018 schedule.

"We are very excited to share our 2018 schedule, coach Strickland said. "We are looking forward to many games at home as well as matches close to our fan base. We hope to see App Nation at many of our games next fall."

It's the first time since 2008 that the Mountaineers are playing at least 10 home matches, while six of the home contests are in non-conference action. App will play in nine non-conference matches and eight road contests.

Five of App's nine non-conference foes boasted a winning record in 2017 with one making a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

App State faces ETSU in a tune-up on Wednesday, Aug. 8 in Johnston City.

Two days later, Appalachian will kick off the season at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex against in-state rival, Western Carolina at 4 p.m. App State will then make the trip to High Point, N.C. to face the Panthers, who finished 13-8-1 en route to a Big South title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Appalachian and Campbell will faceoff on Sunday, Aug. 19 at Ted Mack before traveling to College Park, Md. to face ACC foe, Maryland on Aug. 24. The Black and Gold upended the Terrapins two seasons ago in a thrilling 2-1 victory at Ted Mack.

Appalachian then hits the road to face Old Dominion on Aug. 26 in Norfolk, Va. in the final non-conference road contest. The Mountaineers will have a six-match homestand starting with South Carolina State on Friday, Aug. 31.

The homestand will continue with Gardner-Webb (Sept. 2), North Florida (Sept. 6) and Radford (Sept. 8) just before Sun Belt play begins.

Right off the bat, the Mountaineers will play defending Sun Belt Tournament champion South Alabama at home on Friday, Sept. 14. The Apps will host Little Rock two days later to close out the homestand.

App will then play three-straight conference foes spanning over 500 miles starting with Troy on Sept. 21 followed by a Sept. 23 contest against archrival Georgia Southern in Statesboro.

The Mountaineers close out the trip in Conway, S.C. where they will face off against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, who finished as the Sun Belt runner-up. App dealt CCU a 1-0 loss at home in the regular-season finale to earn a berth in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Appalachian then comes back to Boone for a matchup against Texas State in the first match of October at Ted Mack, which starts a string of three home contests in a row. The Black and Gold will host Louisiana on Oct. 7 before an Oct. 12 matchup against Georgia State will be the final home game of the season.

App State is on the road for the final two matches of the season, beginning with UL Monroe on Oct. 19 before ending the regular season with a matchup against Arkansas State on Oct. 21.

The Sun Belt Conference Championship will take place in Foley, Ala. starting on Oct. 31.

The Hickory Crawdads fell to the Greensboro Grasshoppers on the road Thursday night 6-1. The contest was the season opener for both squads.

Eric Jenkins led the Crawdads offenese with a three-for-five night at the plate. Kole Enright went two-for-four with a run scored on a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning.

Crawdads starter Tyler Phillips took the loss on the mound throwing 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits. He also strike out four.

The Crawdads are 0-1 to start the season. They will continue their series against the Grasshoppers through Sunday. Hickory goes to Delmarva for a three game series on Monday. Hickory will have their home opener at L.P. Frans Stadium Thursday night against the West Virginia Power.

Behind the power hitting of first baseman Kyran Russ, the 17th-ranked Catawba Valley Community College baseball team picked up a 12-6 non-conference victory on the road Thursday afternoon against USC Lancaster in a game held at Lancaster High School.

Russ hit two home runs in Thursday’s contest and drove in a team-high five RBI, leading the Red Hawks to their 25th win of the season.

Catawba Valley (25-9) quickly gained control of Thursday’s game, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning, including a three-run home run by Russ. CVCC third baseman Graham Mitchell also drove in a run in the inning on an RBI double.

The Lancers answered Russ’ power surge by hitting four home runs of their own in the contest, including two off the bat of Jared Firmstone and one each from Walker McDowell and Chase Coker.

Firmstone’s two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning pulled USC Lancaster within 4-2 of Catawba Valley.

However, the Red Hawks answered with four runs in the top of the second inning, including a two-run single by Blake Jeter, an RBI double by Garrison Burress and an RBI single from Mitchell.

After McDowell’s solo home run in the bottom of the third inning cut the Lancers’ deficit to 8-3, Russ connected on a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning — his team-leading eighth blast of the season.

USC Lancaster scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning — both home runs from Coker (solo) and Firmstone (two-run) — to rally within 9-6.

Despite that effort, three runs would be as close as the Lancers would get in the game’s closing stages. Catawba Valley added three more runs, including an RBI double from Cory Watt in the seventh inning and a bases loaded walk by Russ in the eighth inning, to seal their victory.

On the mound, CVCC starting pitcher Thomas Walden gave his team a solid start to pick up his fourth win of the season. He allowed four hits, three earned runs, two walks and struck out two batters in four innings of work.

Red Hawk relief pitchers Madisyn Bolin, Hunter Isaacs, Greg Collins, Chris Banks and Timothy Davila finished off the game by tossing one inning apiece. The pitching quintet gave up just five hits, three earned runs, no walks and stuck out four batters in those five innings of work.

The CVCC baseball team quickly turns its attention to another set of Lancers — this time from Lenoir Community College (18-6, 6-5) — for the first of three weekend conference games on Saturday.

The Red Hawks and Lancers play a nine-inning contest at 1 p.m. Saturday followed by a seven-inning contest, and the two teams finish their three-game set with one final nine-inning game on Sunday starting at noon. All three games take place at Henkel-Alley Field at the Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds, and admission for all three games is free.

Appalachian State softball takes on Troy for a three-game Sun Belt series April 6-7. Due to projected weather forecasts, the series will now begin on Friday, April 6 for a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. The series will conclude with a single game on Saturday, April 7 at 1 p.m.

During the 2017 campaign, the Trojans swept the Mountaineers in Troy, Alabama. In game one, the Apps were leading 3-0 through the first two innings before the Trojans put up eight to seal the win. The Trojans shut out the Mountaineers in a 0-5 loss for App State in game two, but the Apps put up a fight in the series finale. Haley Stewart hit a home run in the first inning of game three. Keri White and Sidney Russell each contributed a hit as well, but the Mountaineers came up short in a 6-7 loss.