Tigers, Bucs open Mid-South play
By Chris Koonce
Correspondent
South View's baseball team (3-1, 0-1 Mid-South) dropped its conference opener at Terry Sanford before bouncing back to defeat Westover.
The Tigers committed six errors and ace pitcher Brandon Huffman suffered a rare loss as South View dropped an 11-3 game at Terry Sanford. Huffman had won 18 of his previous 23 decisions during the past three seasons.
South View got back on the winning track by scoring 12 runs in the first inning in a 14-1 victory against Westover. Lou Adams had three hits, and Dale Urquhart homered and drove in three runs as junior pitcher Randy Hair picked up the win in his first action of the season.
Jack Britt (2-2, 1-0 Mid-South) split a pair of games during the week as the Buccaneers defeated Cape Fear in the conference opener and dropped an 11-inning nonconference battle against Scotland County.
Britt had a dozen hits, and three pitchers combined on a no-hitter in the Buccaneers' 9-2 win against Cape Fear. Senior Kevin Thornton led the way with three hits and pitchers Jaron Cayton, Brandon Culbreth and Weston Mangum held the Colts in check.
Jack Britt held an early 2-0 lead before Scotland County pulled even in the sixth inning. The game remained tied until the 11th inning, when Scotland scored three times. The Buccaneers managed to score two runs in the bottom half, but came up short in the 5-4 loss.
Senior Michael Huculak and Cayton each had two hits for Jack Britt.
Softball
Gray's Creek scored 15 runs in the second inning and added 10 more in the fifth inning as the Bears crushed E.E. Smith, 29-5. Jasmine Clay and Morgan Suitt each had three hits to lead the 16-hit attack. Junior pitcher Taylor Lee struck out 10 batters in five innings as Gray's Creek improved to 3-0.
Jack Britt (4-1) split a pair of games as the Buccaneers lost to Scotland County, 7-6, and defeated Hoke County, 15-0. Jack Britt battled back from an early six-run deficit but the Bucs were unable to push across the tying run in the loss to Scotland County. Sophomore pitcher McKenzie Weaver pitched a three-hit shutout, and Markel Wylie had four hits in the lopsided win at Hoke County.
South View traveled to Wilmington to open the season and lost to Ashley High School, 8-4. Mariah Fuentes homered for the Tigers.
Girls' soccer
Jack Britt (4-2, 1-0 Mid-South) won two of three matches during the week. The Buccaneers defeated Cape Fear 3-2 and Hoke County 2-1. They were shut out in a 2-0 loss to Wilmington Ashley. Kiyah McDermid, Corinna Maxwell and Rachael Ramey scored goals in the conference opener against Cape Fear. Sarah Robson and Ramey scored in the win against Hoke County.
Sophomore Kristin Carney scored the only goal of the game as South View (1-1-2, 1-1 Mid-South) defeated Cape Fear, 1-0.
Gray's Creek (1-4) earned its first win of the season as the Bears scored five times in the opening half and shut out East Bladen, 6-0.
Boys' golf
Kyle Pearce of Gray's Creek shot a 37 and tied for the low round of the day to lead the Bears to a second-place finish in the first Cape Fear Valley tournament of the season. Gray's Creek had a team score of 159, four shots behind Union Pines in the nine-hole event held at Carolina Lakes.
Jack Britt finished in third place, while South View took fifth place in the first Mid-South Conference match of the season. The Buccaneers were led by Miles McKeller-Smith, who shot a 77 and finished two shots back on the 6,195 yard course at Baywood.
Jonathan Ball had the best round of the golfers from South View with an 88.
Boys' tennis
South View won four of six matches in singles and defeated Jack Britt, 5-2. The Tigers improved to 2-0, while the Buccaneers dropped to 1-1.
Track
South View fared well at the Tiger Relays, the first outdoor track meet of the season. The South View boys scored 163 points to win the 16-team event. Jack Britt took the runner-up spot with 79 points.
South View seniors Michael Moore, Tristen Cliette and Kenny Hinman paced the Tigers to the win. Moore set a personal-best time of 14.60 seconds in winning the 110-meter hurdles race. Cliette won the triple jump as he covered a distance of more than 42 feet. Hinman won the 1,600 meter race.
Senior Joe Cotto of Jack Britt ran a personal-best time of 9:57 and won by more than 42 seconds over his closest competitor in winning the 3,200 meter race.
In the 15-team girls' event, South View took the runner-up spot, 16 points behind Scotland County. Jack Britt finished in fifth place.
South View sophomore Darlene Girardeau won the long jump and set a new personal-best distance with a leap of 16 feet, 11 inches. Junior Tatyana Bryant won the triple jump with a distance of 35 feet, 5 inches and fellow junior Takera Knowles won the discuss event with a throw of over 104 feet. All three surpassed the required qualifying standards for the 4-A regionals with their performances.
Jack Britt senior Ashlee Doughty won the 3,200 meter run.
Boys' basketball
The Mid-South and Cape Fear Valley All-Conference selections were recently announced.
Jack Britt senior Raheem Joliffe averaged 13 points per game and was selected to the Mid-South All-Conference first team. Teammate Devin Thompson averaged 10.6 points per game and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game and was named to the second team.
South View junior T.J. Gill earned an honorable mention selection as he sank 43 three-point shots and averaged 10.8 points per game for the Tigers.
Will McLaughlin was selected to the Cape Fear Valley All-Conference team. The Gray's Creek junior led the team in assists and averaged a team-high 14.1 points per game.
Girls' basketball
South View sophomores Ciara Morris and Rachel Temple along with senior Ariel Wright were picked for the Mid-South All-Conference team.
Morris was a first team selection and averaged 13.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. Temple led the team in assists and averaged 12.5 points per game to earn a spot on the second team. Wright made 36 three-point shots and was an honorable mention selection.
Caitlyn Sandy led Jack Britt in assists and averaged a team-best 13.4 points per game to earn a spot on the all-conference first team. Junior teammate Shelby Taylor averaged 7.1 rebounds per game and was an honorable mention selection.
Sophomore Tayler Collins was voted to the Cape Fear Valley All-Conference squad after she averaged 12.3 rebounds and 10.5 points for Gray's Creek.
Upcoming schedule
Today
Baseball - South View at Richmond County
Softball - Jack Britt at Richmond County
Girls' soccer - Jack Britt at Pine Forest, Gray's Creek at Union Pines
Boys' tennis - Gray's Creek at Western Harnett
Thursday
Softball - South View at New Hanover
Girls' soccer - East Bladen at Gray's Creek
Boys' tennis - Jack Britt at Seventy First, South View at E.E. Smith
Track - Mid-South Conference Meet at Reid Ross, Gray's Creek at Douglas Byrd
Friday
Baseball - Jack Britt at Pine Forest, Gray's Creek at Union Pines, South View at Westover
Softball - Jack Britt at Pine Forest, Wilmington Ashley at South View, Gray's Creek at Union Pines
Saturday
Girls' soccer - South View vs West Brunswick in Wilson