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High school baseball
East Rutherford (7-1, 4-1) continues to get better and swept all three games they had last week. Kaleb Greene had four RBI in the win over Shelby as East allowed just two runs last week. Both of those were to Shelby.
R-S Central (5-2, 4-1) won both games they had this past week. Of course, they have three games this week and host East Rutherford (3/24) at the end of it. They won't play again until after Easter break on April 5th. Both East Rutherford and R-S Central were in a three-way tie atop the SMAC standings coming into the week.
Chase (4-3, 3-2) is hanging around in the top half of the SMAC, losing their only conference game of the week to R-S Central. They beat North Henderson and lost to East Gaston. They will host East Burke (3/24) and go to Chesnee (3/28). Chase was tied for fourth in the SMAC coming into the week.
Thomas Jefferson (1-5, 0-4) has battled themselves so far in the early season. The inconsistency of pitching, and plaguing of errors have cost them wins so far this season. They average about three errors a game, but Nomi McMullens leads them with seven RBI on the season.
Softball
East Rutherford will be at R-S Central on Thursday, March 24 for a SMAC showdown. Speaking of the two, R-S Central (6-1, 5-0) won twice this week despite surviving a scare from Kings Mountain. Brooke Moore and Madison Crain had two RBI each in the 4-3 win over Kings Mountain. The Lady Hilltoppers lead the SMAC standings.
East Rutherford won twice last week and gave up just one run during that time as they move to 4-2 (overall), 4-1 (conference) on the season.
Chase (3-4, 1-4) lost twice this past week, but have a big rivalry game at East Rutherford on April 5th.
Thomas Jefferson(1-4, 1-3) has become more competitive this season and lost twice so far by one run. Freshman, Leslie McNeil leads the Lady Gryphons with 11 hits and a homer.
Girls soccer
R-S Central (3-2, 3-1) has been solid on both offense and defense this season. They lost to two top powers in Hickory and then this past week to Kings Mountain. Both are 3A clubs. They still have things to shore up after talking to Coach Scott Rumfelt this past week, but they may be the best soccer team right now in the county. R-S Central sits second in the conference and first among the 2A contenders. Kenley Wilson leads them with nine goals so far this season.
East Rutherford (3-4, 3-2) sits tied for third in the SMAC standings and tied for second among the 2A teams. They split last week's games including a tough overtime loss to Shelby. Abigail Smith and Emily Elgin pace them with 13 goals combined so far this season.
Chase (1-4, 1-4) is doing a good job defensively, but scoring has been an issue so far. Griselda Jimenez has five of the Lady Trojans seven goals on the season. They haven't been beaten more than three goals all season.
Thomas Jefferson (3-2, 1-1) won two of three last week and the loss was to undefeated Pine Lake Prep in double overtime on the road. Makayla Burleson and Alli Varga pace the Lady Gryphons with four goals each this season.
NCAA Bracket: By now most brackets are completely busted, but the ACC Schools are fairing well. Six ACC school are in the Sweet 16 this season. Pitt has become the only casualty so far. UNC, Duke, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Miami and Virginia are all still alive for now.
UNC, Kansas, Villanova, Oklahoma and Miami have all impressed me so far in the tourney. For Miami to put out Wichita St., that was big. Wichita St. was the biggest sleeper and after they won two games, the Hurricanes were able to put them down. Although, North Carolina has been a little streaky in the tourney so far, they at least show up for closing time. I know I didn't say anything about Virginia, but here it is. If the Cavaliers are leading with four minutes left to go or less, they aren't losing. They close out games better than anybody left in the field.
