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Two high school teams have hit a couple of bumps in the roads, but have rebounded on the softball field.
It took half the conference season to do it, but East Rutherford has taken over atop the South Mountain Athletic teams. The Lady Cavs downed Chase 6-2 and then overhauled former standings leader, Kings Mountain 8-6 to end the week. East Rutherford (10-2, 7-1) has now won nine straight ballgames.
Looking back now could be a mistake because R-S Central (8-5, 6-3) now has third all to themselves. The Lady Hilltoppers have won three straight behind the hitting of Taylor Koon, Katie McEntire, Makayla Crawford and Makayla Crain. With last week’s winning ways, East Rutherford undoubtedly holds first amongst the 2A playoff race as R-S Central has second for now. Chase is good enough to make a push and sit just two games behind R-S Central in sixth overall.
On the baseball field, East Rutherford is tied for second in the conference and won both contests last week. R-S Central and Chase are tied at mid-pack and are fighting for one of three playoff spots at the moment with both down to East by four games at this point.
Want to talk a little more baseball? Who would have thought that the Braves would be 4-1 after the first week of the Major League Baseball season. However, there are still worries as the season goes along. They will have to win a ton of close games if contending for anything this season. They have lost two starting pitchers for the year and some pop from the bats with McCann gone. Although Evan Gattis takes over, there was no better catching duo in the league then those two. Still, Gattis maybe a better pinch hitter than anything and that’s what made things work when they needed a boost. As for pitching, the starting rotation is questionable. If the Braves can hold leads through the sixth inning, then middle relief and closing should be the strong point to picking up victories.
In regards to questions, here is one for you. Who believed in the Charlotte Bobcats this season? Granted they will likely have to play the Indiana Pacers (7 vs. 2 seed) in the first round of the playoffs, just making the postseason has got to mean something for the franchise and the basketball state. Charlotte will also go in around .500, but maybe they could upset Indiana. After all, the Pacers are reeling as of late. An injury to Andrew Bynum and over a month of inconsistent play has put them back in second in the East, where they had held first about all season long. Charlotte is 1-2 this season against Indiana.
Carolina Panthers recently added Jericho Cotchery and Monday signed Jason Avant. Cotchery, the N.C. State product caught 46 for 602 yards and 10 touchdowns. Avant collected 447 yards and just two scores a year ago. I like both pickups, but whether the Panthers take a receiver or an offensive tackle in the first round of the NFL draft still remains a mystery.
