LAURINBURG — The Fighting Scots baseball team had two players named to the all-Sandhills Athletic Conference team this week.
Senior pitcher Daly Marcano and junior first baseman Austin Norton both earned their first all-conference nods. When not on the mound, Marcano served as short stop while Norton took the mound as one of the team’s relief pitchers.
Marcano concluded his senior campaign with a 1.94 ERA and a 7-4 record. In his 11 appearances, the Southeastern Community College commit tallied 47 strikeouts while allowing 40 runs off 64 hits.
At short stop, Marcano had a .928 fielding percentage and seven double plays. In the batter’s box, the senior led the team with a .342 batting average with 25 hits and 13 RBIs.
Norton finished his season with a .284 batting tallying 21 hits and 18 RBIs with five doubles and a triple. On first base, Norton was part of 10 doubles plays and had a .949 fielding percentage.
On the mound, Norton tossed 21 innings picking up three wins to finish the season with a 4.27 ERA. The junior rang up 24 strikeouts while allowing 15 runs off 29 hits.
Scotland ended the year with a 15-11 overall record and an 8-6 mark in conference play to finish in a tie with Hoke County for fourth place. The Scots were forced to travel for the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs and their season ended in Charlotte after an 11-1 defeat at the hands of West Mecklenburg.
Pinecrest’s Nik Pry scored conference Player of the Year honors, and Pinecrest head coach Jeff Hewitt was tabbed as the SAC-8 Coach of the Year.
The Patriots led the SAC-8 schools with six all-conference selections, including Pry — Bryce Calcutt, Garrett Clark, Dax Ingram, Zach Pruitt and Jacob Zimmerman
Pinecrest, which was 22-5 overall and 12-2 in league play, advanced to the second round of the state playoffs before falling to West Forsyth, 5-4.
Conference newcomer Jack Britt (15-10, 10-4) finished second in the conference and earned four all-conference selections — Chandler Cannon, Brennan Herbert, Alex Reyna and Brendan Shea.
The Buccaneers lost to Pinecrest in the conference tournament and advanced to the first-round of the NCHSAA tournament before losing to Riverside-Durham, 6-2.
Richmond and Hoke County each had three players selected. The Raiders were represented by Jonathan Lee, Drew Loving and Trey Watkins after finishing third in the SAC-8 standings with an 18-8 overall record and 9-5 mark in league play. Richmond advanced to the second round of the playoffs before losing to East Forsyth, 5-2.
Jamison Cummings, Logan Goins and Ryan Taylor were selected to represent Hoke County. The Bucks posted a 12-13 overall record and 8-6 in conference play to tie with Scotland. Hoke County missed out on advancing to the 4A playoffs.
Purnell Swett was represented by Jeremiah Locklear and Brayden Scott. One year removed from a conference championship, the Rams posted a 10-15 overall record and 6-8 in conference play ending up fifth in the SAC-8 standings.
Lumberton and Seventy-First each had one player selected for the all-conference team. Kris Allen represented the Pirates while Henriadam Brower represented the Falcons.
Lumberton finished the season 5-15 overall and posted a 3-11 conference mark while Seventy-First went 0-18 and 0-14 in SAC-8 play.
Amber Hatten-Staley can be reached at 910-506-3170 or [email protected].
