Brad Davis (Pinecrest) returned to the Methodist baseball team's lineup last week after missing nine games because of a hand injury. The senior right fielder didn't skip a beat. He went 3-for-5 with a triple, home run and three RBIs in the Monarchs' 11-10 victory over Guilford. The second-leading hitter in Conference USA South is batting .442, including seven doubles, seven home runs and 36 RBIs in 22 games.

Ohio State pitcher Eric Shinn (Pinecrest) made his college debut for the 18th-ranked Buckeyes last week. The red-shirt sophomore allowed one run and two hits while striking out a pair in a relief appearance against Marshall. Seth Maness (Pinecrest) wasn't around at the finish, but pitched well enough to improve to 3-0 as No. 14 East Carolina defeated UAB 15-9 last Saturday.

Bryan Collins (Union Pines), Matt Key (Union Pines) and Josh Haley (Pinecrest) have all played a part in the six-game winning streak the UNC-Pembroke baseball team took into the weekend. Collins improved to 3-1 after gaining credit for wins in relief over Lenoir-Rhyne and Chowan. The sophomore right-hander allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings over the two appearances. Key, another soph, closed out the Braves' 9-3 win over Chowan on Tuesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

Haley emerged from a batting slump to help spark the surge that has improved the Braves to 28-13. Over the six games, the freshman outfielder went 9-for-23 at the plate, scoring seven runs and driving in four. He raised his battng average for the season to .291.

Another team on a roll is the Pfeiffer softball team (25-15) helped by the battery of pitcher Allison Braswell and catcher Megan McNeill -- in the same roles the sophomores performed at North Moore. The Falcons swept a pair of doubleheaders this week. In Thursday's first game against Belmont Abbey, Braswell won her 10th game of the season in the 8-0 victory. McNeill contributed to the offense by going 2-for-2 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored.