Aaron Hedgepeth (center) with Mount Olive baseball teammates Jordan Huntley (left) of Charlotte and Jonathan Cosme of Naples, Fla.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Al Myatt)

Former Cape Fear Christian Academy and Triton baseball standout Aaron Hedgepeth is now starting at first base as a freshman at Mount Olive. The Trojans had an off day Wednesday and “Hedge” took in some of the East Carolina-Campbell baseball game in Buies Creek with teammates Jordan Huntley of Charlotte and Jonathan Cosme of Naples, Fla. Mount Olive hosts Davis & Elkins for a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. … The Campbell men’s basketball team can secure a bye into the Big South Conference tournament quarterfinals with a win at Charleston Southern tonight. … Harnett Central’s Kaizer Ray could join the East Carolina football program as an invited walk-on. He was all-conference in the Tri-County Six 3-A as an offensive lineman in 2017. Johnston Community College has shown interest in Ray (6-5, 305) for basketball. … Today marks the 38th anniversary of the United States’ 4-3 men’s hockey win over the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. … The USA women won hockey gold in South Korea on the anniversary in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 shootout victory over Canada.