Personal Injury Attorney in Rock Hill, SC.

Charlotte softball will look to shake off the recent loss to the University of South Carolina at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. and a trip to Greenville, S.C., for a game against Furman University.

The 49ers will face off against the University of South Carolina Upstate, Youngstown State University (YSU), Marist University and Winthrop University for the Invitational on Feb. 28 and March 1.

Charlotte's face-off with Furman University will be on March 5.

Charlotte is entering week four of play at 7-10. Despite falling to the University of South Carolina on Feb. 25, the 49ers have shown strength with batting.

Redshirt senior Jenna Lord was a star for the 49ers early on and hit a two-run homer on the Gamecocks. She will look to stay hot in this week's games.

Scouting the Spartans

First to face the 49ers in the Winthrop Invitational will be South Carolina Upstate on Feb. 28.

The 49ers can break Upstate's 12-game winning streak on Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.

Upstate is coming off a mid-week sweep, beating Furman twice on Feb. 26.

The first game ended at 6-1, and the second game continued their success, moving to 8-3.

The Spartans' batting fueled their offense, with three players having high batting averages.

Junior outfielder Taliyah Thomas has the highest at .455, with freshman right-handed pitcher Sophia Kardatzke and redshirt junior Catcher Abigail Pippen closely following.

Pippen has also achieved five home runs this season.

Scouting the Penguins

Youngstown is coming into the weekend winless for the season and recently fell to Brown University.

They have averaged an overall batting average of .216 in their previous five games.

Defensively, the Penguins have an ERA of 7.838 within the same timeframe.

In contrast, Charlotte has put down an overall batting average of .463 and an ERA of 3.266.

The 49ers can build on their successful season on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m.

Scouting the Red Foxes

Saturday will mark the first-ever softball match between Charlotte and Marist.

They were deemed No. 19 in this week's D1 mid-major ranking as the Foxes are currently 10-4 on the season, giving them the edge over Charlotte's 7-10.

Two wins came back-to-back against Stetson University and Long Island University Brooklyn last week.

Offensively, redshirt junior infielder Haley Ahr and graduate student infielder Miah McDonald are players to watch. Both players have batting averages of .500 or over.

The 49ers and the Red Foxes will face off on Mar. 1 at 12:30 p.m.

Scouting the Eagles

Sitting at 9-5 for the season ahead of their tournament, Winthrop will look ahead after a 0-8 loss against Coastal Carolina University.

Despite their setback on Feb. 25, utility player senior Emma Jackson and pitcher senior Megan Powell extended their reaching base streak to seven and six games straight, respectively.

The invitational hosts are looking to return to their upward momentum this weekend.

Their biggest barrier to extending the two records will be Charlotte's pitcher, redshirt sophomore Lilian Berry. She closed out the second Albany game last week to secure the team's win at 9-0.

Charlotte and Winthrop hit the field on March 1 at 3 p.m.

Scouting the Paladins

Following the Winthrop invitational, Charlotte will head to Greenville, S.C., to play against Furman.

The 49ers and Paladins matchup occurred with the last game together going back to 2021, with Charlotte coming on top as they swept all three games with Furman that year.

Charlotte Softball has seen significant changes since then, allowing the team to extend their win streak to four.

Furman's catchers Sylvia Burroughs and Madison Petty top the team's RBI count at nine with no sign of slowing down.

The 49ers and the Paladins will face off on March 5 at 5 p.m.

Looking to gameday

The Winthrop Invitational takes place on Feb. 28 and March 1. The first four games are a part of Charlotte's time in Rock Hill S.C. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Charlotte and Furman will face off at Greenville S.C. on March 5 at 5 p.m.

What is the best internet provider in Rock Hill?

Residents of Rock Hill, South Carolina, don't have many options when it comes to ISPs, so Comporium is CNET's pick of the best internet provider. It wins because it has wide availability across the area and it's the only fiber provider in town, which means you get symmetrical download and upload speeds. That said, Rock Hills residents shouldn't feel "stuck" with Comporium. It offers a decent balance of speeds, pricing and overall value, especially if your address is covered by the fiber-optic network. There is also the convenience and pleasantness of dealing with a local company.

If you want the fastest and cheapest internet plans in town, Comporium is the answer yet again. Plans start at $50 a month for download speeds up to 400 megabits per second, and covered by the fiber internet service can now get speeds up to 5,000Mbps.

If you need alternatives, fixed wireless internet from T-Mobile Home Internet or Verizon 5G Home Internet may be available. Each service is appealing in its own right, as you’ll find T-Mobile to have better availability, while Verizon has lower introductory pricing and faster maximum speeds.

Best internet in Rock Hill, South Carolina

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Other available internet providers in Rock Hill

Cheap internet options in Rock Hill

Comporium has the lowest starting rate for internet in Rock Hill at $40 a month for speeds up to 100Mbps. You may be able to get a little more speed, however, for around the same cost with T-Mobile Home Internet or Verizon 5G Home Internet if you qualify for the mobile bundle discount from either provider.

Including the discount, T-Mobile Home Internet offers speeds of 72 to 245Mbps for $35 a month, while Verizon 5G Home Internet has a range of 50 to 300Mbps for $35 monthly. Though not necessarily cheaper than Comporium, the faster speed potential does make for a better cost per Mbps.

Take our quiz

How Fast Should Your Home Internet Be?

Answer 3 easy questions to discover our recommended speed for your household.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

How to find internet deals and promotions in Rock Hill

The best internet deals and the top promotions in Rock Hill depend on what discounts are available during that time. Most deals are short-lived, but we look frequently for the latest offers.

Rock Hill internet providers, such as Comporium or T-Mobile Home Internet, may offer lower introductory pricing or streaming add-ons for a limited time. Others, however, including Verizon 5G Home Internet, run the same standard pricing year-round.

For a more extensive list of promos, check out our guide on the best internet deals.

How fast is Rock Hill broadband?

Gig download speeds, at or around 1,00Mbps, are available throughout Rock Hill thanks to Comporium. Verizon 5G Home Internet offers speeds up to 1,000Mbps, but that's the highest end of a range that starts at 85Mbps, so actual speeds are likely to be much slower.

In areas where fiber service is available, Comporium offers multi-gigabit internet plans with symmetrical speeds up to 2,000 or 5,000Mbps. Priced at $120 and $135 a month, respectively, these plans are excellent deals (for comparison, AT&T Fiber's 5-gig plan starts at $225 a month), though they may come with way more speed than you need.

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

What’s a good internet speed?

Most internet connection plans can now handle basic productivity and communication tasks. If you're looking for an internet plan that can accommodate videoconferencing, streaming video or gaming, you'll have a better experience with a more robust connection. Here's an overview of the recommended minimum download speeds for various applications, according to the FCC. Note that these are only guidelines -- and that internet speed, service and performance vary by connection type, provider and address.

For more information, refer to our guide on how much internet speed you really need.

How CNET chose the best internet providers in Rock Hill

Internet service providers are numerous and regional. Unlike the latest smartphone, laptop, router or kitchen tool, it’s impractical to personally test every ISP in a given city. So what’s our approach? We start by researching the pricing, availability and speed information, drawing on our own historical ISP data, the provider sites and mapping information from the Federal Communications Commission at FCC.gov.

But it doesn’t end there. We go to the FCC’s website to check our data and ensure we consider every ISP that provides service in an area. We also input local addresses on provider websites to find specific options for residents. We look at sources, including the American Customer Satisfaction Index and J.D. Power, to evaluate how happy customers are with an ISP’s service. ISP plans and prices are subject to frequent changes; all information provided is accurate as of publication.

Once we have this localized information, we ask three main questions:

While the answers to those questions are often layered and complex, the providers who come closest to “yes” on all three are the ones we recommend. When selecting the cheapest internet service, we look for the plans with the lowest monthly fee, though we also factor in things like price increases, equipment fees and contracts. Choosing the fastest internet service is relatively straightforward. We look at advertised upload and download speeds and consider real-world speed data from sources like Ookla and FCC reports. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)

To explore our process in more depth, visit our how we test ISPs page.

What's the final word in internet providers in Rock Hill?

Comporium is the most practical option for home internet in Rock Hill, but I wouldn't say residents should feel "stuck" with the provider. Speeds, pricing and service terms are comparable to national cable and fiber providers, and service comes with pleasant advantage of dealing with a locally owned and operated company.

If you're looking for alternatives to Comporium, fixed wireless internet from T-Mobile Home Internet or Verizon 5G Home Internet are your best bets. You'll get a faster speed potential with Verizon, but T-Mobile is much more likely to be available depending on where you live in Rock Hill. Finally, Spectrum may be an option (but don't count on it) and satellite internet is almost always an option, but not one you'll want to choose over Comporium or fixed wireless service.

At the corner of Ogden and Friedheim roads in Rock Hill, a more than 40-year-old convenience store looks almost the same as it did seven months ago when fire ravaged it from the inside out. Worse still for the owners, there’s no telling when it’ll look any different.

Surefire Neighborhood Market was one of Rock Hill’s trending food stops before the fire last July. After the fire, its owners vowed to rebuild. But months of paperwork wrangling paired with a growing customer base in Charlotte put those plans on hold.

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“We’re always, forever grateful for what we were able to build in Rock Hill,” said co-owner Magloire Lubika. “Right now we’re trying to figure out what the next steps are.”

Lubika, along with his brothers Joel and Edric Lutuangu, serve food almost daily now at HopFly Brewing Co. on Mint Street in Charlotte. They moved from their kitchen at Surefire to a food truck, one they’d started parking at Slow Play Brewing in Rock Hill just before the fire.

The brothers still want to open another restaurant, perhaps more than one. They’re just looking at a wider area than just Rock Hill.

“At the moment right now we’re really trying to build our brand and an audience in Charlotte,” Lubika said.

His parents opened Jeman Express in west Charlotte, then Mama Yala in Rock Hill. Three years ago the brothers transformed what had been a Sunset Park area staple — the Mama Yala store went by several names since it was built in 1980 — into a spot that drew customers from across Rock Hill and beyond.

It wasn’t just neighbors or visitors to nearby Friedheim Park talking about Surefire Neighborhood Market.

City economic development leaders touted the revitalized store, as public officials recommended the Sunset Dog with homemade slaw or the Capital Dog on a pretzel bun.

Surefire expanded menu items from personal pizzas to the Retha Mae fried chicken sandwich, walking tacos and drinks. The store also added organic and fresh foods in a part of town with limited options for them. The brothers aimed to maintain their Sunset Park roots while showcasing the area too.

“We worked really hard not only to garner recognition in our community but outside the community,” Lubika said.

The biggest hurdle to reopening Surefire in Rock Hill hasn’t been the fire itself, Lubika said, but insurance woes related to it.

The brothers had to testify under oath in December, he said, when insurance professionals asked them more about company financial details than the fire. A clear explanation wasn’t given, he said, for how the fire started.

“I don’t think they really understood what we were creating in Rock Hill,” Lubika said.

The owners still don’t know how the insurance issues will be resolved at the Ogden Road site, or when. The brothers own another spot in Rock Hill, the former Green Street Superette less than a mile away from Surefire on Green Street. The plan had been to expand the Surefire model into both places.

Now, the fire and some break-in issues at Surefire have “really put a dagger in what our future would look like in Rock Hill,” Lubika said.

It’s no certainty that Surefire is done in Rock Hill. There’s also no guarantee it’ll return, as it seemed it would even shortly after the fire.

“There’s currently no plan for both spaces,” Lubika said.

The Surefire owners are looking at multiple storefront options in Charlotte. They’ve thought about Atlanta. They’d love to make it back at some point to Rock Hill.

Whether it was the word-of-mouth hot dog recommendations, Slow Play helping start up their food truck or long-time customers who reconnected up in Charlotte, Rock Hill is central to the Surefire story.

“The city misses us and we wish we could be there right now,” Lubika said.

The brothers continue to improve the brand.

In Charlotte, they’ve added a line of smash burgers, too. The brothers continue to hear from fans in Rock Hill, Lubika said, which lets them know they hit the mark of uplifting the Sunset Park community. There’s uncertainty ahead for Surefire, but it’s the kind mixed with optimism for what might await.

“At some point you lose hope and don’t know what’s next,” Lubika said. “But we just thank God that we’ve had this opportunity to pursue what we’re doing.”

The Herald

803-329-4076

John Marks graduated from Furman University in 2004 and joined the Herald in 2005. He covers community growth, municipalities, transportation and education mainly in York County and Lancaster County. The Fort Mill native earned dozens of South Carolina Press Association awards and multiple McClatchy President’s Awards for news coverage in Fort Mill and Lake Wylie.

As the Rock Hill region braces for snow, sleet and ice on Friday, here’s a list of schools that will close for the weather:

â–ª The Rock Hill School District will have an eLearning day, or online school, on Friday. Parents won’t send students to school. Extracurricular activities for Friday and Saturday are canceled.

â–ª The Fort Mill School District will close all facilities Friday. Students will move to eLearning. After-school activities, including sports, are canceled. District facilities will be closed Saturday, too. Schools are commonly used on weekends for basketball, robotics and other events.

â–ª The Clover School District will use remote learning on Friday. Students won’t have live instruction but will be given assignments to complete. School staff will be available online for support. Athletic events for Friday and Saturday are canceled.

â–ª The York School District will go to remote learning Friday. All athletic events are canceled for Friday and Saturday.

â–ª The Lancaster County School District will close Friday and go to eLearning. All school facilities will be closed and all scheduled events at them canceled Friday through Sunday.

â–ª The Chester County School District will go to remote learning Friday, and school district facilities will be closed Friday through Sunday. Students will be given work for Friday to complete, but won’t have online classes.

â–ª York Prep will go to a half-day schedule on Friday. Kindergarten through fourth grade will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Friday, with older grades dismissed at noon. All after-school activities Friday are canceled.

â–ª Legion Collegiate Academy postponed all of Friday’s basketball games. Saturday’s girls game will be played in February.

â–ª Riverwalk Academy will have an early release day Friday. Kindergarten through fifth grade will finish school at 11:05 a.m. Older grades will finish at 11:30 a.m. All after-school activities are canceled.

As of Thursday morning, the National Weather Service listed a winter storm watch for Rock Hill.

The forecast showed a chance of snow before 2 p.m. Friday, and an 80% chance of precipitation afterward with a mix of snow, sleet and ice. Freezing rain and sleet would continue Friday night with a 100% chance of precipitation after 7 p.m. The forecast low is 29 degrees.

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Saturday would have a chance of sleet before 7 a.m. and morning fog, with a 30% chance of precipitation on a mostly sunny day. The expected high temperature is 42 degrees. A low of 19 degrees on Saturday night would be followed by several days of high temperatures in the low 40s and lows in the low 20s.

This is a developing story. Check back for more information.

This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 12:41 PM.

Roads could be treacherous and power outages are possible as the Rock Hill region prepares for ice from a winter storm Friday and Saturday.

York, Chester, and Lancaster counties could see snow, freezing rain and sleet — or a combination of all three. The National Weather Service said in its forecast there is a 100% chance of winter weather starting Friday afternoon and has issued a winter storm warning that lasts through Saturday morning.

The Rock Hill area — from Lake Wylie east to Indian Land and Fort Mill — could see about an inch of snow and .3 inches of ice, the NWS said. That ice amount could cause roads to freeze and trees and power lines to be knocked down, officials said.

“Snow and ice accumulations will make many roads treacherous and impassable,” the weather service said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The official winter storm warning — upgraded from a watch — is issued when “a significant combination of hazardous winter weather is occurring or imminent,” according to the NWS web site.

[As of 12:10PM 1/9] A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect for the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia, but any decisions to upgrade to Warnings/Advisories will be done by 4:00PM as we evaluate new model guidance and trends. pic.twitter.com/GI2vNhUIkv

— NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) January 9, 2025

Area schools have already decided to close or have remote classes Friday and have canceled extra-curricular activities.

Emergency officials have issued a travel advisory urging people to stay off the roads from Friday until icy conditions abate.

“Travel is probably going to be our biggest issue,” said York County Emergency Management Director Chuck Haynes. “Overnight Friday into Saturday, it really has a chance to get dangerous.”

Temperatures Saturday even as skies clear are not expected to rise much over 40 degrees, with lows Saturday night around or below 20 degrees. That means areas that remain wet could refreeze Saturday night into Sunday, said Darren Player, Lancaster County emergency management director.

Officials said even if main roads such as I-77, U.S. 21 and U.S. 521 are clear, secondary roads can be hazardous because they receive less traffic and direct sunlight after a storm passes.

Freezing rain on trees and power lines can cause widespread problems, officials said.

“The weight of the snow and ice on tree limbs and power lines could produce numerous outages,” the weather service said.

If there are power outages, people can check online maps that are updated freqquently by Duke Energy, York Electric Cooperative, and the city of Rock Hill Utilities.

For problems or information, York County officials suggest using these numbers:

â–ª Duke Energy 800-769-3766.

â–ª York Electric Cooperative 866-374-1234

â–ª Rock Hill Utilities 803-329-5500

â–ª Comporium 888-403-2667

â–ª York County Natural Gas 866-201-1001

This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM.