Woodland baseball dropped a pair of games Saturday in a doubleheader at Marietta High School. The Wildcats lost the opener 5-4 and fell in the second game, 8-4. Marietta built a 5-1 lead through four innings in the first game and held off Woodland late. Woodland scored a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to cut the margin to one run, but Blue Devils’ reliever Andy Watters retired the Wildcats in order in the top of the seventh to secure Marietta’s win. Ayden Ray (2 RBIs), Rowan Billings (double, RBI), and Chase Carson had Woodland’s three hits in the opener. Mason Williams added one RBI. Austin Daves (3.1 IP, 5ER, 6H, 3BB, 1K) started on the mound for Woodland and was tagged with the loss. Zach Lambert (2.2 IP, 0R, 2H) retired the final eight outs. In the second game Saturday, Woodland scored four times in the top of the fourth inning for a 4-0 advantage, but Marietta answered with three in the bottom of the inning, three in the fifth, and two more in the sixth to win 8-4. Watters (4.2 IP, 4R, 3ER, 6H, 1BB, 3K) started on the mound for the Blue Devils. Luke Fennelly (2.1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 2K) picked up the Marietta pitching win in relief. Mason Gazaway and Carson Snipes combined for four hits and four RBIs to lead the Marietta offense. Ray (4 IP, 3R, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 5K) was the starting pitcher for the Wildcats in Game 2. Coby Barrett (0.1 IP, 3R, 2ER, 3H) took the pitching loss in relief. Hunter Shirley (1.2 IP, 2R, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 1K) closed out the final five outs on the mound for Woodland. Jakiyon Porter and Ray (RBI) had two hits each for the Wildcats. Carson doubled. Connor Stermer (RBI) and Billings added one hit apiece. Williams tossed in one RBI. Marietta’s two wins lifted their season mark to 7-8. Woodland (5-7) begins Region 7-5A play Tuesday at Dalton in the first game of a three-game series during the week. The Wildcats will host Thursday and travel back to Dalton on Friday. All three games are scheduled for first pitch at 5:55 p.m.

Cartersville junior pitcher Sawyer Wilson needed just 71 pitches Saturday afternoon at Richard Bell Field as he tossed a two-hit, five-inning shutout to defeat the Adairsville Tigers., 10-0., The Hurricanes' win completed a two-game sweep of Adairsville following Friday night’s 13-6 extra-inning win at Adairsville. Saturday, Wilson faced just four over the minimum. He walked two and struck out eight. The Canes’ offense posted three runs in the bottom of the first inning and added four more in the second to take control of the contest early. Two hits, a pair of walks, two Tigers errors, and a sacrifice fly produced the first frame runs for Cartersville. Another error, two walks, and three more hits created the Canes’ second inning runs. The Cartersville lead held at 7-0 until the bottom of the fifth when the Purple Hurricanes scored three more runs to trigger the mercy rule at 10-0. Three hits, an error, and a sacrifice fly delivered the fifth inning runs for Cartersville. Luke Miller had two hits including a triple and one RBI at the top of the Cartersville lineup. Isaac McNair-Seigler had a double and three RBIs. Ryan Johnson also doubled. Miles Owen, Charlie Rothschild (RBI), Trip Bradley, and Harrison Childers (RBI) added one hit apiece for the Canes. Adairsville starting pitcher Jack Nelson (1.1 IP, 7R, 5ER, 4H, 4BB, 2K) suffered the pitching loss. Peyton Bowen (2.2 IP, 0R, 2H, 1BB) and Harrison Cole (0.1 IP, 3R, 2ER, 3H) also pitched for the Tigers. Jarrett Scott and Bowen (double) had the two Adairsville hits. Adairsville (6-5) returns to action next Saturday at home against Heritage-Conyers. Cartersville (8-2) begins a three-game, Region 7-5A series with Calhoun at home Tuesday at 5:55 p.m. The two teams will play Thursday at Calhoun and Friday back at Richard Bell Field.

The Cartersville boys soccer team earned a crucial Region 7-5A win Friday night at Calhoun but the other local teams in action suffered losses. The Lady Canes lost at Calhoun and the Woodland girls dropped a home region decision to the Lady Cats of Dalton. The Woodland boys dropped their matchup with Dalton on Thursday evening. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 2, CALHOUN 1 The Cartersville Hurricanes scored one goal in each half and picked up an important Region 7-5A road win Friday night at Calhoun, 2-1. The Canes led 1-0 at the intermission due to Edgar Abeja's unassisted goal in the 5th minute. Melvin Velasquez scored the Canes' second half goal in the 43rd minute with an assist going to Yosvanni Pineda. The loss dropped the Yellow Jackets to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in region play. Cartersville (5-2-2, 2-0) visits Bremen for a non-region tilt Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. CALHOUN 2, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 0 The Lady Jackets got goals from Sofia Campa and Sarah Beth Dupree to defeat the Lady Canes, 2-0. Calhoun improved to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in Region 7-5A. The Cartersville girls (3-5-1, 1-1) have a non-region match Tuesday at Bremen in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff. DALTON 9, WOODLAND GIRLS 0 The visiting Lady Catamounts raced to a 7-0 lead by halftime and blanked the Woodland girls Friday night at Wildcats Stadium, 9-0. Abby Duncan was a standout for Woodland. The Lady Cats’ keeper had 10 saves in goal and helped Woodland stay in the contest to avoid the mercy rule. Dalton improved to 7-3-1 overall and 2-0 in Region 7-5A. Woodland (1-4-1, 0-1) travels to South Paulding Tuesday for a non-region game and returns to region action next Friday at Calhoun. DALTON 3, WOODLAND BOYS 0 The Woodland boys lost their Region 7-5A opener Thursday night at home to the Dalton Catamounts, 3-0. Dalton improved to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in region action. Woodland (3-2-1, 0-1) visits South Paulding for a non-region match Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. and travels to Calhoun for a region game next Friday night.

It took ten innings Friday night but Cartersville erupted for seven runs in the top of that frame to pull out a 13-6 win at Adairsville. The Canes led 5-0 through two innings and 6-1 going to the bottom of the seventh when the host Tigers posted a five-spot to send the game into extra innings. The two teams battled scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings before Cartersville scored seven runs on three hits. The Canes also took advantage of two walks, two hit batsmen, a wild pitch, and an error in the decisive half inning. Miles Owen had two hits for Cartersville with one RBI. Harrison Childers and Ian McNair-Siegler (double) both had one hit and three RBIs. Luke Miller, Caleb Daniel (RBI), Trip Bradley, and Paul Gamble finished with one hit apiece. Landon Cole contributed one RBI. Evan Sanders had two hits and one RBI for the Tigers. Braxton Ryan doubled and had three RBIs. Jarrett Scott (RBI), Chris Roper, and Landon O’Neal added one hit each for Adairsville. Phillip Schiltz (2.2 IP, 1ER, 1H, 3BB, 7K) picked up the pitching win for Cartersville in relief. Ryan Johnson (5 IP, 1ER, 3H, 2BB, 7K) started on the mound for the Canes. Dawson Bishop (1.1 IP, 4R, 3ER, 2H, 3BB, 1K) and Nicholas Hruby (1 IP, 1K) also pitched. Jarrett Scott (3.2 IP, 4ER, 2H, 3BB, 5K) took the pitching loss for Adairsville. Grayson Belcher (3.1 IP, 6R, 1ER, 2H, 4BB, 4K) started for the Tigers. Dawson Craig (2.2 IP, 0R, 2H, 3BB, 5K) and Jack Whitley (0.1 IP, 3ER, 2H, 1BB, 1K) also pitched in the contest. Adairsville (6-4) visits Cartersville (7-2) at Richard Bell Field Saturday at 12 noon.

Georgia Highlands College baseball swept a doubleheader Friday night at Pickens High School defeating the Macomb CC (Michigan) Monarchs 11-1 and 13-1. Both wins were five inning decisions. The Chargers pounded out 14 hits and smashed six home runs in the opener. Meanwhile, GHC pitcher Trey Baker tossed an abbreviated complete game. The Blessed Trinity product and right-hander gave up just one earned run on two hits and a walk. One of the hits was a solo homer in the fourth inning. Baker struck out nine in the contest. Jay Murdock hit the first of his two home runs in the game during the second inning to give the Chargers an early 1-0 lead. Then the long-ball flood gates opened. Adam Love, Hudson Sapp, and Zayd Brannigan hit three consecutive dingers to start the Georgia Highlands’ third inning. The Chargers then added four more runs on four hits and an error to increase their lead to 8-0. Murdock hit a two-run shot in the fourth and Bryson Stripling added a home run to left field in the same inning to round out the GHC scoring. Game 2 went the Chargers’ way as well. Georgia Highlands built a 13-0 lead by the fourth inning and closed out the Monarchs in the fifth inning for the victory. CJ Blackwell and Brannigan hit home runs for the Chargers in the nightcap. Brannigan (HR, double), Jayden Talik (RBI), Barrett Eldridge (RBI), and Murdock (double, RBI) all had two hits in the second game. Conner Faulkner (RBI) had the other Chargers base hit. Caden Shira drove in a run. GHC starting pitcher Oliver Wood (5 IP, 1ER, 6H, 0BB, 5K) went the distance to collect the pitching victory. The two losses dropped Macomb to 1-5 on the season. The Chargers (17-6) and Monarchs will square off in two more games Saturday at Pickens High School in Jasper. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Georgia Highlands College baseball split a pair of games Tuesday with Roane State CC at LakePoint. The Chargers dropped the opener 12-2 but bounced back to take the second game of the double-dip, 11-6. The Chargers pounded out a dozen hits in Game 2 and came from behind with an eight-run rally in the fifth inning to capture the finale after Roane State had taken an early 4-0 lead. Zayd Brannigan led the offensive attack with three hits. Hudson Sapp (4 RBIs), Ryan Wideman (RBI), and Conner Faulkner (RBI) each had two hits in the victory. Adam Love tripled with one RBI. Barrett Eldridge (RBI) and Nic Ferrer (sacrifice) also had base hits. Mitchell Walker drove in a pair of runs. GHC pitchers Zach Valentine (5 IP, 4ER, 10H, 0BB, 2K), Trippe Moore (1 IP, 1ER, 2H), and Chandler Anderson (1 IP, 1ER, 2H) combined on the mound. Roane State broke open a close game in the opener with four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. Raiders’ pitchers Evan Maddox (4 IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 6K) and Layne Dale (3 IP, 0R, 3H, 0BB, 3K) combined for nine strikeouts and limited the Chargers’ offense. Brannigan had two hits including a double and a home run for Georgia Highlands. Three other Chargers added one hit each — Wideman, Ferrer, and Jayden Talik. GHC (16-6) takes on Macomb CC (Michigan) in a four-game series Friday and Saturday at Pickens High School in Jasper. Friday’s games begin at 4 p.m. with Saturday’s matchups starting at 11 a.m.

The Adairsville High School tennis teams defeated Cass Wednesday night with the Tigers winning all five lines and the Lady Tigers taking wins at Line 3 singles and on both doubles lines. The match was conducted at Hamilton Crossing Park. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 5, CASS 0 Singles Line 1 — Camden Teems (A) d. Kaden West (C) 6-1, 6-3 Line 2 — Michael Spinksl (A) d. Cliff Chatman (C) 6-2, 6-0 Line 3 — Braden Mathis (A) d. Jackson Armona (C) 6-0, 6-0 Doubles Line 1 — Carter Collum / Bryson Gooden (A) d. Lincoln Ritter / Drake Brush (C) 6-1, 7-5 Line 2 — Jack Baxter / Brennan Grier (A) d. Nicolas Moser / Gracen Van Hook 6-0, 6-2 ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 3, CASS 2 Singles Line 1 — Sydney Coppola (C) d. Madison Abernathy (A) 6-1, 6-2 Line 2 — Allison White (C) d. Emily Hatch (A) 6-0, 6-0 Line 3 — Adysen Garvey (A) d. Laya Hall (C) 6-3, 6-1 Doubles Line 1 — Lily Kinsey / Ella Baker (A) won 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 Line 2 — Stella Rood / Kathleen Chapman (A) won 6-2, 7-5 Adairsville boys are 2-3 overall and 1-0 in Region 6-AAA. The Adairsville girls are 3-2 overall and 1-0 in region play. The Tigers return to the courts Thursday at home against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.

Georgia Highlands softball swept a Wednesday doubleheader at Snead State CC extending the team’s current win streak to four games heading into conference play. The Chargers topped the Parsons 4-1 in eight innings in the opener and won 7-1 in Game 2 of the twin bill. Jaycie Hand tossed a gem in the opener working all eight innings in the circle. Hand scattered nine hits and a pair of walks while giving up only one earned run. She fanned four. Audrey Johnson was the offensive standout in Game 1. She doubled and homered twice to drive in all four Chargers’ runs. Madison Dennis had two hits while Jordan Blair and Annsley Todd added one hit each for GHC. Rena Fraga picked up the pitching win in the second game. She yielded just one earned run. It came on a fourth-inning, solo home run. Fraga walked one and struck out two in her five innings in the circle. Three Chargers — Abigail Lathrop (2 RBIs), Audrey Johnson (double), and Jordan Blair (RBI) — had two hits each. Malone Aldridge and Madison Dennis added one hit apiece. Allison Deweese blasted a three-run home run in the top of the fourth in the winning cause. Snead State dipped to 15-17 on the season with the two losses. Georgia Highlands (6-14) begins Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association conference play Saturday with a home doubleheader against Andrew College starting at 1 p.m.

The Cartersville High School rifle team won its first-ever state playoff match Wednesday evening with a 1094-1027 win over visiting Paulding County. The playoff match was conducted on the Cartersville co-ed riflery’s new home rifle range on campus and marked the Canes' first post-season appearance in the team’s brief three years of existence. Sophomore Caleb Adams led Cartersville with a match-high score of 278. He was followed by team captain and senior Angelina Christ who fired a 277. Luis Rangel, Kaleb Wolfe, and Harper Cole Eubanks completed the Canes’ scoring with scores of 273, 266, and 250, respectively. Heather Groom led the Patriots with a 271 score. Cartersville advances to the semi-final round of the post-season Thursday, March 16 at the Ole Mill Range Complex in Griffin. The Canes will face East Coweta. The Indians are undefeated on the season and are the Area 5 champions.

Jesiel Moctezuma led off the game with a single Wednesday night at Central-Carroll. He later scored on an infield error by the Lions. That first inning run turned out to be the only score of the game as Cass won 1-0 and evened a home-and-home series with the Lions. Central-Carroll won at Cass on Monday night, 6-1. Three Colonels’ pitchers combined for the shutout Wednesday. Hunter Lovett (3 IP, 0R, 4BB, 2K) started on the mound. Trenton Payne (3 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 3K) and Devan Hutchinson (1 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 1K) pitched in relief. Nic Wright and Cayden Roberts added one hit apiece for the Colonels. The loss dropped Central-Carroll to 5-8 on the season. Cass (5-5) begins Region 7-5A play Tuesday at Hiram in the first game of a three-game series.

The Cartersville High School track and field team competed with Walker, Kell, and Kennesaw Mountain Tuesday evening at Kennesaw Mountain High School with the Purple Hurricanes coming away with several personal bests for the season. Canes’ top three finishes: Thomas Smith won the 110M Hurdles in 18.97 Kemarie Mitchell won the 400M Dash in 51.90 Elizabeth Nelson won the 800M Run in 2:41.64 Anna Grace Boone won the 1600M Run in 5:41.94 Barrett Stepp won the boys' 1600M Run in 4:57.02 Malachi Vosburgh won the 3200M Run in 10:05.70 Leyla Booth won the 300M Hurdles in 51.26 Jade Nelson won the girls' Discus Throw (69-0) Cartersville girls 4x100M Relay teams finished first and second in 53.45 and 55.07. Cartersville boys 4x100M Relay team won in 44.22 Cartersville boys 4x400M Relay team won in 3:35.72 Cartersville girls 4x400M Relay teams finished first and second in 4:27.07 and 4:47.70 Amirra Davis was second in the 400M Dash in 1:10.02 Samantha Herrera was second in the 800M Run in 2:51.36 Hayden Mitchell was second in the boys' 1600M Run in 4:57.03 Elizabeth Hardy was second in the 300M Hurdles in 55.33 Jamilla Chatmon was second in the Triple Jump (29-2) Julia McDonald was second in Discus Throw (68-5) Jaylen Scott was second in Discus Throw (128-0) Paris Moultrie was second in Shot Put (27-6) Myles Forristall was second in Shot Put (42-0.50) Milena Bihm was third in the 200M Dash in 29.39 Preston Parker was third in the 400M Dash in 54.46 Hayden Mitchell was third in the 800M Run in 2:20.35 Vivi Vest finished third in the 3200M Run in 14:10.34 Daniel Pina was third in the 3200M Run in 11:19.49 Sydney Rhodes was third in the girls' 300M Hurdles in 55.49 Jimmy Channell was third in the boys' 300M Hurdles in 45.01 Anna Grace Boone was third in the girls' High Jump (4-6) Jordyn Woods was third in the boys' High Jump (5-4) Paris Moultrie was third in Discus Throw (68-5) Myles Forristall was third in Discus Throw (109-3) Taff Bradley was third in Shot Put (27-2) Nick Kennedy was third in Shot Put (40-10)

According to reports by multiple sources, including Charean Williams of NBC Sports and Matt Zenitz of on3sports, the Miami Dolphins are expected to hire Western Kentucky defensive line coach and former Woodland High School standout Kenny Baker as assistant defensive line coach. Most recently, Baker helped WKU rank second in C-USA in sacks, scoring defense, and opposing yards per carry last season. This will be his first opportunity at the NFL level. Baker played at Gardner-Webb from 2005-08 and began his coaching career in the high school ranks in 2010. He went to Berry College as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2013. Baker also has coached at Mercer (2014-18) and Chattanooga (2019) as a defensive line coach. He coached the defensive ends at WKU in 2020 before taking over the entire defensive line in 2021.