The Woodland Lady Cats softball team pounded out seventeen hits Tuesday night in their home opener but came up a run short on the scoreboard in a nine inning loss to Class 7A Hillgrove, 6-5. The visiting Hawks grabbed a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning but Woodland chipped away to send the game into extra innings. The Wildcats scored twice in the third inning and once in the fifth inning to narrow the margin to 4-3. Then after Hillgrove added a run in the top of the seventh, the Lady Cats rallied for two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. After a scoreless eighth inning, Hillgrove took the lead with a run in the top of the ninth that Woodland did not answer. Haley Collum (1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 0BB, 1K) suffered the Woodland pitching loss in relief of starter Peyton Dorn (8 IP, 5R, 1ER, 6H, 0BB, 1K). The Wildcats’ defense committed five errors leading to four, unearned runs. Senior shortstop Cambrie Carrington and freshman Kamryn Smith paced the Lady Cats attack with three hits each. One of Carrington’s safeties was a double. Mackenzie Araya (2 RBIs), Elizabeth Hartsfield (2 RBIs), Dorn, and Collum contributed two hits each for Woodland. Jordan Hammonds, Lainey Calhoun, and Alana Carnes added one hit apiece. Woodland (0-1) plays at Pace Academy Wednesday and will play in a tournament in Dalton Friday and Saturday where the Wildcats will face Gordon Lee, Heritage-Catoosa, and Northwest Whitfield.

Adairsville softball dropped an 11-2 non-region decision to Sonoraville Tuesday night in Tiger Valley. The visiting Phoenix broke open a tight game with a seven run, fifth inning to take the lead for good. Megan Gregory (4 IP, 7R, 5ER, 7H, 3BB, 3K) started in the circle for Adairsville and was tagged with the pitching loss. Jordan Clay (2 IP, 4R, 1ER, 2H, 0BB, 1K) worked two innings of relief for the Tigers. Kelsey Gleason led the Lady Tigers’ offense with a pair of hits. Brie Patterson and Gregory both his solo home runs. Riley Mounger and Annalee Morris had the other Adairsville base hits. Adairsville (0-1) travels to Armuchee Wednesday afternoon and will host Cartersville Thursday.

The Cartersville Lady Canes softball team opened the 2022 season Monday at home with a 12-4 non-region win over Ridgeland. Ava Perkins tossed a complete game in the pitching circle allowing no earned runs on four hits and four walks. All four Panthers’ runs were unearned. Perkins struck out five. Kiley Arnold had two hits including one home run and three RBIs for Cartersville. Perkins also produced two hits including a solo home run. Jordan Bishop finished with two hits and Elizabeth Nelson added two hits with one RBI. Mikey Lewis (3 RBIs), Amelia Elrod (double, 2 RBIs), and Erin McCrary had one hit each for the Lady Canes. McKinley Chada drove in one run with a sacrifice fly. Cartersville (1-0) plays at Adairsville Thursday.

The Adairsville Tigers won the first half of last Friday’s scrimmage with Woodland, 35-18, as both teams exhibited some nice offensive efforts. Host Adairsville scored on the first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jonathan Gough connected with Ethan Blome in the middle of the Woodland defense and Blome did the rest scampering 40 yards for a touchdown. Arthur LeFler added the PAT to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Chris Roper added a 45-yard touchdown run that put Adairsville up 14-0. Woodland answered with a 33-yard scoring run by Chase Carson, but the extra point failed leaving the score 14-6 with 2:49 remaining in the first quarter. Adairsville marched back down the field with their own response. The drive included a 20-yard run by Gough with the scoring play coming on a 15-yard pass from Gough to Connor Ray for a 21-6 lead with less than a minute remaining in the opening quarter. The Tigers added another touchdown on their first possession of the second quarter. Gough made a nice option pitch to Roper for a 13-yard run and a 28-6 advantage. Woodland followed with a long drive later in the period. Wildcats’ quarterback Brelace Williams connected with Jay Walker on a 42-yard pass play narrowing the margin to 28-12. Adairsville responded with an 11-play drive that was finished off with a touchdown pass to Hayden Blalock sending the teams to the intermission with the Tigers up 35-12. No score was kept in the second half, but “unofficially” Woodland scored in the third quarter on a touchdown run by Jay Walker. Adairsville’s Joseph Thorne added the only touchdown of the fourth quarter with a scoring jaunt. Adairsville now prepares for the Tigers’ regular season opener August 26 at home against Cherokee Bluff. Woodland will host a second scrimmage Friday against Lassiter. CANES TUNE UP FOR SEASON OPENER WITH SCRIMMAGES AGAINST NORTH MURRAY AND PEPPERELL Cartersville head football coach Conor Foster viewed his team’s first scrimmage of the season as a successful night as the Hurricanes faced North Murray and Pepperell this past Friday night in Lindale. The scrimmage was extended to 11 p.m. as storms moved through the area and created delays. “I thought we played well,” noted Foster. “Paul Gamble played really well and our offensive line did a good job. I thought that group imposed their will and were a highlight of the night. We started a little slowly on defense, but that group came on and ended up playing a good game.” Foster liked the way his team improved throughout the night. “I thought we got better. I was pleased at the adjustments our players and coaches made.” Cartersville now prepares for the Purple Hurricanes’ season opener at Cherokee August 19.

The Bartow County Junior Little League (14U) baseball team had its tournament run come to a close Sunday morning with a 17-2 loss to Irmo, South Carolina in an elimination game at the 2022 Southeast Regional. Bartow County went 4-0 to win the Georgia state championship and advance to the seven state Southeast Regional, but finished 1-2 in the tournament with an opening round win over Tennessee followed by losses to West Virginia and South Carolina. Sunday, Bartow managed only single runs in the first two innings as South Carolina took control. Dutch Hernandez, who started on the mound for the locals, led the Bartow offense with a pair of hits. Harrison Cole and Barrett Fuller had the only other base hits. Tyler Parker and Zaylan Cochran pitched in relief for Bartow County. Irmo advanced to play Viera/Suntree (Melbourne), Florida in a second elimination game Sunday. The winner will advance to the final three of the tournament. Loudon South (South Riding), Virginia and Jefferson County (Shenandoah Junction), West Virginia remain undefeated in the regional tournament and will square off Monday morning. The winner of that game will be in the championship round Tuesday and the loser must play an elimination game against Sunday’s Florida vs. South Carolina game. The Southeast Regional winner advances to the Junior Little League World Series August 14-21 in Taylor, Michigan. Bartow County Junior Little League (14U) finishes the year as the Georgia District 1 champions and Georgia state champs. Team members include: Isaac Burnett, Landon Cassidy, Zaylan Cochran, Harrison Cole, Hunter Dudley, Barrett Fuller, Dutch Hernandez, Elisha Moore, Tyler Parker, Hudson Parr, Brylan Reynolds, Rylan Spivey, and Lyle Woody. The team was coached by: Mike Burnett, Nick Parr, and Todd Fuller. Little League and GRPA tournament results are provided to Bartow Sports Zone by Cartersville Little League and Bartow County Little League plus the Cartersville and Bartow County Parks and Recreation Departments. The game data is shared by the leagues via GameChanger reports from the respective teams and/or leagues. Results and capsules are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by The Benefit Consulting Group of Cartersville and George F. Willis Realty.

R.B. Clyburn of Cartersville tied for 21st place August 4-7 at the L&J Golf Georgia Open hosted at the 7,039-yard, par-72 Jennings Mill Country Club in Watkinsville. Former Tour player Austin Morrison of St. Simons Island played consistent golf over the final 18-holes firing a 2-under par 70 to finish the championship at 13-under par 275 and claim the title. With the two-stroke victory, Morrison took home the winner’s check of $8,000. Alone in second at 11-under par 277, was Ryan Elmore of Dunwoody after a final round 2-under par 70. Elmore was able to pull even with Morrison on the par-4 7th hole after Morrison made a double bogey. Morrison proceeded to make birdie on the par-3 8th to regain the lead for good. Tied for 3rd at 9-under par 279 was Low Amateur Jackson Buchanan of Dacula and the low PGA Professional, Ted Moon of Lilburn. Moon had a hole-in-one on the 205-yard 8th hole. Rounding out the top 5 were mini tour professionals Stanton Schorr of Columbus and Dykes Harbin of Augusta finishing at 7-under par 281. Defending Champion Matt Nagy also finished in a tie for 21st at 4-over par 292. Clyburn tied for sixth among all amateur players in the tournament. His 4-over-par finish included rounds of 72-78-72-70. Jackson Buchanan of Dacula was low amateur finishing the 72-hole event at 9-under-par.

Former Cartersville High baseball standouts Sam Howard and Anthony Seigler continued to produce for their respective MiLB clubs this past week while Kingston's Maggie Ashmore failed to make the cut at Epson Tour's event in French Lick, Indiana. SAM HOWARD — Toledo Mud Hens (9th yr. pro; Triple-A Detroit Tigers organization; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS) … had one of his best weeks of the 2022 season in three relief appearances last week. The southpaw retired all eight batters he faced in those outings. Howard retired both batters he faced Tuesday in the fourth inning during an 8-3 loss at the Iowa Cubs. He then entered in the fifth inning with two outs Thursday and retired all three batters he faced into the sixth inning during an eventual 6-3 loss to Iowa. He registered one strikeout in the Thursday appearance. Saturday, during a 6-0 win, the 29-year-old again faced the minimum with one strikeout in an eighth inning appearance against the Cubs. With the solid week, Howard’s ERA falls to 3.04 in 26 appearances. He is 1-2 on the season with 28 strikeouts in just under 24 innings on the mound. Toledo (53-51) is currently in fourth place in the International League’s West Division. The Mud Hens are 9.5 games behind first place Nashville. They host a six game series Tuesday through Sunday with the Omaha Storm Chasers. ANTHONY SEIGLER — Hudson Valley Renegades (5th yr. pro; High Class-A New York Yankees organization; Cartersville HS) … starting four games last week for the Renegades playing at Jersey Shore, the former Yankees’ first roud draft selection was 2-for-14 but coaxed six walks in his 20 plate appearances. The switch hitting catcher also scored a pair of runs. Seigler now has a .243 batting average in 2022 in 235 official at bats. He has seven homers, 32 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Hudson Valley (54-47 overall) is 20-15 in the South Atlantic League’s second half standings and trails the Brooklyn Cyclones by 0.5 game in the second half North Division race. The Renegades host a six game series with the divisional first half champion Aberdeen Iron Birds Tuesday through Sunday. MAGGIE ASHMORE — Epson Tour Golf (3rd year pro; Augusta University; Kingston, GA) … missed the 36-hole cut at the French Lick Charity Classic after shooting a pair of 77s. It was a second straight missed cut for the 27-year-old since her T21 finish at the Twin Bridges Championship. The next Epson Tour event is the Four Winds Invitational August 12-14 at South Bend Country Club — also in Indiana.

Bartow County Junior Little League (14U) lost for the first time Saturday afternoon, falling 8-6 to Jefferson County, West Virginia in the second round of the 2022 Junior Little League Southeast Regional. Bartow County went 4-0 to win the Georgia Junior Little League State title and won the first game of the Southeast Regional Friday over Smith County, Tennessee, 6-2. The double-elimination Southeast Regional is being hosted in Broadway, Virginia. Bartow, now 1-1 in the tournament, got two hits each from Landon Cassidy and Elisha Moore. Both Bartow hitters doubled and singled. Harrison Cole and Barrett Fuller had the other Bartow base hits. For the second straight game, Bartow utilized five pitchers including Harrison Cole, Isaac Burnett, Rylon Spivey, Elisha Moore, and Tyler Parker. Bartow will now play an elimination game Sunday morning (9 a.m.) against Irmo, South Carolina. The survivor of that matchup plays another elimination game Sunday at 3 p.m. The seven team regional continues through Tuesday with the winner advancing to the Junior Little League World Series in Taylor, Michigan August 14-21. Little League and GRPA tournament results are provided to Bartow Sports Zone by Cartersville Little League and Bartow County Little League plus the Cartersville and Bartow County Parks and Recreation Departments. The game data is shared by the leagues via GameChanger reports from the respective teams and/or leagues. Results and capsules are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by The Benefit Consulting Group of Cartersville and George F. Willis Realty.

The Bartow Gordon Middle School Athletic Association begins its fall sports schedules this month with all standings, schedules, and results available on BartowSportsZone.com. The 2022 fall schedule includes football, fast pitch softball, volleyball, cross country, golf and academic team competitions. The 2022 BGMSAA softball schedule begins with games August 8. All eight league member schools will participate in fast pitch. The league’s championship tournament will be hosted by Red Bud on Saturday, September 17. Seven BGMSAA schools will field volleyball teams this season with matches beginning Monday, August 15. The season concludes with a league championship tournament at Adairsville on Saturday, October 1. The 2022 BGMSAA football season gets underway Saturday, August 20 at Sonoraville High School with the league’s annual Super Saturday event hosted by Red Bud Middle School. The games will include Red Top vs. Calhoun; Adairsville vs. Cass; and Woodland vs. Rockmart. One notable change with BGMSAA football this year will be the absence of Cartersville Middle School. The BGMSAA football playoffs will begin October 12 and conclude with a league championship game on October 19. Cross country will compete in a variety of meets this Fall with the BGMSAA championship meet scheduled for Thursday, October 20 at Rockmart Middle School. Girls and boys golf begins matches August 23 with competitions taking place at the Calhoun Elks Club, Fields Ferry Golf Club, and Cartersville Country Club throughout the Fall season. The golf championship for girls will be October 7 at the Calhoun Elks Club. Fields Ferry will host the boys championship on October 6. Meanwhile, all eight BGMSAA member schools will participate in Academic Team matches. The schedule begins August 23 and continues through the league championship tournament at Rockmart Middle School on October 25. To view all schedules, standings, and results, use the "More" link at the top of this page and navigate to "BGMSAA Fall Sports."

The Bartow County Junior Little League (14U) baseball team won its opening game of the Southeast Regional in Broadway, Virginia Friday, defeating Smith County, Tennessee 6-2. The game, originally scheduled for 12 noon on Friday, was delayed several hours due to rain and storms in the area. Bartow (1-0) advances for a 12 noon scheduled game on Saturday against the winner of Friday night’s match up between Jefferson County, West Virginia and McDowell County, North Carolina. That game started late Friday due to weather delays. Hudson Parr started on the mound for the locals in their opening round win. Isaac Burnett, Landon Cassidy, Barrett Fuller, and Harrison Cole all pitched in the victory. Lyle Woody, Elisha Moore (2 RBIs), Fuller, and Cole (2 RBIs) each finished with one hit apiece. Cassidy added one RBI. In the only other game played Friday, Viera/Suntree of Melbourne, Florida defeated Irmo, South Carolina, 7-6. The Southeast Regional Tournament continues through Tuesday at Broadway High School in Virginia with the winner advancing to the Junior Little League World Series in Taylor, Michigan August 14-21. Little League and GRPA tournament results are provided to Bartow Sports Zone by Cartersville Little League and Bartow County Little League plus the Cartersville and Bartow County Parks and Recreation Departments. The game data is shared by the leagues via GameChanger reports from the respective teams and/or leagues. Results and capsules are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by The Benefit Consulting Group of Cartersville and George F. Willis Realty.

Cartersville baseball products Sam Howard and Anthony Seigler saw plenty of action with their respective MiLB clubs this past week. Howard made four relief appearances with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens while Seigler started five games for the High Class A Hudson Valley Renegades. Meanwhile, local pro golfer Maggie Ashmore was in action on the Epson Tour. SAM HOWARD — Toledo Mud Hens (9th yr. pro; Triple-A Detroit Tigers organization; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS) … made four relief appearances last week at home against Indianapolis picking up a win on Thursday. The 29-year-old worked 3 and 1/3 innings in those four outings allowing just one earned run on a solo homer. The southpaw allowed just two other base hits and one walk last week while recording four strikeouts. For the season, Howard is now 1-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 23 MiLB appearances this season. He has four holds with a 26:12 strikeout to walk ratio in 21 innings pitched. Toledo (49-48) is currently in fourth place in the International League West Division. The Mud Hens are 9-1/2 games behind first place Nashville. They have a seven game series Tuesday through Sunday at the Iowa Cubs. ANTHONY SEIGLER — Hudson Valley Renegades (5th yr. pro; High Class-A New York Yankees organization; Cartersville HS) … was 3-for-17 including two doubles, three walks, one sac fly, two RBIs, and two runs scored while starting at catcher or DH in five games last week. The switch hitting, former first round pick has a .249 batting average in 69 games and 221 official at-bats this season. The 23-year-old has 32 RBIs, has drawn 64 walks, and scored 47 runs this season. Hudson Valley (50-45) is 16-13 in the South Atlantic League’s North Division second half standings and trails the Brooklyn Cyclones by 1-1/2 games. The Renegades have a six game series Tuesday through Sunday at the Jersey Shore Blueclaws. MAGGIE ASHMORE Epson Tour Golf (3rd year pro; Augusta University; Kingston, GA) … shot 73-72 (1 over par) last Friday and Saturday and missed the final round cut at the Epson Tour’s Firekeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan. The Epson Tour is the primary qualifying tour for the LPGA. The next event for the tour is the inaugural French Lick Charity Classic this weekend at The Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Indiana. Playing in five events so far this season, Ashmore is 146th on the 2022 Epson Tour money list.

The Cartersville Parks and Recreation Department has Fall 2022 registrations now available for gymnastics and youth tennis. The classes begin the week of August 8. Register online at CityofCartersville.org or use the My Cartersville app. You may also visit the Dellinger Park Office or call 770-607-6171.