The Cartersville High School riflery team lost to Ridgeland Wednesday night, 1119-1086. Cartersville’s Caleb Adams fired a personal best and all-time Canes’ record high score of 283 in the loss. Angelina Christ followed with a score of 274. Katerina Conley (268), Kaleb Wolfe (261), and Luis Rangel (252) rounded out the Cartersville scoring. The match was the second highest scoring match of the season in Area 10. Both teams scored their all-time highest scores. Cartersville (4-6) travels to Lafayette next Tuesday. Cartersville is also scheduled to host the Area 10 Championship match at the Storm Center Friday, March 11. All seven Area teams will be in action.

The Woodland boys tennis team lost their top two singles lines Wednesday evening, but rallied at Line 3 and won both doubles matches to take a home 3-2 win over Rockmart. The Rockmart girls cruised to a 5-0 win over the Lady Cats. Cameron Henson and Jack Gore won at Line 1 doubles for the Wildcats, 6-1, 6-0. Jathan Camp and Javen Bowens picked up a Line 2 doubles win, 6-3, 6-2 and Cadyn Wade won his Line 3 singles match, 6-2, 6-2.

Woodland baseball scored runs in every offensive frame Wednesday night and pounded out 17 hits in a 14-5 win over the Rome Wolves. The Wildcats led 3-0 after two innings, 8-2 through four frames, and scored five more runs in the fifth and sixth innings for a nine-run win. The offensive show for Woodland overcame a night when the Wildcats committed five errors. Woodland hurlers Hunter Shirley (3.2 IP, 2R, 0ER, 0H, 3BB, 6K) and Nate Rosser (3.1 IP, 3R, 0ER, 1H, 2BB, 4K) combined to scatter five hits and five walks while striking out ten. Neither pitcher yielded an earned run with Shirley credited with the win. Chase Carson led the Wildcats’ attack with three hits including a second inning, two-run home run, a double, and totaled three RBIs. Jakiyon Porter also had three hits including a double. Ayden Ray had two hits including a two-run home run in the third inning. Rowan Billings had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Jacob Gravett also contributed two hits with one RBI and Austin Sanders finished with a two-hit game that included a double. Julian Wright had one hit and two RBIs with a pair of sacrifice flies. Mason Williams drove in a run with one hit and Jackson Rutledge added one hit. Woodland baserunners also swiped six bases including two by Porter and one each by Carson, Rutledge, Sanders, and Conner Stermer. Woodland (2-1) is scheduled to play at McEachern Thursday at 5:55 p.m.

All three of the local teams that qualified for the state playoffs this season were eliminated from their respective state tournaments in the first round after the Cartersville boys and Adairsville boys both lost games Wednesday night. The Cass girls dropped their opening round game at home Tuesday night to St. Pius X, 55-52. Wednesday, Cartersville lost at 6th-ranked Lithonia 67-61 and Adairsville fell at home to Hart County, 59-49. LITHONIA 67, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 61 The Purple Hurricanes stood toe-to-toe with host Lithonia Wednesday night and led in the fourth quarter before falling to the 6th-ranked Bulldogs, 67-61, in a Class 5A State Tournament first round game. The two teams were tied 14-14 after one quarter; Lithonia led 33-28 at halftime; and the Hurricanes took a 48-46 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Lithonia outscored the Canes 19-13 in the final period. Caleb Taylor and Josh Daniels led Lithonia with 26 and 21 points, respectively. Romo Pace knocked down 24 points for Cartersville. Luke Gambill followed with 13. Jamauri Brice, Jaeden Scott, and Kam Callahan scored six points each while Kaden Scott added four for the Hurricanes. Lithonia advances to the second round Saturday where the Bulldogs (21-8) will play at 3rd-ranked Tri-Cities. Cartersville has its season end with a 12-14 record. HART COUNTY 59, ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 49 The Adairsville Tigers’ exciting post-season run came to an end Wednesday night in the Class 3A State Tournament’s first round with a 59-49 home loss to Hart County. Adairsville started strong, holding a 21-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. The visiting Bulldogs battled back in the second period by clamping down defensively to lead 29-28 at the intermission. Hart led 37-34 at the end of the third quarter and held on down the stretch of the fourth quarter to escape with a 10-point win. Senior shooting guard JC Curry scored a game-high 30 points to pace the Bulldogs. Sean Teasley, also a senior, added 12 points for Hart County. Tre Mitchell led Adairsville with 14 points. T.J. Printup, Jr. finished with 12. Tre Winters scored 11. Jordan Carson contributed six points. Hayden Poarch had four and Kavi Harris added two points for the Tigers. Hart County (20-8) advances to the second round Saturday where they will play at Thomson. Adairsville has its season end with a 16-12 record.

The Cass baseball team lost its fourth straight game to open the 2022 season Tuesday falling to the Kell Longhorns at LakePoint in Emerson, 5-1. Kell, playing as the home team, took a 2-0 lead through three innings before the Colonels posted their lone run in the top of the fourth. Kell then added a run in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the fifth innings to secure the win. Longhorns’ pitcher Ethan Hames (7 IP, 1ER, 5H, 1BB, 4K) tossed a complete game and fanned four to earn the win. Cayden Roberts (4 IP, 3R, 2ER, 7H, 2BB) was tagged with the pitching loss for Cass. Aidan Cottingim (1 IP, 2ER, 1H, 2BB, 1K) and Devan Hutchinson (1 IP, 0R, 1H) worked the final two innings on the mound for the Colonels. Brady McDevitt had three hits including a double, a triple, and an RBI for the Longhorns. Nicholas Dawkins had two hits and one RBI for Kell. Connor Jenkins had a double for Cass. Wesley Collins drove in one run with a sacrifice fly and had one hit. Hayden Cole, Jesiel Moctezuma, and Larkin had one hit each for the Colonels. Kell’s win completes a two-game season sweep of the Colonels by the Longhorns. Kell (5-1) defeated Cass 11-3 earlier this month. Cass (0-4) is scheduled to host Armuchee Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Heritage-Rockdale Friday at 5:55 p.m.

A glance at how local athletes performed for the week ending Sunday, February 20 for their professional and collegiate teams across the country. PRO BASKETBALL ASHTON HAGANS — Raptors 905 (NBA G League; Cartersville native; University of Kentucky; Newton HS) … coming off the bench, Hagans paced Raptors 905 with 21 points in a 116-109 loss Feb. 16 at the Westchester Knicks. He added five assists, four rebounds and three steals in the defeat. The following day, Raptors 905 dropped a 133-124 decision against the Wisconsin Herd at home. Hagans went scoreless in 15 minutes, while recording four assists, three rebounds, one steal and one block. COLLEGE BASKETBALL BRAXTON BENHAM — Berry College (Fr., Cass HS) … Benham played 17 total minutes over Berry's two most recent wins. He contributed three rebounds, an assist and a steal in a 62-58 victory over Oglethorpe Feb. 16 at home. In an 80-58 rout of Millsaps in the quarterfinals of the Southern Athletic Association tournament Feb. 20 at home, Benham knocked down his lone shot attempt — a 3-pointer — and added a rebound and a steal. JUSTICE HAYES — South Georgia Tech (So., Cass HS) … Hayes totaled three points, two rebounds and an assist in wins over Central Georgia Tech (66-65, Feb. 15 at home) and Georgia Highlands (102-87, Feb. 19 on the road). DiANTHONY HEATHCOCK — (So., Woodland HS) … across the Rams' final three regular-season games — all wins — Heathcock finished with 24 points, 29 rebounds and six steals. T.J. HORTON — Georgia Highlands College (Fr., Cartersville HS) … Horton recorded eight points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal across a trio of games, as the Chargers finished 1-2 last week. JAYLON PUGH — Furman University (Sr., Cartersville HS) … Pugh drew the start on senior night but didn't record any stats in a 70-69 win over Wofford Feb. 19 at home. JOSIE SUMMERVILLE — North Park University (Sr., Adairsville HS) … Summerville went scoreless with five rebounds in a 57-43 win over Wheaton (Illinois) Feb. 16 at home. Despite fouling out, she followed it up with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double during an 84-50 defeat Feb. 19 at Carroll (Wisconsin). JORDAN THOMPSON — Motlow State CC (Fr., Woodland HS) … Thompson racked up 16 points to go along with four assists and a steal in a 75-67 season-ending loss to Columbia State CC. NAKIYAH WASHINGTON — Piedmont College (Jr., Adairsville HS) … Washington came off the bench on senior night, finishing with 10 points in Piedmont's regular-season finale. She played 23 minutes, contributing three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal, in a 63-49 loss Feb. 16 to Emory. SWIMMING MALLORY COOK — University of Montevallo (Fr., Adairsville HS) … Cook swam the third leg of Montevallo's 400-yard freestyle team, which finished 11th overall and third in the B final, during the New South Intercollegiate Swim Championships Feb. 19 at Delta State. HARPER POWELL — Florida Tech (Fr., Adairsville HS) … Powell swam the second leg for Florida Tech's 400-yard freestyle team, which finished 14th overall and sixth in the B final, during the Sunshine State Conference Championships Feb. 20 in Clearwater, Florida. WRESTLING JABRIL WILLIAMS — Midway University (Fr., Cartersville HS) … Williams finished 0-2 in the 165-pound division during the Mid-South Conference North Division Championship Feb. 19 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. SOFTBALL COLBI BALLARD — Shorter University (So., Cartersville HS) … started in left field in two of three Hawks’ games over the weekend going 3-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs. Shorter lost both games but won the series opener Saturday. The Hawks (3-8, 1-2 Gulf South Conference) host Union University (Tennessee) Tuesday in a conference doubleheader before traveling to Pensacola for a three-game series at West Florida Saturday and Sunday. BELLA CARNES — Georgia College (So., Woodland HS) … started at second base in five of six games last week going 4-for-11 at the plate with a walk, one RBI, and two runs scored. The Bobcats split a doubleheader with West Georgia last Tuesday and won one of four games at the Columbus State Red-White-Blue Classic. Georgia College (4-8) plays a doubleheader at South Carolina-Beaufort Wednesday and a doubleheader at 23rd-ranked Anderson University Friday. MORGAN COOPER — Columbus State University (Fr., Woodland HS) … coaxed a walk in a pinch hit appearance during a 5-2 loss Saturday to Wingate University. The Cougars finished the weekend 1-3 as they hosted the Red-White-Blue Classic with games against Wingate and Auburn-Montgomery. Columbus State (5-7) hosts West Alabama in a three-game series Friday and Saturday. PRESLY EDWARDS — Wesleyan College (Jr., Cartersville HS) … went 2-for-4 with a double, a sacrifice fly, and one RBI in a Saturday doubleheader sweep of visiting University of the South. The Wolves’ starting catcher also went 5-for-13 with a home run and eight RBIs in Wesleyan’s first four wins of the season. The Wolves (6-0) travel to Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend to play Meredith, Susquehanna, Marymount (Virginia), and William Peace in the Triangle Classic. ANSLEY EVANS — Reinhardt University (Fr., Woodland HS) … starting one of two games at third base against visiting Bluefield College (Virginia) over the weekend, Evans went 2-for-6 at the plate with a double, one RBI, and two runs scored as the Eagles won both conference games. Reinhardt (6-4, 2-0 Appalachian Athletic Conference) will play five games Friday through Sunday in the NFCA Classic in Columbus, Georgia. KENDYL HARDIN — Covenant College (Fr., Cass HS) … made a pinch hitting appearance during an 8-1 loss last Wednesday to George Fox University (Oregon). The Scots salvaged one of four games against the visiting Bruins. Covenant (4-4) plays a doubleheader at Birmingham Southern Thursday and will host Asbury University (Kentucky) for a doubleheader Saturday. BRIANNA HILL — Covenant College (So., Woodland HS) … drew a pair of walks in a start as designated player Friday as the Scots defeated visiting George Fox University 11-7. Hill also had an appearance last Wednesday as a pinch hitter in an 8-1 loss to the Bruins. SADYE JOHNSON — University of North Georgia (Fr., Adairsville HS) … started three of four games at catcher and hit her first collegiate home run over the weekend at the Bearcat Invitational in Greenwood, South Carolina. The Nighthawks went 3-1 with two wins over Chowan University and a two-game split with South Carolina-Beaufort. Johnson went 1-for-7 with three walks, a home run, and three runs scored. 4th-ranked UNG (11-3) plays a doubleheader at Eckerd College Wednesday, a doubleheader at University of Tampa Thursday, and hosts Bluefield College Sunday. LAUREN McELHANEY — University of West Georgia (So., Cartersville HS) … came off the bench Saturday as a defensive substitute at catcher in an 11-3 loss at West Florida. The Wolves went 1-4 during the week splitting a doubleheader with Georgia College before being swept in three games in Pensacola. West Georgia (4-8) hosts a three-game conference series this weekend with Auburn-Montgomery. HANNAH TODD — University of Houston (Grad Student, Cartersville HS) … the right-handed pitcher appeared in four of the Cougars’ five games this past weekend — all losses — as Houston hosted No. 1 Oklahoma, McNeese State, and Texas State in the Houston Classic. Todd totaled 10 innings of work yielding eight runs (two earned) on eight hits, and eight walks while recording five strikeouts. The Cougars (4-6) host The Houston Tournament this weekend where they will face Northern Colorado, Lamar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Houston Baptist. BASEBALL MASON BARNETT — Auburn University (Jr., Cartersville HS) … worked a scoreless seventh inning Sunday in the Tigers 12-1 win over Kansas State at the Arlington, Texas State Farm Showdown. Barnett faced just four batters issuing one walk but inducing a fly out and a pair of ground outs. Auburn won two of three games at the season opening event with a 2-1 win over 12th-ranked Texas Tech and a 3-0 loss to Oklahoma. Auburn hosts Troy Wednesday evening and will entertain Yale over the weekend in a three-game series. JAKE GOOCH — Central Alabama CC (So., Cartersville HS) … in three losses this past week, Gooch went 1-for-9 with a pair of walks and one run scored. The Trojans lost twice at Gordon College Saturday and fell to John A. Logan CC Sunday. CACC (4-7) hosts Bishop State CC in a doubleheader Saturday. BRYCEN JONES — University of West Georgia (Jr., Cartersville HS) … retired the final two outs of the eighth inning Saturday in the Wolves’ 10-7 loss at West Florida. Jones faced five batters giving up two hits and a walk with one inherited runner scoring. West Georgia (5-5) lost four games during the week with a home loss to Augusta and three losses at West Florida. The Wolves play at Augusta Wednesday before hosting a three-game series Saturday and Sunday with Auburn-Montgomery. LOGAN MARTIN — University of the South (Jr., Cartersville HS) … worked five innings in a home start and 8-3 loss Friday to Millikin University (Illinois). Martin, now 1-1 as a starter this season, gave up five runs (only one earned) on seven hits, two walks, and one hit batsman. The Tigers (2-4) host Defiance College (Ohio) in a three-game series Saturday and Sunday. GARRETT MISHOE — University of West Georgia (Fr., Adairsville HS) … made a pair of mound appearances last week for the Wolves. He faced five batters in the eighth inning last Tuesday during a 6-3 home loss to Augusta allowing one earned run on one hit and one walk. Mishoe struck out one. Sunday, he was the pitcher of record in an extra inning loss at West Florida. Inserted in the bottom of the tenth with a tie-breaker rule runner placed at second base, he retired a batter on a sac bunt but then allowed a walk-off RBI single that lifted the Argonauts to a 7-6 win. TREY SCOTT — Cleveland State CC (Fr., Cass HS) … the right-handed pitcher worked a scoreless sixth inning Saturday facing four batters with a walk and one strikeout during a 9-1 home win over Southwestern Illinois College. The Cougars (5-4) play a doubleheader Tuesday at Maryville College (Tennessee) and host Edison CC Saturday in a doubleheader. STEVEN SPELL — Young Harris College (Jr., Cass HS) … started at third base in four games this past week — a win at 21st-ranked Lee University and three home losses to Southern Indiana. Spell was 4-for-16 at the plate with a double, a sacrifice, two runs scored, and one RBI. The Mountain Lions (6-4) play at Tusculum University Tuesday and at West Alabama Saturday and Sunday in a three-game series. PRESTON WELCHEL — Coastal Alabama-Bay Minette (So., Cartersville HS) … went 4-for-9 in a pair of home-and-home doubleheaders last week against Lawson State CC. Welchel had a double, a home run, two walks, and scored four runs in those games as the Sun Chiefs won twice and finished one game in a 4-4 tie. Coastal-Bay Minette (4-3-1) has a doubleheader at Mississippi Gulf Coast Wednesday and a doubleheader at Gulf Coast State CC (Florida) Thursday. DAVIS WILLIAMS — Birmingham-Southern College (Fr., Cartersville HS) … entered in the sixth inning and worked three innings of relief Sunday in a 12-3 victory over visiting Lynchburg College (Virginia). The 7th-ranked Panthers (4-2) will host Wisconsin-Oshkosh Friday, North Park University (Illinois) Sunday, and 5th-ranked Adrian College (Michigan) next Monday. JORDAN WILKIE — Augusta University (Jr., Cartersville HS) … in four starts last week at second base, Wilkie went 5-for-16 at the plate with a double, a triple, a run scored, and four RBIs. The Jaguars won at West Georgia and lost three straight at Mars Hill. Augusta (5-6) host West Georgia Wednesday in their lone game this week. TENNIS EMILY SURCEY — Arkansas State University (Fr., Cass HS) … lost at Line 3 singles Saturday to her University of Arkansas opponent Lenka Stara, 6-1, 6-0. The Razorbacks won the match over the Red Wolves 4-1. Arkansas State (2-4) plays at Alcorn State Friday, hosts Grambling Saturday and plays at Louisiana Tech Sunday. CHRISTY TURNER — Coppin State University (Sr., Woodland HS) … lost her Line 4 singles match to Michelle Los Arcos of James Madison University and paired with teammate Iva Jankovic in a 6-1 Line 3 doubles loss Sunday. James Madison won the match 7-0. Coppin State (0-4) hosts Longwood Wednesday and plays at George Mason Sunday. BRYCE VAN ORDER — Piedmont College (So., Woodland HS) … lost his Line 2 singles match Saturday during a 7-2 team loss at home against Methodist University. Van Order fell to Henry Murray 6-2, 6-4. The Lions (1-2) host Berry College Tuesday before heading to Orlando, Florida for a five match series against Regis College, Houghton College, Wartburg College, Adrian College, and Saint Mary’s University (Minnesota). GOLF BUCK BRUMLOW — University of Georgia (Fr., Cartersville HS) … tied for 21st individually and helped the Bulldogs to a runner-up finish last Sunday through Tuesday at the Puerto Rico Classic. Brumlow fired rounds of 69-66-72—207 at the 7,152-yard Grand Reserve Golf Club. Georgia finished six shots behind winner Oklahoma and six shots ahead of third place Tennessee in the 13-team event. Next for the Bulldogs is the Las Vegas Southern Highlands Collegiate next Sunday through Tuesday. ~~ Nicholas Sullivan of The Daily Tribune News contributed to this report.

The Cass boys soccer team cruised to a 9-0 win at home Tuesday night over Armuchee with six different Colonels scoring at least one goal. Christian Villella scored three goals and added one assist. Camden Hillhouse followed with a pair of goals and contributed one assist. Edwin Veliz, Andrew Nguyen, Jeff Vu, and Alex Hernandez added one goal each. Hernandez also tallied a pair of assists with Veliz, Vu, and Jovany Contreras also adding assists. Armuchee slipped to 1-2 with the loss. The Colonels (6-2) begin play in Region 7-AAAAA Friday night at Calhoun. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 4, ROCKMART 1 Adairsville’s Blade Bennefield scored all four of the Tigers’ goals off three assists by Arthur Leffler and one more by Eduardo Lopez as Adairsville won its Region 6-AAA opener 4-1 at Rockmart. The victory marks to first road win for the Adairsville boys since 2019 and puts the Tigers at 1-0 in region play. “Our team is improving each game,” said Adairsville coach John Terrell. “Our defense and goalkeeper has played well most of the season. Our communication and passing need to improve but we are working on it daily.” Adairsville (3-3, 1-0) now has more wins this season than all of last year. The Tigers travel to LaFayette Thursday. COOSA 3, WOODLAND BOYS 1 The Wildcats dropped a 3-1 decision to the visiting Coosa Eagles Tuesday night in non-region action. Coosa improved to 2-1 on the season. Woodland (3-2-3) travels to Blessed Trinity to begin Region 7-AAAAA play Friday night. ROCKMART 2, ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 1 With all the scoring occurring in the first half, the Lady Tigers lost at Rockmart Tuesday night, 2-1 in their Region 6-AAA opener. Elle Causby scored the lone Adairsville goal in the 23rd minute of the first half to get the Tigers to the intermission down by one goal. She found the net off an assist from Emma Ridley. “We made adjustments at halftime and took a lot of great shots against a quality keeper,” said Adairsville assistant Amanda Jones following the game. “They were really good with counter attacks.” The Yellow Jackets improved to 1-5 on the season and 1-1 in Region 6-AAA action. Adairsville (3-1-1, 0-1) hosts LaFayette Thursday in Tiger Valley. ARMUCHEE 2, CASS GIRLS 1 After battling through a scoreless first half, visiting Armuchee scored twice in the second half to defeat the Cass Lady Colonels, 2-1. Dayanara Solorzano scored the Cass goal. Armuchee improved to 4-1 with their victory. Cass (1-5-1) begins Region 7-AAAAA play Friday at Calhoun COOSA 3, WOODLAND GIRLS 0 The visiting Lady Eagles picked up their first win of the season Tuesday night at Woodland, defeating the Lady Cats 3-0. Woodland (4-1-2) travels to Blessed Trinity Friday. SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 4, CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 0 The visiting Lady Raiders improved to 6-0-2 on the season with a 4-0 win Tuesday night at Cartersville. The Lady Canes slipped to 1-4-1 and will look to bounce back Friday night at home against Villa Rica.

The Cass Lady Colonels had their 2021-22 season come to an end Tuesday night on their home floor after suffering an opening round loss to St. Pius X in the Class 5A State Tournament, 55-52. The visiting Golden Lions led 15-10 after one quarter; 26-15 at halftime; and 37-26 through three quarters before holding off the Lady Colonels in the final period to win by three. St. Pius got to the free throw line often and took advantage of a cold perimeter shooting night by Cass. St. Pius finished 26-for-30 at the foul line, while Cass sank 8 of 14 free throws. Alexa Kenah scored a game-high 19 points to lead St. Pius. Kelly Stephenson followed with 12 points. Alex Schiavo scored 11 and Payton O’Bryant added nine for the Golden Lions. Justice Bennett, Mikaela Jackson, Miya Winston, and Claire Davis each scored nine points for Cass. Amaya Ford and Haley Johnson chipped in with six points and Keara McDaniel scored four in the Lady Colonels’ loss. St. Pius (19-10) advances to the second round this weekend to play at Warner Robins. Warner Robins defeated Tri-Cities 77-44 in the opening round. Cass has its season end with a 23-6 record.

The Cartersville tennis teams defeated Adairsville in non-region action Tuesday evening, winning both matches by identical 5-0 team scores. CARTERSVILLE BOYS 5, ADAIRSVILLE 0 Singles Line 1 — John Paul (CV) won 6-0, 6-1 Line 2 — Walker Cooney (CV) won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 Line 3 — Brock Wilson (CV) won 6-0, 6-0 Doubles Line 1 — Banks Wilson / Julian Cline (CV) won 6-4, 6-3 Line 2 — Henry Tierce / Sam Ford (CV) won 6-0, 6-0 CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 5, ADAIRSVILLE 0 Singles Line 1 — Emily Bush (CV) won 6-0, 6-0 Line 2 — Katie Lewis (CV) won 6-2, 6-1 Line 3 — Madison Ferdon (CV) won 6-4, 6-3 Doubles Line 1 — Mason Cline / Mia Shaw (CV) won 6-0, 6-0 Line 2 — Anna Ramey / Sophia Motuba (CV) won 6-1, 6-1

Georgia Highlands College baseball swept a home doubleheader with Point University Monday afternoon for the Chargers’ 15th and 16th wins of the season. The Chargers won the opener 3-0 and held on in the second game 6-5 improving to 16-0 on the year. Four pitchers — Jacob Ryan, Bubba Luke, Zachary Murray, and Ryan Suppa — combined on the mound in the first game to limit the Skyhawks to only three hits. The quartet of hurlers also combined for nine strikeouts, Ethan Anderson hit a solo home run, a double, and finished with two RBIs. Conner Todaro had two hits including a double and David Smith had a triple and one RBI in the win. Parker Poteet, Zayd Brannigan, and Mick Moody added one hit apiece. In the second game, Georgia Highlands led 5-0 early, but a four-run fourth by Point made things interesting down the stretch before the Chargers held on for a 6-5 win. Todaro hit a first inning two-run home run and Anderson smacked a three-run home run in the third to give the Chargers a 5-0 lead. Point utilized a pair of walks and took advantage of a pair of Chargers’ errors in the fourth inning to mount their runs. The teams each added an unearned run apiece in their final offensive frames to end a rain soaked day. Baylor Akin (3.2 IP, 4R, 1ER, 1H, 2BB, 3K) and Caleb Garner (1.1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 1K) both pitched for the Chargers. Other than the two homers, Caden Smith had the only other GHC base hit. The Chargers will host a three-game series with Wabash Valley College Friday and Saturday at Pickens High School and will play at Wallace State-Hanceville Sunday.

Georgia Highlands College softball dropped a home doubleheader Saturday, falling to Motlow State CC 7-4 and 6-3 in eight innings. In the opener, the Chargers led 2-0 through two innings but the visiting Bucks scored three times in the third inning and posted three more runs in the fifth to build a 6-3 lead. Both teams added a single run in the seventh. Hailey Cronic had four hits in Game 1 including a double and one RBI for the Chargers’ offense. Madison Dennis finished with two hits including a triple while Bradey Tharp added two hits including a home run. Haley Robinson (7 IP, 7R, 4ER, 8H, 1BB, 2K) was tagged with the pitching loss in the opener. Mackenzie Keatts doubled, homered twice and had six RBIs to lead the Motlow State offense. In Game 2, Madison Dennis, who finished with two hits, popped a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into an extra inning tied 2-2. The Bucks responded with a four-run eighth and the Chargers could only answer with one run for a 6-3 GHC loss. Malone Aldridge contributed a pair of hits for Georgia Highlands. Haley Overton doubled. Emma Veitch, Hailey Cronic, and Annsley Todd (RBI) had one hit each. Maggie Schandera (8 IP, 5R, 2ER, 10H, 0BB, 3K) suffered the extra innings pitching loss despite a complete game effort. Georgia Highlands (4-10) hosts Cleveland State CC Tuesday in a 3 p.m. doubleheader before heading to the Sand Mountain Classic in Albertville, Alabama for four games Friday and Saturday.

Georgia Highlands improved to 14-0 on the season Saturday by completing a three-game sweep of USC Salkehatchie with a doubleheader win 15-3 and 12-2 played at Pickens High School. The Chargers pounded out 21 hits in Saturday’s twin bill with both games shortened to five innings by mercy rule. Ethan Anderson, Max Kops, and Caden Smith all homered for the Chargers in the 15-3 victory while pitcher Conner Perry tossed a five inning complete game. The three combined for six total hits and eight RBIs. Ben Olson added a three-hit game with a pair of RBIs for the GHC offense. Perry limited the Indians to just three hits and struck out ten. Only one of the runs were earned with a homer and he did not walk anyone. In the series finale’, Chargers’ pitchers Erice Moore and Cason Rich combined for a one-hitter. Moore fanned seven in four innings of work. Meanwhile, the offene flourished with eight different Chargers producing at least one hit. Kops homered twice and drove in three runs. Zayd Brannigan and David Smith also hit home runs. Conner Todaro finished with two hits and two RBIs. Mitchell Walker (2 RBIs), Caden Smith (double), Olson, and Parker Poteet added one hit apiece. Georgia Highlands (14-0) hosts Point University Monday and will play a three-game series with Wabash Valley College at LakePoint Friday and Saturday before traveling to Wallace State-Hanceville next Sunday.