It was bombs away Monday at Stars Field as Georgia Highlands softball swept a conference doubleheader with Andrew College winning 3-2 and 15-1. The Chargers hit six home runs in the twin bill including a grand slam and four others in Game 2. Maggie Schandera tossed a complete game in the 3-2 win. She allowed two earned runs on four hits and recorded one strikeout. Natalia Herrera had a pair of hits including a two-run home run. Izzy Marcotte also had two hits including a double. Taryn Hitchcock doubled. Madison Bennett added a hit while Annsley Todd drove in one run with a base hit. In Game 2, Bennett, Hannah Bobo, Kyndal Brown, and Lacey Rutledge homered along with Hailey Cronic who hit a grand slam in the second inning. Georgia Highlands built an 11-0 lead in the first two innings and added on four more in the third and fourth innings — all off home runs. The Chargers pounded out 16 hits in the win. Meanwhile, GHC pitcher Montana Ledbetter tossed a complete game one-hitter. She walked two and struck out eleven. Cronic finished with three hits including a double, grand slam, and five RBIs. Rutledge had two hits including a double, home run, and four RBIs. Bennett had two hits including her home run and two RBIs. Allison Daffron had two doubles and Alexis Poole contributed two hits. Herrera, Brown (HR), Bradey Tharp (double), and Bobo (HR) added one hit each in the rout. Andrew falls to 9-35 overall and 2-14 in conference play. Georgia Highlands (13-18, 8-8) plays a doubleheader Friday at South Georgia CC and Saturday at Andrew College.

The Cartersville girls and boys tennis teams advanced in the opening round of the Class 5A state tournament with wins Monday at Dellinger Park. The Lady Canes defeated Villa Rica 4-0. Emily Bush and Chloe Satterfield on Line 1 and Line 3 singles, respectively, cruised to 6-0, 6-0 wins. Alice Terry and Mia Shaw on Line 1 doubles won 6-0, 6-1 while the Line 2 doubles combination of Sonny Cate Pritchitt and Katie Lewis eased to a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Madison Ferndon, Line 2 singles, won her first set 6-2 and was up 2-1 in the second set when the team win was secured. The boys defeated Jackson-Atlanta 3-0 and were ahead in the two lines that were not completed when the match victory was secured. Jackson Cline won 6-0, 6-0 at Line 3 singles and the doubles teams of Nate McDonald / Robert Novak and Banks Wilson / John Paul both won 6-0, 6-0. Luke Kottemann was ahead 5-2 at Line 1 singles when the match ended. Luke Gambill at Line 2 singles won his first set 6-2 and was ahead 5-1 when the match was pulled. The Cartersville girls advance to the second round where they will play at Chamblee in a match to be completed by Saturday. The Canes will host Northview in the second round. That match is also required to be completed by Saturday. The day / time for the two matches will be decided by the participating coaches Tuesday.

Blessed Trinity pitcher D.J. Radtke, a University of Georgia commit, struck out eleven and did not allow a hit in six innings Monday as the Titans secured the No. 1-seed in Region 7-AAAAA with a 5-0 victory at Cass. Parker Spring allowed a hit, but no runs with two strikeouts to combine for a pitching shutout with Radtke. Blessed Trinity scored two runs in the second inning and added three more in the fourth for their five runs off Cass starter Trey Scott. Scott gave up nine hits and three walks while fanning two. Carson Hill pitched the final two frames for the Colonels without allowing a run or hit. Hill struck out one. Hayden Grier, committed to Central Alabama and Cooper Millford, another UGA commit, had two hits each to lead the Titans’ offense. Michael Mitchler, who has committed to Samford University, hit a solo home run for Blessed Trinity. Bentley Markley had the only Cass base hit. Top-ranked Blessed Trinity improved to 21-8 on the season and 12-2 in region play. Cass (6-20, 5-9) will host the Titans again Wednesday at 5:55 p.m. to wrap up the regular season slate.

The Cartersville gymnastics team wrapped up its regular season last Friday in the nine-team Bremen Invitational at Carrollton. Canes freshman Karley Garrison finished second in the all-around out of 43 competitors. Her all-around score of 35.10 was a personal best and qualifies her to compete in every event this Friday at the GHSA State Preliminary Meet at Buford. Garrison placed first in bars, second in beam, and tied for third in the floor exercise. Sophomore Annaston Wilson earned another qualifying score of 8.9 in the floor exercise. She is eligible to compete in the event at the State Prelims Friday. The GHSA State Preliminaries are Thursday and Friday at Buford Arena. Qualifiers in the preliminaries will advance to the State Championships Saturday.

The Georgia Highlands College softball team swept a conference doubleheader over East Georgia State CC at home Saturday, winning 5-3 and 9-1. The Chargers also recognized five sophomores between games as they move on from Georgia Highlands College next year. Pitchers Montana Ledbetter and Madalyn Morton, Outfielders Alexis Poole and Allison Daffron, and second baseman Maddy Hairston were all celebrated by the team and their families. In the first game win, pitcher Madalyn Morton tossed a complete game to keep the visiting Bobcats in check. Morton scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out seven. Georgia Highlands plated three runs in the bottom of the first for an early lead. East Georgia narrowed the margin to 3-2 in the fourth but the Chargers added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings and held on for the victory. At the plate, Madison Bennett led the Chargers with three hits including a double. Hailey Cronic finished with two hits including a double and one RBI. Taryn Hitchcock drove in a pair of runs with one hit. Allison Daffron hit a solo home run and Lacey Rutledge added a double. Pitcher Montana Ledbetter earned the victory in Saturday’s second game. She allowed only one, unearned run on three hits. Ledbetter did not issue a walk and fanned nine. The Chargers banged out a dozen hits in the six inning win. Cronic smacked a pair of home runs for three RBIs. Halie Walther (RBI) and Madeline Hairston also had two hits each. Natalie Herrera hit a two-run homer. Kyndal Brown also hit a solo home run. Bradey Tharp (RBI), Bennett (RBI), Izzy Marcotte, and Daffron contributed one hit each. The losses dropped East Georgia to 27-19 for the year and 12-5 in conference play. Georgia Highlands (10-18, 5-8) has won three straight and will host Andrew College in a doubleheader Monday at 2 p.m.

Cartersville Little League Baseball (Majors) results from games played April 15 plus Bartow County Little League Baseball (Majors) results for April 12-15. Cartersville Little League STANDINGS Colts . . . . . . . . . . . 9-0 Crackers . . . . . . . . 7-1-1 Tigers . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 Braves . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Indians . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Phillies . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Dodgers . . . . . . . . . 1-7-1 Padres . . . . . . . . . . 1-8 Bartow County Little League STANDINGS Giants . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-0 Tigers . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-1 Braves . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1-1 Cardinals . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 Rangers . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 Orioles . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3 Twins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3 Bartow County Little League Monday, April 12 TIGERS 0, BRAVES 0 TIGERS: Huck Garland one double; McCayden Hufstetler one hit. Pitching: McCayden Hufstetler (CG, 14K) BRAVES: Preston Hazelwood (CG, 12K) RANGERS 9, TWINS 3 RANGERS: Aaron Souders, Karson Darby, Cade McCorkle, and Brodie Gardner one hit each. Pitching: Jayce Little (2 IP, 3K). TWINS: Landon Mathison one hit. Pitching: Houston Walden (2 IP, 3K); Noah Rodgers (2 IP, 3K). Tuesday April 13th GIANTS 8, RANGERS 3 GIANTS: Raiden Sexton two hits including a home run and a triple; Drew Nida two doubles; Reese Pasley home run. Pitching: Drake Pasley (2 IP, 3K) RANGERS: Cade McCorkle one double; Logan Smith and Jayce Little one hit each. Pitching: Aaron Souders (2 IP, 2K); Cade McCorkle (2 IP, 4K) BRAVES 8, CARDINALS 0 BRAVES: Mitchell Raughton two hits including one home run and one double; Camden Holcomb one double; Jaylen Flores one hit. Pitching: Mitchell Raughton (4 IP, 7K). CARDINALS: Pitching: Kasey Jacobs (3 IP, 3K) Thursday April 15th GIANTS 6, BRAVES 0 GIANTS: Drazen Jones two hits including one double; Reese Pasley two triples. Pitching: Raiden Sexton (4 IP, 8K). BRAVES: Zaylen Cochran one hit. Pitching: Matthew Zander (3 IP, 3K) Cartersville Little League Thursday, April 15 COLTS 3, CLEVELAND 1 COLTS: Ben Cagle two doubles, two RBIs; Brant Rutledge one hit, one RBI; Noah Cagle one hit. Pitching: Clint Hosea (6 IP, 1R, 0ER, 3H, 11K); Ben Cagle (1 IP, 1BB, 1K). CLEVELAND: Deion Winters two hits. Pitching: Ramsey Dunn (7 IP, 3ER, 4H, 1BB, 8K). TIGERS 14, DODGERS 0 TIGERS: Cooper Reynolds two hits including one double, three RBIs; Braxton Mealer one double, two RBIs; Beckett Nichols one hit, one RBI; Zachary Stiles and Dixon Lindsey one hit each; Cam Kachinsky three RBIs; Aiden Turner one RBI. Pitching: Cooper Reynolds (4 IP, 0R, 1H, 4BB, 9K). DODGERS: Jace Radford one hit. Pitching: Blake Genrich (3 IP, 8ER, 6H, 4BB, 4K); Alex Gochee (1 IP, 6R, 1ER, 3BB). BRAVES 10, PHILLIES 5 BRAVES: Walker Phillips one triple, two RBIs; Devon Beavers one hit, two RBIs; Drake Bailey one hit, one RBI; Joseph Clark one triple; Avery Slye one hit. Pitching: Avery Slye (4 IP, 5R, 3ER, 6H, 7K); Zack Parker (2 IP, 0R, 0H, 2BB, 6K). PHILLIES: Declan Asay two hits including one triple, two RBIs; Colt Priest one hit, one RBI; Hudson Lovett, Matthew Cook, and Cash Priest one hit each. Pitching: Luke Thompson (3.1 IP, 5R, 2ER, 3H, 4BB, 6K); Colt Priest (1.2 IP, 5R, 0ER, 2H, 2BB, 1K). CRACKERS 18, PADRES 3 CRACKERS: Bryce Barkley four hits, four RBIs; Jermaine Foster two hits including one home run, four RBIs; Mason Davis one hit, two RBIs; Cole Henson one triple, one RBI; Levi Latham one double; Peyton Duren and Dallen Fuqua one hit each. Pitching: Bowen Hardy (3 IP, 3R, 0ER, 1H, 3BB, 5K); Cole Henson (0.2 IP, 0R, 0H, 2BB, 1K); Jermaine Foster (0.1 IP, 1BB). Little League softball and baseball game results for Cartersville Little League and Bartow County Little League are provided by the respective leagues and are presented by CiCi's -- Beyond Pizza in Cherokee Place, Cartersville.

Georgia Highlands baseball had to battle for a doubleheader split Saturday at LakePoint in Emerson. The Chargers dropped the first game of their twin bill with South Georgia 10-4 but responded with a 3-2 win in Game 2. South Georgia broke open a 2-2 game in the opening game with a six-run fifth inning. The Hawks went on to take a 10-4 win. South Georgia out hit Georgia Highlands 19 to 10 in the offensive-minded, nine-inning opener. Johnny Dow (4.2 IP, 7R, 6ER, 9H, 1BB, 1K), who has been reliable most of the season, suffered the pitching loss after allowing six earned runs on nine hits in four and two-thirds innings. Zack Valentine (0.1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB), Benson Miller (3.1 IP, 2ER, 7H, 1K), and Hal Stelijes (0.2 IP, 0R, 1H) pitched in relief. David Smith had three hits and one RBI in the loss. Max Kops finished with two hits including a double and one RBI. Brandon Prince (double, RBI), Palmer Sapp (triple, RBI), Connor Todaro, Joe Sutton, and Ben Olson contributed one hit each. The two teams traded the lead in the second game. The Chargers led 1-0 through three innings; South Georgia took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning; and Georgia Highlands scored single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to win by a run. Baylor Akin picked up the pitching win for GHC in Game 2. He tossed six innings allowing only two unearned runs on five hits and two walks. Akin struck out five. Ryan Suppa worked a scoreless seventh inning to earn a save. He recorded one strikeout. Brandon Prince had two hits including a double and one RBI. Connor Todaro finished with a pair of hits and one RBI. Joe Sutton contributed two hits including a double. Ben Olson had the other Georgia Highlands base hit. South Georgia snapped a five game skid with their win and moved to 24-17 on the season. The Hawks are now 7-15 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association. Georgia Highlands (37-7, 16-4) continues to maintain a three game lead over second place Gordon College in the conference and will play a four game GCAA series with Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College Tuesday and Saturday.

As the Adairsville girls soccer team continued to win down the stretch of the 2021 Region 6-AAA schedule, it appeared a final showdown with Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe was awaiting to determine the region championship. When LFO fell earlier this week at North Murray, the region championship went to Adairsville but the Tigers and coach David Sexauer knew Friday’s game in Fort Oglethorpe would be challenging. “Both teams played as if the region championship was still on the line,” said Sexauer. “Neither team stopped playing or giving their all until the final whistle. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but this game provided us the opportunity to play a tough opponent in preparation for our playoff game next Tuesday.” LFO scored a goal in each half to defeat the Lady Tigers 2-0. “We struggled to adjust to their field,” added Sexauer. “It was short and narrow but give them credit for their play.” LFO improved to 15-3 on the season and -- according to the brackets posted on the GHSA.net website -- will enter the state playoffs as a No. 3-seed. According to those same brackets, the Lady Warriors travel to Cherokee Bluff Tuesday night to open the post-season. Adairsville (15-2) is the No. 1-seed from Region 6-AAA and will host North Hall Tuesday evening in Tiger Valley.

The Purple Hurricanes secured the No. 2-seed and a first round home state playoff series by completing a three-game sweep of Cass Friday night at Richard Bell Field. Cartersville, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, won at Cass Tuesday night then completed the series with a doubleheader sweep Friday night winning 9-4 and 6-3. CARTERSVILLE 9, CASS 4 In the opening game of the doubleheader, Cass held a 3-1 lead when Cartersville struck for four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-3 advantage. The Canes added four more runs in the late innings to secure a 9-4 win. Silas Freeman (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 4K) picked up the pitching win for Cartersville with two scoreless innings. He took over in the fourth inning for starter Phillip Schiltz (3 IP, 4ER, 5H, 1BB, 6K). Davis Williams (2 IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB, 3K) closed out the final two scoreless frames for the Hurricanes. Cass starter Jayden Smith (4 IP, 5ER, 3H, 5BB, 4K) suffered the pitching loss. Aidan Cottingim (2 IP, 4ER, 4H, 3BB) took the mound for the Colonels for the final two innings. Jake Brasfield led the Cartersville offense with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Drew Rothschild also had two hits with one RBI. Elliott Eastin contributed one hit and two RBIs. Jimbo Gaines finished with a hit and one RBI. Paul Gamble had a double. Hank Smith and Parker McPherson added one RBI apiece. Jordan Gani had two doubles and two RBIs for Cass. Nic Wallin had a double and one RBI. Hayden Cole also had a double. Kyle Miller and Carson Hill contributed one hit each. Aidan Larkin drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. CARTERSVILLE 6, CASS 3 Cartersville completed the three-game series sweep over Cass in Friday’s second game winning 6-3. The Canes built a 4-0 lead through four innings and led 6-1 heading to the final inning. Cass scored twice in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded but Davis Williams took the mound for Cartersville and recorded a strikeout to end the threat. Cartersville’s Colt McKibben (5 IP, 1ER, 1H, 1BB, 7K) earned the pitching win with five innings of work and seven strikeouts. Gunner Millsap (1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB) and Cal Goss (0.2 IP, 2R, 0ER, 0H, 2BB) also pitched for the Canes. The four hurlers limited the Colonels to only two hits. Trey Holstein paced the Cartersville offense with two hits and one RBI. Davis Williams and Elliott Eastin contributed one hit and one RBI each. Jake Brasfield tripled in the fifth and Drew Rothschild added one hit. Cass’ Jordan Gani (5 IP, 5R, 4ER, 5H, 3BB, 6K) suffered the pitching loss striking out six in five innings. Chase Botts (1 IP, 1ER, 1H, 1K) pitched the sixth inning for the Colonels. Matt Shook and Jayden Smith had the only Cass base hits. Cartersville, No. 5 in Class AAAAA, improved to 22-7 for the season and completed the Region 7-AAAAA schedule with a 12-3 mark. The Canes will square off with Locust Grove next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the East Cobb Baseball Complex. Cass (6-19, 5-8) has games Monday and Wednesday at home against No. 1-ranked Blessed Trinity. Despite the losses Friday, Cass will advance to the Class 5A state playoffs as Region 7-AAAAA’s No. 4-seed.

With their playoff backs to the wall, Woodland gave a valiant effort Friday night hosting 8th-ranked Calhoun in a doubleheader, but the Wildcats’ failure to sweep the two games eliminated the Woodland from playoff contention. Woodland won the opening game 7-4 and had the potential game-tying runners on base in the bottom of the seventh before falling in the second game, 7-5. Woodland needed to sweep both games of the doubleheader Friday and have Cass lose both games at Cartersville for the Wildcats to remain alive in the playoff chase. WOODLAND 7, CALHOUN 4 In the opening game, Woodland scored four times in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead and held on for a 7-4 win. Drew Billings, who took the mound in relief for the Wildcats in the top of the fifth, picked up the pitching win. Billings worked a scoreless two and two-thirds innings allowing only one hit and one walk. He struck out one. Woodland starting pitcher Peyton Posey worked the first four and one-third innings. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and a pair of walks. Posey fanned one. Calhoun led 4-1 heading to the bottom of the fifth but the Wildcats scored four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to secure the win. Scotty Smith had two hits including a double and two RBIs to help lead the Woodland offense. Ayden Ray finished with two hits including a double and one RBI. Carter Heath contributed a double and two RBIs. Billings added two RBIs. CALHOUN 7, WOODLAND 5 Calhoun took an early 4-0 lead in Friday’s second game at Woodland but the Wildcats challenged the Yellow Jackets to the very end before falling, 7-5. Woodland narrowed the Calhoun lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the second inning and matched single runs with the Yellow Jackets in the fifth inning to make the score 5-4. The Wildcats tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth but Calhoun scored twice in the top of the seventh for a 7-5 advantage. Singles by Jacob Gravett and Peyton Posey put the potential tying runs on base for Woodland in the bottom of the seventh with only one out but Calhoun pitcher Braden Saunders recorded back-to-back strikeouts to squelch the threat and secure a two-run win. Saunders (5.2 IP, 2R, 1ER, 6H, 2BB, 11K) pitched the final five and two-thirds innings for Calhoun to earn the pitching victory. He struck out eleven. Ayden Ray (2 IP, 2ER, 4H, 3BB, 5K) was tagged with the pitching loss in relief of starter Scotty Smith (5 IP, 5R, 1ER, 8H, 4BB, 2K). Hagan Banks, Dante Morton, and Parker Lester combined for seven hits and four RBIs for Calhoun. Posey finished with two hits and one RBI for the Wildcats. Trevor Montgomery had two hits including a double. Smith doubled and drove in a run. Ayden Ray and Gravett contributed one hit each. Chase Carson drove in a run. The doubleheader split leaves Calhoun 18-8 on the season and 10-5 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (9-19, 5-10) will close out the 2021 season at home next Friday against Haralson County at 5:55 p.m.

The Tigers built an early 7-0 lead Friday at LaFayette and held off the Ramblers late for a 10-7 win. LaFayette chipped away at Adairsville’s lead and got as close as 7-5 in the fourth inning, but the Tigers added three runs in the top of the sixth to secure their margin. Starter Jack Whitley (3.1 IP, 5R, 2ER, 2H, 3BB, 4K) was credited with the pitching win for Adairsville. Dawson Craig (0.2 IP, 0R, 0H, 3BB) retired the final two outs in the fourth inning and Elijah Padgett (3 IP, 2ER, 2H, 2BB, 6K) closed out the final three innings. Chris Roper and Kyler Smith both had two hits including a double and three RBIs each. Elijah Padgett also had two hits and two RBIs. Evan Sanders finished with two hits including a double and one RBI. P.J. Weeks also had two hits for the Tigers. Logan Hunt added one hit. The loss dropped LaFayette to 11-12 for the season and 5-8 in Region 6-AAA. Adairsville (8-15, 3-10) will host the Ramblers Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

The Cartersville track and field teams won a meet Thursday at Darlington in Rome defeating six other girls teams and four boys teams. The Cartersville girls scored 147.5 points to finish ahead of Pepperell (130.5), Darlington (125.5), Chattooga (85), Coosa (41.5), Walker (34), and Christian Heritage (12). The Cartersville boys totaled 250 points to finish ahead of Darlington (144.5), Pepperell (79), Coosa (74), and Chattooga (51.5). The Canes and Lady Canes used the post-spring break meet as a tune-up for the upcoming Region 7-AAAAA Championships next Monday and Thursday. Event winning marks for Cartersville: Brittan Walker - Boys 100M - 11.58 Bill Archer - Boys 800M - 2:07.85 Sam Peters - Boys 1600M - 4:54.87 Colin McCann - Boys 3200M - 10:43.00 Eric Toviave - Boys 110M Hurdles - 15.79 Eric Toviave - Boys 300M Hurdles - 43.12 Morocco Wilkey, Evan Slocum, Clayton Long, Brittan Walker - Boys 4x100M Relay - 44.12 Donavan Dennis, Brittan Walker, Eric Toviave, Clayton Long - Boys 4x400M Relay - 3:38.53 Bill Archer, Levi Booth, Clayton Long, Sam Peters - Boys 4x800M Relay - 9:01.53 Jackson Heilman - Boys High Jump - 5-08 Morocco Wilkey - Boys Long Jump - 19-10 Evan Bergman - Boys Pole Vault - 11-00 Olamide Sadiku - Girls 400M - 1:06.75 Elizabeth Nelson - Girls 800M - 2:37.86 McKinsey Spinks - Girls 3200M - 13:34.5 London Moultrie, Olamide Sadiku, Josie Turner, Elizabeth Nelson - Girls 4x100M Relay - 51.61 Josie Turner, London Moultrie, Olamide Sadiku, Elizabeth Nelson - Girls 4x400M Relay - 4:34.69 London Moultrie - Girls Long Jump - 14-08