The Woodland Lady Cats powered their way past the visiting Hiram Lady Hornets Wednesday night 4-2 to collect their fourth straight Region 7-AAAAA win and keep pace with the top teams in the league. Woodland broke open an early pitchers’ duel between the Lady Cats’ Lainey Baker and Hiram’s Sydney Adomnik with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Bella Carnes tripled and later scored on an Ansley Evans groundout. That was followed by back-to-back home runs by Morgan Cooper and Kendyl Hardin as the Wildcats got on the scoreboard. Hiram answered with two runs in the top of the sixth to make the score 3-2, but Woodland added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame before Baker closed out the final inning with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout. Adomnik (6 IP, 4R, 4ER, 7H, 4BB, 6K) kept the Lady Hornets in the game but was tagged with the pitching loss. Baker was even better, allowing only two unearned runs on five hits and three walks. She struck out 16. Megan Smith had two hits including a double for Hiram. Kyleigh Haney added a double and Dallas Hardy drove in a run with one hit. Carnes finished with three hits and a walk. Her night at the plate included a double, a triple, and two runs scored. She also swiped a base. Cassie Jones and Morgan Bailey had the other Woodland base hits in addition to the homers by Cooper and Hardin. The loss drops Hiram to 4-9 overall and 4-3 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (6-5, 5-2) travels to Paulding County Thursday for a 5:55 p.m. first pitch in another region tilt and will open the Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday at 11 a.m. against Cartersville at Adairsville. EAST PAULDING 7, CASS 5 Hosting one of the top teams in Region 7-AAAAA Wednesday night, the Lady Colonels battled into the seventh inning and had the potential tying runs on base before falling to the East Paulding Lady Raiders 7-5. The East Paulding offense was productive throughout the night scoring at least one run in every inning except the third. The Raiders led 3-0 through three innings and added single runs in their final four frames. Cass scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the margin to 4-2 and tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth with three runs. Unfortunately for the Lady Colonels, they could not push across a late run to keep pace. Maggie O’Kelley (6.1 IP, 5R, 4ER, 9H, 3BB, 5K) picked up the pitching win for East Paulding by working into the seventh inning. Kyra Lightner (0.2 IP, 0R, 0H) retired the final two outs in the seventh for a save. Cass pitcher Kylee Hembree (7 IP, 7R, 4ER, 10H, 1BB, 1K) gave the Colonels a chance, but suffered the loss in the circle. Graci Summers had three hits including a double and one RBI for the Raiders. Kylie Manning finished with a double and a triple. Three other Raiders had one hit and one RBI each — Hannah Bobo, O’Kelley, and Hannah Davis. Rachael Lee was the only Colonel with two hits. She also drove in a run. Kimberly Allen, Ansley Hight, and Hembree (RBI) all tripled. Haylee Dishmon (RBI), Saydee Najarro, Kelly Young, and Alexis Woods added one hit each for Cass. East Paulding improved to 9-8 overall and 6-2 in Region 7-AAAAA. It doesn’t get any easier for the Lady Colonels (6-5, 3-4). They host region-leader Carrollton Thursday at 5:55 p.m. before playing at Adairsville Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in the opening game of the Bartow County Championship Tournament.

The Cartersville High School volleyball team took both area matches Tuesday night in Carrollton, defeating Cedartown and host Central-Carroll in straight sets. The Lady Canes defeated Cedartown 27-25, 25-21 and topped Central 25-18, 25-23. In the opening win over the Bulldogs, Anna Grace Brock finished with 12 kills, 10 digs, and six aces. Lauren Wenzell had 11 digs, nine kills, and three service aces. Halle Matthews added seven kills and Macey Vaughn distributed 29 assists. “I wasn’t thrilled with our energy in the match against Cedartown," said Canes coach Dutch Cothran. “We were flat and need to carry ourselves with more confidence. Halle Matthews deserves a lot of credit in the middle tonight. When we struggled, she picked up the slack.” In Cartersville’s win over the host Lady Lions, Brock had 14 kills, eight digs, and three aces. Wenzell contributed 11 kills, nine digs, and a pair of aces while Macey Vaughn added 25 assists. “We weren’t as crisp as I’d like, but played better against Central,” said Cothran. Grace Brock had a big match. She did a great job of finding holes in their defense. Macey Vaughn played well tonight too. She made good decisions and got the ball to the right hitters. That goes a long way when you have a couple of hitters who are hotter than others.” Cartersville (10-8, 2-0 in 5-AAAA) travels to River Ridge Thursday where they will also face Cambridge. Saturday is the Bartow County Tournament at Woodland. LADY COLONELS DROP AREA MATCHES The Cass volleyball team lost a pair of Area 7-AAAAA matches Tuesday night at Paulding County. The Colonels fell 25-20, 25-19 to the host Patriots and also fell 25-14, 25-23 to East Paulding. Cass travels to Rome Thursday where they will face the host Lady Wolves and Northwest Whitfield. WOODLAND TOPPED IN AREA MATCHES Woodland volleyball dropped a pair of area matches at home Tuesday night, falling to Villa Rica in three sets and to Kell in straight sets. The Lady Cats won the opening set with Villa Rica 25-21, but lost the final two sets 25-21 and 15-7. “We played hard and overall played really well,” noted Woodland coach David Condon, “we just didn’t execute as well down the stretch as we needed to pull out the win.” Sydney Molinaro finished the opening match with five kills, eight assists, four digs, and a service ace. Caroline Gore totaled nine kills and two aces. Grace Webb contributed four kills, two blocks, and a pair of aces and Lauren Morris added six assists, two aces, and one kill. The straight set loss to Kell was 25-20 and 25-8. “We played well in the first set, but played flat in that second set,” said Condon. Webb finished with three kills, two assists, two digs, and four blocks. Molinaro totaled three kills, three assists, and one block. Gore had four kills and one ace while Morris added four assists and two digs. Woodland travels to Cedartown Thursday where they will face the host Bulldogs and Douglas County.

Cartersville softball broke open a tied game Tuesday night in the sixth inning with a five-run frame and defeated visiting Cedartown 8-3 in Region 5-AAAA action. The Lady Canes held leads of 2-0 through two innings and 3-1 through four inings before Cedartown tied the game in the fifth. In Cartersville’s sixth inning, the Lady Canes posted five runs on five singles and a Cedartown error. Ava Perkins earned the pitching victory for Cartersville with a complete-game, 99-pitch effort. She scattered seven hits and two walks recording two strikeouts. Roslyn Blankenship and Reagan Peek combined for four hits and three RBI for Cedartown. Madi Reynolds (6 IP, 8R, 4ER, 11H, 1BB, 5K) was the losing pitcher for the Lady Bulldogs. Cartersville got three hits each from Elizabeth Nelson and Campbell Rogers. AnnaKate McElhaney finished with two hits and four RBI. Lauren McElhaney drove in one run and had two hits. Cio Seigler had a leadoff single in the sixth inning and made her way around to score the Hurricanes’ go-ahead run. The loss drops Cedartown to 9-10 overall and 4-3 in region play. With the win, Cartersville (7-7, 4-3) moves into a third place tie with the Lady Bulldogs behind Central-Carroll and LaGrange in the Region 5-AAAA standings. The Lady Canes travel to Central-Carroll Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. region contest and will open the Bartow County Championship tournament against Woodland Saturday at 11 a.m. at Adairsville.

Following a bye week and last Friday without a game, the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes and the Woodland Wildcats seek to remain among the state’s unbeaten teams this Friday night. Meanwhile, Adairsville will take a bye week this Friday night and Cass will look to break into the win column for the first time in 2019. A quick glance at this week’s local high school football matchups. LUELLA LIONS (0-1) at CARTERSVILLE HURRICANES (1-0) The only meeting ever between these two programs was last year’s 55-3 Canes victory. Lions’ head coach Jason Jackson is 4-17 in his third season at Luella. Three of those wins came last season as the Lions finished 3-7 overall and 2-5 in Region 4-AAAA. Last week, Luella lost 18-6 to Trinity Christian — a Class A private school in Sharpsburg as Cartersville won 14-13 at Class 6A Allatoona August 23 to mark head coach Conor Foster’s debut. The Canes are ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the Class 4A polls — depending on the source. Series: 2018 — Cartersville 55, Luella 3 Projections: CalPreps — Cartersville by 58 Massey — Cartersville by 42 Maxwell — Cartersville by 41 Local Broadcast: — WBHF-Cartersville (100.3 FM / AM 1450, TuneIn app, wbhfradio.org, pregame at 6 p.m. / kickoff at 7:30 p.m. WOODLAND WILDCATS (1-0) at EAST HALL VIKINGS (0-2) Woodland, seeking its first winning season since 1999 and first non-losing season since a 5-5 campaign in 2008, got off to a great start two weeks ago with a dominant 35-7 win over visiting Southeast Whitfield. Wildcats’ head coach Tony Plott (9-32 in fifth season) will look to keep the momentum this week as Woodland has its first road test following a bye week. Woodland started 4-0 last year, but dropped its last six games to finish 4-6. Among those wins was a 55-6 trouncing of the Vikings. This will be the Wildcats final non-region tune-up before starting Region 7-AAAAA play at home September 13 against Cass. Last year’s Woodland-East Hall contest is the only meeting ever between the two schools. The Class AAA Vikings are 0-2 under new head coach Michael Perry who was 15-8 in two seasons at Centennial before arriving in Rabbittown. East Hall lost its season opener at Flowery Branch 50-0 and dropped its home opener last Friday to Union County, 49-8. Series: 2018 — Woodland 55, East Hall 6 Projections: CalPreps — Woodland by 26 Massey — Woodland by 15 Maxwell — Woodland by 12 Local Broadcast: Live look-ins during the Cartersville-Luella broadcast on WBHF. Score updates during the Cass-Forsyth Central broadcast on bartowsportszone.com. FORSYTH CENTRAL BULLDOGS (1-0) at CASS COLONELS (0-1) The Bulldogs and Colonels will meet for the seventh time Friday night as Cass hosts its first varsity contest on the new sports turf at Cochran Stadium. The two teams have split six previous matchups dating back to 2000. Each team won at home in 2000 and 2001, then split a pair of games played in 2014. The Colonels and Bulldogs faced one another a second time in 2014 due to the region’s cross-over playoff/consolation format. Cass won in 2015 and the two programs renewed their series last year when Forsyth Central won by 12. The Bulldogs won their 2019 opener August 23 over Chamblee, 43-10. Cass lost its opener last week at Adairsville, 14-7. Forsyth Central’s Frank Hepler is 194-294-9 in his 12th season as a head coach. He was 51-18 at West Forsyth and is currently 11-20 with the Bulldogs in his fourth season. The Bulldogs of Region 5-AAAAAAA returned to the post-season last year, going 7-4 after an 0-10 season in 2017 and 3-6 mark in 2016. Forsyth Central lost to Archer 56-0 in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs, but it was the Bulldogs’ first playoff appearance since the 2001 season. Cass head coach Bobby Hughes enters Friday’s matchup with a career mark of 62-78. He is 15-36 at Cass in his sixth season. Prior to taking the top spot with the Colonels, Hughes was 5-25 at Howard (2008-2010) and 42-17 at Macon County (2003-2007) with a pair of region titles and state playoff appearances in all five seasons with the Bulldogs. Cass is seeking its first winning season since going 6-4 in 2015. The Colonels have not made the state playoffs since 2006 and 2004. Series: 2018 — Forsyth Central 24, Cass 12 2015 — Cass 42, Forsyth Central 18 2014 — Forsyth Central 27, Cass 14 2014 — Cass 13, Forsyth Central 6 2011 — Forsyth Central 28, Cass 0 2010 — Cass 30, Forsyth Central 10 Projections: CalPreps — Forsyth Central by 24 Massey — Forsyth Central by 14 Maxwell — Forsyth Central by 14 Local Broadcast: This is the Johnny’s NY Style Pizza - Bartow County Game of the Week on bartowsportszone.com. Pregame coverage begins at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. To listen to the live broadcast, return to the website and click on the green ‘Listen Live’ button at 6 p.m. ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS — BYE WEEK The Tigers have an open week in their schedule following last Friday’s 14-7 win over visiting Cass. Adairsville travels to Coahulla Creek September 13 to open play in Region 6-AAA. Series information from GHSFD.

The Bartow County 9U and 12U Panthers youth travel football teams earned wins Saturday. The BC 9U Panthers rolled to 47-0 non-league win over the Milford Warriors while the BC 12U Panthers earned their first Northwest Georgia Youth Football League victory over Marietta, 7-0. Following the 9U Panthers win, they cracked the Georgia 9U youth football rankings — entering at the No. 10 spot. Kaiden Kent and Cooper Melvin paced BC 9U with 62 and 60 yards rushing, respectively. Both had four carries and both scored one touchdown. J’Tavyous Whatley finished with 42 yards on three attempts with one score and Kayden Blackwell carried twice for 34 yards and a touchdown. Trace Hawkins was 2-for-3 passing for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He added a three-yard rushing touchdown. Melvin caught one pass for a 70-yard touchdown and Lance Tippett had a pair of receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Javious Davis was the game’s top defender with five solo tackles and two forced fumbles. Melvin contributed four tackles. Solomon James had three tackles and Whatley picked off a Milford pass. The Bartow County 9U Panthers (2-0) host the Bill Arp Falcons Saturday at 12 noon at Cass High School. BARTOW COUNTY 12U PANTHERS WIN LEAGUE OPENER The Bartow County 12U Panthers likely made the rest of the Northwest Georgia Youth Football League pay attention Saturday with a 7-0 blanking of Marietta. The Marietta team placed second in the league last year, meaning the upstart Panthers are a team to be regarded as the 2019 league schedule gets underway. In the defensive battle, BC 12U quarterback Brodie McWhorter connected on 5-of-12 passes for 118 yards and Jachai Delgado rushed for 30 yards on three attempts for the bulk of the offensive production. Jacob Ellis scored the Bartow touchdown on a short run and finished with five yards rushing on four carries. Talan Nix caught two passes for 55 yards. Logan Shrewsbury had a pair of receptions for 45 yards and Keve Porter hauled in an 18 yard toss and run. In all, BC 12U ran 28 plays for 159 yards, but the rushing attack was limited to only 39 yards on 17 attempts. Isaiah Livsey had three carries for five yards. Porter gained three yards on two attempts. Baylon Long added a yard on two carries and McWhorter was sacked twice leading to a -5 yard total on three rushing plays. “The offense sputtered with some dropped passes, missed blocking assignments, and over 80 yards in penalties,” said BC 12U coach Josh McWhorter. “Fortunately the defense was great again.” “Four of our offensive linemen graded out fine,” McWhorter added. “Brice Wilson, Bear McWhorter, Peyton Emery, and Price Higgins all played well. Marietta has a solid team.” The 12U Panthers defense limited Marietta to only 59 total yards on 22 rushing attempts. They did not attempt a pass. Long led the BC 12U defense with 6.5 tackles. Ellis had 3.5 tackles. Will Feuerbach, Kelson Mitchell, and Livsey added three tackles each. The BC 12U Panthers (2-0, 1-0) will host the West Georgia Extreme (1-0 NWGYFL) Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cass High School. ​​ Youth football updates are presented by CiCi's -- Beyond Pizza in the Cherokee Place shopping center. Results and information presented by the Bartow County Parks and Recreation Department, the Cartersville Parks and Recreation Department, and local travel team representatives.

Sam Howard was recalled to the Major League Baseball Colorado Rockies this past week and was utilized right away in home games against the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates. Also in pro baseball, Elliott Anderson’s Burlington Royals of the Rookie Advanced Appalachian League advanced to the league’s championship series that begins Monday against Johnson City of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. College football, cross country, and soccer are also underway with several local contributors. Trevor Lawrence was in the spotlight Thursday night as he helped guide the top-ranked Clemson Tigers to a 52-14 victory over Georgia Tech. Tight end Miller Forristall scored the season’s first touchdown for the 2nd-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and Charlotte placekicker Jonathan Cruz converted all his PATs and averaged over 60 yards per kickoff with a pair of touchbacks. All three of the aforementioned former Cartersville Hurricanes are included on 2019 preseason college football awards watch lists. Lawrence is on the Heisman Trophy watch list for the nation's top player. Forristall is among the tight ends being watched for the Mackey Award and Cruz is on the Groza Award watch list for the nation's top place kicker. Former Woodland cross country standout, Baylee Evans, performed well in her collegiate debut and Cartersville native Russell Shealy recorded a shutout at goalkeeper for the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins. -- Top image: Sam Howard, (top down on right) Lawrence, Forristall, Cruz PRO BASEBALL ELLIOTT ANDERSON — Burlington Royals (1st yr. pro; LHP; Rookie Advanced Appalachian League; Kansas City Royals organization; Auburn; Cartersville HS)… pitched the eighth and ninth innings last Tuesday in a non-save opportunity and 10-4 win at the Bluefield Blue Jays. Anderson allowed no runs on two hits and struck out two. His season ERA is now 0.91 in 19 appearances and 29 and 2/3 innings. The first year pro has three saves in four opportunities. He has walked only 12 (two intentionally) and opponents have a .211 batting average against him. In Game 3 of the Royals best-of-three Appy League playoff series with Pulaski, Anderson worked a perfect eighth inning and was one of six Royals pitchers utilized in the rubber game. Burlington outlasted Pulaski to win 5-4 in 17 innings to reach the league’s championship series. Game 1 for the Royals in the best of three title series will be Monday at the Johnson City Cardinals. Games 2 and 3 (if needed) will be at Burlington. SAM HOWARD — Colorado Rockies (6th yr. pro; LHP; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS)… the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes’ 2019 Pitcher of the Year was called up to the MLB Rockies roster this past week and made home appearances against the Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wednesday night in an eventual 7-4 loss to Boston, Howard was called in from the bullpen in the fifth inning to face a pair of batters. He issued a walk to Mitch Moreland and then struck out Brock Holt for the second out of the inning before being lifted. In Saturdays 11-4 loss to the Pirates, the southpaw worked the final two frames allowing a ninth inning run. He struck out the side in the eighth around one hit. Howard added one more strikeout in the night, but yielded a run on three hits. In Triple-A this season, he was 4-1 with a 3.91 ERA in 42 appearances with 62 strikeouts. In now eight MLB appearances in 2019, Howard has a 6.75 ERA in 10 and 2/3 innings with 13 strikeouts. The Rockies are 59-79 and are out of the playoff race trailing the NL West Division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by 29 games. CONNOR JUSTUS — Mobile BayBears (4th yr. pro; Double-A Southern League; L.A. Angels organization; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… In five games this past week, Justus was 2-for-16 at the plate with two walks. He scored four runs. For the season he has a .184 batting average through 115 games and 346 official at-bats. He has two homers and 23 RBI. Defensively, Justus has a .951 fielding average playing mostly at shortstop although he has seen time at second base and third base. Mobile (50-85) has missed the post-season and will host the Tennessee Smokies Monday in the BayBears final game of the season. LUKE SCHILTZ — AZL Rangers (1st yr. pro; Rookie Arizona League; Texas Rangers organization; Cartersville native; Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS)… made a five-out appearance September 25 as the Rangers fell to the AZL Royals 8-3. Schiltz did not allow a run on two hits with a strikeout. Schiltz did not make a playoff appearance, but the Rangers won four straight games in the Arizona League’s single-elimination playoffs to win the league title. FOOTBALL TREY CREAMER — Fort Scott CC (So., RB, Cartersville HS)… returned three kickoffs for an 18.7 yard average August 25 in a 20-16 win over Highland CC. (Sat. 31st 40-29 win at Coffeyville CC / stats not loaded) The Greyhounds (2-0) will host Hutchinson CC Saturday, September 14 at 8 p.m. JONATHAN CRUZ — UNC Charlotte (So., PK, Cartersville HS)… kicked off eight times for a 61 yard average and two touchbacks Thursday night in the 49ers 49-28 win over Gardner-Webb. He also made all seven of his extra point kicks. Charlotte (1-0) travels to Appalachian State Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. MILLER FORRISTALL — Alabama (R-Jr., TE, Cartersville HS)… caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to open Crimson Tide’s scoring in the second quarter of a 42-3 blowout of Duke in Atlanta. He later added another catch for a six yard gain. 2nd-ranked Alabama (1-0) hosts New Mexico State Saturday at 4 p.m. HUNTER HARDIN — Point University (Jr., OL, Woodland HS)… started at right guard for the Skyhawks in a 59-0 loss Saturday at Kennesaw State. Point was limited to only 129 total yards and 37 yards rushing. The Skyhawks (0-1) play at NAIA 13th-ranked Lindsey Wilson College (KY) Saturday afternoon. JACOREY JOHNS — Wake Forest (R-Fr., DE, Cartersville HS)… had a quarterback hurry on a 3rd and 8 play in the fourth quarter as the Demon Deacons edged Utah State Friday night, 38-35. Wake Forest (1-0) travels to Houston to play at Rice Friday night in an 8 p.m. kickoff. TREVOR LAWRENCE — Clemson (So., QB, Cartersville HS)… completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown last Thursday night as top-ranked Clemson beat visiting Georgia Tech 52-14. Lawrence also ran three times for 24 yards and one score. He did throw a pair of interceptions with his long pass completion going 62 yards to Tee Higgins in the second quarter for a touchdown. The Tigers (1-0, 1-0 ACC) will host Texas A&M Saturday at 3:30 p.m. JACOB POTTER — Kennesaw State (So., LS, Adairsville HS)… the KSU starting long snapper saw action in the FCS 7th-ranked Owls’ 59-0 shutout of visiting Point University Saturday. Kennesaw State (1-0) travels to Kent State Saturday for a 12 noon kickoff. AVERY SHOWELL — Georgia Tech (R-So., DB, Cartersville HS)… made a fourth quarter solo tackle in the Yellow Jackets’ 52-14 loss last Thursday night at top-ranked Clemson. Georgia Tech (0-1, 0-1 ACC) hosts South Florida Saturday at 2 p.m. JAKE WALKER — Furman (Jr., TE, Cartersville resident, Darlington HS)… had a first quarter catch for only one yard in the FCS 11th-ranked Paladins’ 46-13 home win over Charleston Southern. Furman (1-0) travels to Atlanta Saturday night to play at Georgia State in a 7 p.m. start. CROSS COUNTRY BAYLEE EVANS — Troy University (Fr., Woodland HS)… ran 36th overall and was sixth for the Lady Trojans in her first collegiate event. Her time was 16:26.98 in the 4K Jacksonville State University Struts XC Season Opener at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, AL. The women of Troy finished runner-up to Auburn in the 14-team event. Troy runs again Friday at the University of South Alabama Azalea City Classic. The course in Mobile is at the Old Brookley Gulf Pines Golf Course. SOCCER KURT MOORE — Birmingham Southern (Sr., GK, Euharlee resident, Darlington HS)… had seven saves Saturday in the Panthers’ season-opening 3-2 loss to visiting Pensacola Christian. Birmingham Southern (0-1) plays at Huntingdon College Wednesday night, will host Gordon College (MA) Friday, and travel to Emory University Sunday night. COURTNEY RHEA — Berry College (So., MF, Cartersville HS)… was inserted in the 80th minute of the Vikings’ 4-2 loss Sunday at University of New England. Berry (1-1) also had a win Friday at Maine Maritime. They return home to play Piedmont Wednesday and host Wesleyan Sunday afternoon. ANTHONY ROBLEDO — Reinhardt University (So., MF, Cass HS)… was inserted with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half in the Eagles’ 4-3 loss to visiting Ottawa (AZ). Reinhardt (1-2) returns to the pitch Saturday night at home against Life University. RUSSELL SHEALY — University of Maryland (So, GK, Cartersville resident, Darlington Academy)… started and had two saves in 90 minutes as the Terrapins opened the 2019 season with a 1-0 home win Thursday over South Florida. Maryland (1-0) hosts Virginia Monday night before traveling to UCLA for a Friday night tilt.

Although the Lady Cats trailed early at Cass, the Woodland softball team scored nine unanswered runs from the third inning forward to win easily at their region and county rival 9-1. Woodland, winners of three straight, pounded out thirteen hits to provide all the run support pitcher Lainey Baker (photo) would need for her complete-game win. After the Colonels’ Alexis Woods reached and came around to score in the first inning, Baker -- a sophomore -- scattered only three Cass hits over the next six innings and struck out thirteen without walking anyone. Woodland tied the game 1-1 in the third inning, then added three runs in the fourth and fifth innings before adding two more insurance runs in the seventh inning. Cass pitcher Rachael Lee (7 IP, 9R, 4ER, 13H, 1BB, 2K) also worked a complete game in the loss. Five of the runs against her were unearned as the Lady Colonels committed four errors. Hannah Miller (double), Bella Carnes (two stolen bases, 2 RBI), and Baker (double, RBI) paced Woodland with three hits each. Ansley Evans had a double and one RBI. Allyssa Motes contributed one RBI with one hit. Cassie Jones (RBI) and Kendyl Hardin added one hit each. Morgan Bailey finished with two RBI. Woods, a Cass freshman, not only scored the Colonels’ only run but had three of her team’s four hits. She doubled in the third inning and singled in the sixth. Kylee Hembree had the other Cass base hit with a double in the fourth inning. After winning five straight, the Lady Colonels have now dropped three of their last four games. Cass (6-4, 3-3 Region 7-AAAAA) will host East Paulding Wednesday at 5:55 p.m. and region-leading Carrollton Thursday. The win by the Lady Cats lands them firmly among the region’s top two or three teams in the current region standings. Carrollton is unbeaten in the league through six games. Woodland (5-5, 4-2) will host Hiram Wednesday and Paulding County Thursday. Both games are scheduled for 5:55 p.m.

The Cartersville boys cross country team raced to a sixth place finish Saturday morning at the Berry Clara Bowl Invitational at Berry College. Canes teammates Bill Archer (17:07) and Sidney Stegall (17:10) both finished in the top ten of 184 male runners to lead the Hurricanes. Archer was eighth overall. Stegall placed tenth. Lambert won the boys team competition that included 22 teams with 65 points. The Longhorns were followed by Mill Creek (86), Marietta (110), Harrison (111), and Lovett (141). Cartersville was the top team among Class 4A schools with 147 points. Oconee County (172), Rome (181), Randolph, AL (215), and Mountain View (295) rounded out the top ten boys teams. Kamari Miller of Marietta won the individual race with a time of 16:05. Rounding out the scoring for Cartersville were Alex Rios (24th, 17:37), Colin McCann (48th, 18:16), and Levi Booth (57th, 18:25). The Lady Canes finished 15th of 16 teams but saw big improvements in individual times. The race, won by Oconee County, included 155 female runners on the 5K course. Lambert and Harrison placed second and third. McKenna Croft of Douglas County won the individual competition with a time of 19:02. Cartersville was led by McKinsey Spinks (68th, 22:33). Completing the top five for the Lady Canes were Trinity Atkins (108th, 24:24), Alice Terry (116th, 24:54), Trista Kelly (126th, 25:58), and Metztli Munoz (137th, 27:19). The Cartersville teams will run next at the Carrollton Orthopedic Invitational September 7.

A week after being shutout at Chattooga, the Adairsville Tigers put enough points on the board to take Bartow County’s oldest rivalry and earn its first win of the season with a 14-7 victory over the visiting Cass Colonels. Cass got the scoring started when quarterback Logan Nelson capped off a short drive with a 1-yard sneak into the end zone. The score was set up by a bizarre special teams play that saw a bad snap on a punt and a short, line drive punt fielded by the Colonels' Cameran Hill. Adairsville punter Emmanuel Lopez chased down a snap that sailed over his head, got the line drive kick away, but Hill snagged it at the 32-yard line and raced it down to the Tigers' 1-yard line. Adairsville answered the Cass score promptly with two big runs from Ja’Maury Johnson and Eli Agnew. Agnew finished the drive with a 22-yard scamper and the first quarter closed with the teams tied 7-7. In the second quarter, it was Cass’ turn for a special teams miscue. Malachi Gardner blocked a Colonels' punt and recovered the loose ball. Conner Crunkleton then scored on a 3-yard run to give Adairsville a 14-7 lead. The Tigers recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but the drive ended almost as quickly as it started. The Colonels recovered a Tigers fumble to end that threat. Cass was not able to convert the turnover into points and thus went into the intermission down by a touchdown. The second half of the game saw both teams struggle to move the football. As a result, the 14 points Adairsville posted in the game’s first 16 minutes wound up being enough to hold off the visiting Colonels. Cass got the ball as deep as the Adairsville 30-yard line with under four minutes to go, but was unable to convert the good field position into points. The Colonels (0-1) will host Forsyth Central next week, while Adairsville (1-1) will take a bye week. In other county action next week, Woodland (1-0) will travel to East Hall and Cartersville (1-0) will host Luella. All kickoffs are set for 7:30 p.m. WBHF will air Cartersville and Luella, while Bartow Sports Zone will broadcast Cass and Forsyth Central on bartowsportszone.com. Pregame coverage begins on both formats at 6 p.m.

Cass softball scored five unanswered runs in the final two innings Thursday night for a dramatic 7-6 come-from-behind Region 7-AAAAA win at Paulding County. The host Lady Patriots led 3-2 through three innings and extended their lead to 6-2 in the fifth inning before the Lady Colonels rallied. Cass scored twice in the top of the first inning and added a run in the sixth, but it was a four-run seventh inning that put the Colonels over the top. Cass out hit the Patriots ten to nine in the victory. Lady Colonels’ starting pitcher Rachael Lee (6.2 IP, 4R, 2ER, 8H, 1BB) picked up the victory in the circle. Kylee Hembree (0.1 IP, 2ER, 1H, 2BB, 1K) retired one batter in the fifth inning. Ansley Hight led Cass with three hits including a double, a sacrifice fly, and two RBI. Alexis Woods had two hits including a double and two RBI. Eryn Lee had two hits including a double. Haley Smith contributed a hit and one RBI. Kimberly Allen doubled and Lee added the other Lady Colonels’ base hit. Ashlan Phillips led the Lady Patriots offense with two hits. Savannah Hilderbrand (1 IP, 2ER, 3H) suffered the pitching loss in relief of starter Ashley Brice (6 IP, 5R, 4ER, 7H, 4BB, 1K). The loss drops Paulding County to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in region play. Cass (6-3, 3-2) will host county and region rival Woodland Saturday at 11:30 a.m. WOODLAND 12, ROME 0 Woodland pounded out fourteen hits and pitchers Lainey Baker and Hope Schultz combined for a three-hit shutout as the Lady Cats softball team won at Rome Thursday night, 12-0. Baker (4 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 7K) started for Woodland in the circle and Schultz (2 IP, 0R, 2H, 0BB, 2K) closed out the final two frames as the Wildcats won by run-rule in six innings. Baker, who finished with two RBI, was one of five Lady Cats with two hits each. Bella Carnes (RBI), Morgan Cooper (RBI), Kendyl Hardin (triple, RBI), Hannah Miller (triple) also had two hits. Ansley Evans contributed a double and had two RBI. Morgan Bailey (2 RBI), Alyssa Motes (RBI), and Cassie Jones had the other Woodland base hits. The loss drops Rome to 1-11 overall and 0-7 in region action. Woodland (4-5, 3-2) plays a Region 7-AAAAA make-up game Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Cass. O'NEAL, JOHNSON LEAD TIGERS TO REGION WIN Adairsville's Victoria O'Neal pitched her second shutout in three days and Sadye Johnson hit her third home run in that same span to help the Tigers to a 3-0 Region 6-AAA win at Haralson County. O'Neal fanned eight while allowing only three hits and two walks in the complete-game effort. It was a night her defense came up big as well. Adairsville head coach Amanda Nelson credited the outfield play of Taylor Fortenberry, Taylor Rhoades and Makayla Wade as key in the victory. O'Neal helped her cause at the plate with a second inning single and fourth inning walk against the Rebels (8-7, 1-2). In the second, courtesy runner Katie Smith stole a pair of bases before Alyssa Jarrett's RBI groundout produced the game's first run. Two frames later, Smith moved over on Rhoades' groundout, and Jarrett drove her home to set the final margin. Johnson gave Adairsville (6-6, 3-1) a 2-0 lead with a solo home run earlier in the fourth inning. She hit two home runs in Tuesday's 7-0 win over Murray County and is closing in on double-digit homers for the season. Adairsville plays Chattooga next Wednesday and will face Rockmart Thursday in non-region games.

The Lady Colonels volleyball team played a best-of-five sets, non-area match at Pickens County Thursday night and came away with a 3-0 win over the Dragons. According to Cass coach Alan Potter, the Lady Colonels were led by the play of Keegan Krause, Madison Philpott, Avery Merlot, and Maria Piliposyans. Cass took the straight sets victory 25-20, 25-15, and 25-20. The Lady Colonels return to action Tuesday with area matches at Paulding County. WOODLAND RALLIES LATE FOR WIN OVER PEPPERELL Woodland volleyball split a pair of non-area matches in Summerville Thursday night falling to the host Chattooga Indians in straight sets 25-22 and 25-13 before bouncing back to defeat Pepperell in three sets, 13-25, 25-18, 15-12. “We are like an unbelievable Jekyll and Hyde team this season,” commented Woodland coach David Condon following the road matches. “Our execution was bad and we were very inconsistent against Chattooga and during that first set with Pepperell, but we gave tremendous effort and had fairly tight execution to win those last two sets and pick up a win.” In the loss to Chattooga, Woodland’s Grace Webb had nine kills and four blocks. Sydney Molinaro finished with four kills and seven assists. In the come-from-behind win over Pepperell, Webb had six kills, seven blocks, three digs, and three assists. Molinaro contributed eight kills, ten assists, three digs, and three aces. Caroline Gore added eight kills, three assists, and three digs against the Dragons. “The way the girls responded tonight is very encouraging,” concluded Condon. Woodland returns to Area 7-AAAAA action at home Tuesday against Villa Rica and Kell. LADY CANES BEAT ARMUCHEE, FALL TO CREEKVIEW Cartersville won its opener against visiting Armuchee Thursday night at the Storm Center, but lost in the nightcap in straight sets to Creekview. The Lady Canes defeated Armuchee 25-18 and 25-16. The loss to the Creekview Grizzlies was 25-17 and 25-21. In the victory over Armuchee, Lauren Wenzell totaled 14 kills and ten digs. Macey Vaughn issued 20 assists as Anna Grace Brock finished with eight kills and eight digs. “We weren’t very sharp at times,” said Cartersville head coach Dutch Cothran. “I felt like a lot of our errors were unforced, but we made some plays when it mattered most.” In the loss to Creekview, Cothran was frustrated by some of the bounces and some of the calls. “We made too many mistakes and couldn’t catch a break,” said the Canes coach. “At times, it felt more like we were on the road than at home. We have to do a better job bouncing back when that happens and I can do a better job of controlling my emotions.” Wenzell had nine kills and eight digs against Creekview. Brock totaled ten digs and eight kills. Lily Gochee added eight assists and four digs. Cartersville (8-8) travels to Central-Carroll Tuesday for a tri-match with the host Lions and Cedartown to begin region play. The Lady Canes will play at 6 and 7 p.m. ADAIRSVILLE DEFEATS SOUTHEAST, FALLS IN THREE SET MATCH TO GORDON CENTRAL Adairsville defeated Southeast Whitfield, but lost to Gordon Central in three sets Thursday night in home, non-region matches on the Tigers’ court. In the 25-20, 26-24 win over Southeast Whitfield, Autumn Henderson had four kills for the Lady Tigers. Kaylee Jordan contributed two service aces and two kills. Maddie Reitz added a pair of kills. Adairsville won the opening set with Gordon Central 25-19, but the Warriors took the final two sets 25-22 and 15-11. Megan Smith had four aces and six kills for the Tigers. Kaydee Huskins contributed four kills. Annie McCormick finished with three service aces. Grace Collins added three aces and a kill. Adairsville travels to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe next Thursday to play Murray County and the host LFO Warriors.

Woodland’s softball team snapped a four-game skid Wednesday night with a 2-0 home shutout win over Villa Rica. Pitcher Lainey Baker scattered six hits without a walk and fanned 17 to garner the victory in the circle. Baker stayed ahead of Villa Rica batters most of the night. She threw 24 first pitch strikes to the 26 batters faced. Madi Langford led the Villa Rica offense with two hits. Bella Carnes paced Woodland with three hits including a double. Morgan Cooper and Kendyl Hardin contributed two hits each. Ansley Evans finished with a hit and one RBI. Hannah Miller added one hit. The loss drops Villa Rica to 4-7 on the season, 2-4 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (3-5, 2-2) plays at Rome Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and travels to Cass for a makeup game Saturday at 11:30 a.m. LATE RUNS TOP LADY CANES The Cartersville softball team found themselves on the wrong end of a walk-off Wednesday at Rockmart in an 11-10 non-region loss. The Lady Canes held leads of 3-2 after one inning, 7-5 through four frames, and 10-6 heading to the bottom of the sixth before the host Jackets rallied for the win. McKinley Chada (5 IP, 10R, 8ER, 11H, 5BB, 1K) started in the circle for Cartersville and completed five innings. Kiley Arnold (1.1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 2BB) suffered the pitching loss in relief. Lauren McElhaney and Cio Seigler both had three hits including a double and one RBI apiece. Hope Short had two hits including a double and two RBI. Chada finished with two hits and one RBI. AnnaKate McElhaney contributed one hit and one RBI. Elizabeth Nelson added one hit. Rockmart improved to 8-1 on the season. Cartersville (6-7, 3-3) returns to Region 5-AAAA action Tuesday when the Lady Canes host Cedartown.