On the opening night of the 2019 Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic at the LakePoint Sporting Community Friday, only one of the four local teams escaped with a first round win. Cartersville pitchers Mason Barnett and Gage Morris combined to shutout Kennesaw Mountain 3-0, but the other three Bartow County teams — Adairsville, Cass, and Woodland — all came up short. Woodland was edged by Cedartown 2-1. Adairsville fell to Bremen 8-4 and Cass lost to Pepperell, 5-1. All eight teams will play two more games on Saturday. Cass will face Kennesaw Mountain in a consolation semifinal at 10 a.m. Woodland and Adairsville willl square off in the other 10 a.m. consolation semifinal. At 12:15 p.m., the championship semifinals will feature Cartersville against Pepperell while Bremen will play Cedartown. The consolation semifinal losers will play at 3 p.m. and the championship semifinal losers will also play for third place at 3 p.m. The 5:30 p.m. games will be the fifth place game between the consolation semifinal winners and of course the championship game between the two championship bracket semifinal winners. In Cartersville’s win Friday night, Barnett started on the bump and went five shutout innings. He allowed only two hits and a pair of walks while fanning eight. Morris entered in the sixth inning and finished off the shutout allowing only one hit with no walks. Morris recorded two strikeouts. Playing as the home team, Cartersville scored a single run in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by J.P. Martin and added their two other tallies in the bottom of the fifth with only one hit. Two hit batsmen and a single by Josh Davis made the score 2-0 and a bases loaded walk by Brant Smith forced home the Canes’ final run. Preston Welchel had Cartersville’s only other hit in the game. It came in the fourth inning. The win improved the Canes’ season record to 4-1. Kennesaw Mountain slips to 4-2-1. CEDARTOWN 2, WOODLAND 1 Peyton Posey and Phoenix Cramer combined to limit Cedartown to only two runs on six hits, but Dalton Bowman and Carson Shelton only allowed a single run to the Wildcats as the Bulldogs edged Woodland 2-1. Griffin Elder doubled and tripled to lead Cedartown at the plate. He also drove in one of the Bulldogs’ runs. Jerry Simmons had two hits including a triple. Bowman homered in the fourth for the other Cedartown run. Toby Queen had two of Woodland’s four hits. Koby Stansell and Fisher Davis had the other Wildcats’ hits. Posey gave Woodland a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly that scored Scotty Smith. Cedartown improved to 4-1 and plays Bremen in the semifinals Saturday at 12:15 p.m. Woodland (2-3) plays a consolation semifinal Saturday morning at 10 a.m. against Adairsville. PEPPERELL 5, CASS 1 Cass held a 1-0 lead early Friday night, but Pepperell scored five unanswered runs from the third inning forward to beat the Colonels 5-1 in both teams’ opening game of the Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic. Mason Fincher and Dakota Corntassel kept the Colonels’ bats silenced for the most part. The two Dragons’ pitchers scattered five hits and two walks and struck out nine. Blaine Ingram (4.2 IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 6BB, 6K) suffered the pitching loss for Cass. Matt Shook (2.1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 4H, 1BB, 2K) took the mound in relief for the Colonels. Chase Gresham had two hits and one RBI for Pepperell. Wesley Wade had a hit and one RBI. Five other Dragons added one hit each. Ingram was 3-for-3 at the plate for Cass including a triple. Matt Shook and Hunter Lee had the other Colonels’ hits. Thomas Botts drove in the Cass run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Pepperell improved to 1-3 on the young season and will play Cartersville in one of the championship semifinal games Saturday at 12:15 p.m. at LakePoint. Cass (3-3) plays a consolation semifinal against Kennesaw Mountain Saturday morning at 10 a.m. BREMEN 8, ADAIRSVILLE 4 Bremen scored five runs in the top of the sixth to break open a 1-1 contest on their way to an 8-4 victory in both teams’ opening game of the Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic at LakePoint. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and it stayed that way until Bremen posted a single run in the fourth to knot the score 1-1. The Blue Devils sixth inning rally was aided by five walks from Adairsville pitchers, a balk, and an error. Bremen had only one hit in the inning. Bremen added two more runs in the top of the seventh to take an 8-1 advantage and then held off Adairsville who was actually able to send a potential game-tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. Blue Devils’ starter Griffin Cook went three innings on the mound to earn credit for the pitching win. Ben Barrow and Brant Ivey worked in relief. Adairsville utilized four pitchers with Braden Powell (1.2 IP, 4ER, 2H, 4BB, 2K) taking the loss in relief of starter Levi Blackwell (3.1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 4H, 2BB, 2K). Landon Ayers (0.0 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2BB) and B.J. Roper (1.1 IP, 2R, 0ER, 1K) also pitched for the Tigers. Brooks Hardie and Carson Cook combined for four hits and three RBI to pace the Bremen offense. Six different Tigers had one hit each with Trace Still and Ayers combining to drive in three runs. Bremen (6-2) plays Cedartown Saturday in one of the two championship bracket semifinals at 12:15 p.m. Adairsville (0-3) squares off with Woodland in a consolation semifinal Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Saturday's updated bracket:

The Adairsville Tigers lost an 18-10 non-region decision at Cedartown Wednesday night. Cedartown grabbed a 12-0 lead through the first three innings and held on for the Bulldogs’ eight-run win. Adairsville scored ten runs over the final four innings, but Cedartown added on six runs of their own across that stretch. Dalton Bowman paced Cedartown with three hits including a double and one RBI. Five other Bulldogs added one hit. Corben Cuzzort and Tyler Gosdin finished with a pair of RBIs each. Cuzzort (3 IP, 0R, 1H, 3BB, 1K) was credited with the pitching win for Cedartown. Four other Bulldogs took the mound with Gosdin (2 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 2K) closing out the final two frames. Adairsville’s Noah Nation started on the mound and was tagged with the pitching loss. Four other Tigers pitched. Levi Blackwell had three hits, two RBIs, and a stolen base for the Tigers. Kyler Smith had two hits including a double and two RBIs. B.J. Roper also had two hits and one RBI. Trace Still (RBI), Landon Ayers (RBI), and Evan Henry added on hit each for Adairsville. Cedartown improved to 3-1 with their win. Adairsville (0-2) will take on Bremen Friday at 7:15 p.m. in the Tigers’ opening game of the Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic at LakePoint.

Host South Paulding blanked the Woodland baseball team Wednesday night, 10-0 in five innings. The Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and added runs in each of the next four frames to end the contest early. Meanwhile, a pair of South Paulding pitchers — Tyler Clayton (4 IP, 0R, 1H, 4BB, 3K) and William Antunez (1 IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 1K) — limited the Wildcats to only one hit in the five innings. It was a first inning single by Koby Stansel. South Paulding (7-1) pounded out a dozen hits in the contest. Landon Powell had three hits including a double and three RBIs. Mitchell Brown, Bret Adkins (RBI), Brenden Matthews (RBI), and Parker Wooten added two hits apiece for the Spartans. Woodland (2-2) will take on Cedartown Friday in the Wildcats’ opener of the Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic at LakePoint.

Cartersville baseball cruised to a 15-2 non-region win Wednesday at Sprayberry. The Canes had all 22 players see action and pounded out a dozen hits as they picked up their fourth win of the season. Cartersville also utilized five different arms on the mound with starter Logan Martin (3 IP, 0R, 1H, 2BB, 4K) getting credit for the win. Hayden Davidson (1.1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 1BB), Gage Morris (0.2 IP, 0R, 1H, 1K), Ian Inaba (1 IP, 0R, 2K), and J.P. Martin (1 IP, 3K) saw mound time for the Canes. Cam Wilson, who allowed six earned runs in the first four innings took the loss for the Yellow Jackets as they slipped to 3-4 on the season. Cohen Wilbanks and Jordan Wilkie paced Cartersville at the plate. Wilbanks had three hits and six RBIs. Wilkie contributed three hits and one RBI. Brant Smith had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Josh Davis homered with two RBIs. Preston Welchel (double, RBI), Carter Owen (RBI), and Ian Inaba added one hit each. Cartersville (4-1) will face Kennesaw Mountain Friday at 5 p.m. in their opening game of the inaugural Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic at LakePoint.

The Cartersville boys basketball team had their season come to an end Wednesday night with a 72-47 loss at 5th-ranked Carver-Columbus in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals. The Hurricanes just miss a trip to the Final Four for the second straight season, but completed a nice playoff run to finish 17-14 season with a trip to the state quarterfinals. Carver-Columbus grabbed a 19-12 lead after one quarter and pushed their advantage to 35-22 by the intermission. The Tigers utilized a smothering defensive effort to extend their lead to 55-30 by the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 29 early in the final quarter before holding on for their 25-point win. A.J. Watts led Carver with 23 points. Perignon Dyer was Cartersville's top scorer with 14 points. Carver improved to 23-5 with their win. The Tigers will face Woodward Academy Saturday in the state semifinals at Ft. Valley State University at 8 p.m.

It was a tough night for the Woodland High School tennis teams Wednesday night at home. The girls dropped a 5-0 decision to visiting Rockmart and the boys lost 4-1. The only bright spot for the Wildcats was a boys Line 1 singles victory by Bryce VanOrder. ROCKMART 5, WOODLAND GIRLS 0 Singles Line 1 — Breanna Shook lost 2-6, 0-6 Line 2 — Kayla Gales lost 7-5, 0-6, 3-6 Line 3 — Becky Wesley lost 5-7, 2-6 Doubles Line 1 — Eryn Gentry/Emma Savage lost 2-6, 3-6 Line 2 — Abigail Spaulding/ Monterya Morrow lost 4-6, 0-6 ROCKMART 4, WOODLAND BOYS 1 Singles Line 1 — Bryce VanOrder won 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 Line 2 — Connor Gunnell lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 Line 3 — Garrett Wesley lost 0-6, 1-6 Doubles Line 1 — Adam Pirkle/Keegan Gallagher lost 3-6, 1-6 Line 2 — Mason Tucker/Ian VanOrder lost 3-6, 2-6 NEXT: Woodland plays at Carrollton on Thursday. LADY TIGERS DEFEAT RINGGOLD, TIGERS MATCH SUSPENDED The Adairsville girls tennis team defeated Ringgold Wednesday night 4-1 at the Calhoun Recreation Center and the boys were tied at two points each when the teams ran out of daylight and had to suspend play. Due to flooding at the Calhoun Recreation Center the lights were not functioning, so coaches decided to suspend the boys match and will complete it on March 7. Adairsville was also scheduled to face Calhoun Wednesday, but the lack of lights has pushed that match to March 7 also. ADAIRSVILLE GIRLS 4, RINGGOLD 1 Singles Line 1 — Alexandra Kanturek won 6-0, 6-0 Line 2 — Madison Camp won 6-0, 6-0 Line 3 — Courtney Fricks won 5-7, 6-4, 10-7 Doubles Line 1 — Olivia Long/Joie Bryant lost 4-6, 0-6 Line 2 — Kayleight Collum/Kate Faulk won 6-1, 6-2 NEXT: The Lady Tigers (2-1, 1-0 Region 6-AAA) and Tigers will host Sonoraville next Tuesday.

Elite Stone Supply, in conjunction with WBHF and Bartow Sports Zone, presents the ELITE ATHLETES OF THE MONTH. Each month, local high schools are provided opportunity to name an Elite Athlete of the Month from their varsity programs and present the information on their honoree through Bartow Sports Zone and on 100.3FM and AM1450, WBHF in Cartersville. Recipients for February 2019: Christian Gough -- Adairsville HS Marco Haro -- Woodland HS Logan Vermaas -- Cass HS Guilia Vidoli -- Cartersville HS The Adairsville High School Elite Athlete of the Month for February is Christian Gough. A freshman who participates in the Tigers’ football, basketball, and track and field programs is the son of Terry and Erin Gough. Christian is a slot receiver in football, a basketball guard, and runs the mile for the Adairsville track team. “Christian personifies hard work,” said Adairsville track and field coach Beth Payton. “He doesn’t back down from a challenge and simply has no quit. His stature is misleading to his skill, determination, and heart. He is a true team player and humble to the core.” Gough currently carries a 3.8 GPA and is enrolled in honors classes. “Christian’s fantastic attitude inspires others and his smile is contagious,” added Adairsville athletic director Meredith Barnhill. “We’re lucky to have him participate in so many of our programs.” Marco Haro is the February Elite Athlete of the Month representing Woodland High School. A senior infielder and right hand pitcher for the Wildcats’ baseball team, Haro is the son of Antonio Haro and Maria Portugal. Haro recently smashed a walk-off, three-run home run in Woodland’s season opening win over Mt. Pisgah. “Marco is a great, hard-working kid that has truly become a leader both on the field and in the clubhouse,” said Wildcats’ head baseball coach Colby Coursey. Haro carries a 3.3 GPA and is undecided at this time regarding his collegiate plans. The Cass High School Elite Athlete of the Month for February is Logan Vermaas. A senior and four-year starter for the Lady Colonels’ soccer team, Vermaas has scored six goals in the first four games of the 2019 season. The daughter of Lourens and Anissa Vermaas, she looks to build on last season’s accomplishments when she was All-County, First Team All Region, and the Region 7-AAAAA Player of the Year. “Logan continues to be a leader on and off the field,” noted Cass athletic director Nicky Moore. “She is one of two senior captains and is a statistical leader in goals and assists.” Vermaas stays very busy competing in area soccer showcases and with the Lady Colonels, but continues to maintain a 3.9 grade point average. She has also recently signed to continue her soccer career at the collegiate level with national NCAA D-II power University of North Georgia. “She is a true example of a hard-working athlete and student,” Moore concluded. Guilia Vidoli is the Elite Athlete of the Month for Cartersville High School. A sophomore on the Hurricanes’ swim team, Vidoli qualified for five events this season at the Georgia High School Association state meet. “Guilia is an awesome athlete and student,” said Cartersville coach Mindy Surrett. “She excels both in the water and in the classroom. This is her second year on our team where she has been the anchor for our girls relay teams. She is ready, willing, and certainly able to do whatever our team needs to win. Her specialties are the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke, but she will swim any event to catapult the team to victory,” added Surrett. The daughter of Richard and Monique Vidoli, she carries a full load of Advanced Placement and Honors courses where she maintains an A/B average. Editors Note: Photos and bios are supplied to Bartow Sports Zone and WBHF by the respective schools and their athletic departments. Elite Stone Supply Co., LLC is the monthly sponsor. Athletes receive a plaque along with recognition during a radio feature on WBHF.

The Cartersville and Cass tennis teams all took home region victories Tuesday night. The Cartersville boys improved to 2-0 in region action with a 5-0 win at Sandy Creek while the Lady Canes evened their region mark at 1-1 with a 4-1 win over the Patriots. The Cass boys blanked East Pauding 5-0 and the Lady Colonels defeated the Raiders 4-1. The Cartersville boys had singles wins by Will Allen, Luke Kottemann, and Griffin Shaw who all swept to 6-0, 6-0 victories. The Canes’ doubles teams of Nate McDonald and Luke Gambill along with Jackson Cline and John Blackhall also had easy wins. Emily Bush and Madison Ferdon took singles lines for the Lady Canes and their doubles teams did not lose a game. The doubles teams of Lydia Wiedetz and Alice Terry along with Mason Cline and Mia Shaw completed the region win. In the Cass boys’ win over East Paulding, the Colonels’ singles lines did not drop even a single game. Max McCauley, Cameron Harrell, and Dawson Hedden were the singles winners and the Raiders forfeited the doubles lines. In the girls match, Emily Surcey, Emma Wickenheiser, and Payton Tatusko were all singles line winners for the Lady Colonels. Surcey and Wickenheiser won easily and Tatusko won at Line 3 with a second set tiebreaker. The Cass doubles team of McKenley King and Maddie Smith also took Line 1 with a straight sets victory.

The Adairsville boys soccer team dropped a 5-0 decision on the road Tuesday night at Fannin County. The host Rebels scored a pair of first half goals for a 2-0 advantage at the intermission and added three more in the second half. Adairsville keeper Tyrek Bryant had 17 saves while the Tigers' Emanuel Lopez and Angel Banda managed three shots on goal between them, but failed to find the back of the net. Adairsville travels to Haralson County this Friday to open Region 6-AAA play. ALLATOONA 8, WOODLAND GIRLS 0 The Woodland girls dropped a home, non-region match to Allatoona Tuesday night at Woodland Stadium. The visiting Lady Bucs evened their season mark at 2-2. Woodland (0-4-1) is scheduled to host Hiram Friday night. CARROLLTON 9, CASS BOYS 1 The Cass boys lost a one-sided Region 5-AAAA match at Carrollton Tuesday night, falling to the host Trojans 9-1. Kaleb Speights scored the only Cass goals off an assist from Josh Flores. Carrollton (4-3, 1-0) won its fourth straight game after opening the season with three losses. Cass (2-3, 0-1) plays at Rome Friday night. CARROLLTON 6, CASS GIRLS 0 The Lady Colonels were shutout Tuesday night at Carrollton, 6-0. The loss drops Cass to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in Region 7-AAAAA. Carrollton improved to 2-3 overall and is now 1-0 in region action.

The Woodland baseball team dropped a 7-4 non-region decision to Coahulla Creek Tuesday night at The Ballpark at Woodland. The visiting Colts and Wildcats traded runs in the early innings, but Coahulla Creek held a 5-3 lead heading into the final frame. The Colts added two more runs in the seventh to take a 7-3 lead and Woodland managed only a single run in their half of the final frame. Starter Ben Ammons (3 IP, 4ER, 6H, 3BB, 3K) suffered the pitching loss for the Wildcats with Peyton Posey (3 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 5K) and Scotty Smith (1 IP, 2ER, 1H, 1BB) working in relief. Smith was the only Woodland player with two hits. Phoenix Cramer drove in a pair of runs with one hit. Marco Haro and Fisher Davis had the only other Wildcat hits. Donavan Sims, Luke Reed, and Joey Estrada combined for six hits and four RBIs for the Colts as they won for the first time this season and improved to 1-3. Woodland (2-1) suffered its first loss of the season and will look to bounce back Wednesday in a 5:30 p.m. start at South Paulding. The Wildcats will then face Cedartown Friday night in their opening game of the Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic at LakePoint.

Cass baseball fell behind 3-0 Tuesday night facing Class 6A Sequoyah, but responded with six runs across the fourth and fifth innings to take a 6-3 lead and made those runs stand up in a 6-4 home win over the Chiefs. Colonels’ starting pitcher Jayden Smith (photo, 6 IP, 3R, 2ER, 2H, 1BB, 7K) picked up the win with Thomas Botts (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 2K) closing out the final frame. Blaine Ingram drove in three runs on a pair of hits that included a triple. Matt Shook had two hits and one RBI. Karson Kelley and Jayden Smith added one hit each. Jackson Taylor and Hunter Holcomb had the only Sequoyah hits. They both drove in one run. Chiefs’ starting pitcher Mason Savely (4.2 IP, 6R, 0ER, 5H, 2BB, 9K) was tagged with the loss as Sequoyah slipped to 1-4 on the season. Cass (3-2) travels to Sequoyah Thursday for a rematch with the Chiefs prior to opening play in the Toyo Tires Battle for Bartow Baseball Classic Friday and Saturday at LakePoint.

The Adairsville boys team defeated Pepperell 3-2, but the Lady Tigers lost to the Dragons 4-1 in non-region tennis action Tuesday evening at the Rome Tennis Center. Both Adairsville teams are now 1-1 on the season. PEPPERELL GIRLS 4, ADAIRSVILLE 1 Singles Line 1 — Alexandra Kanturek lost 5-7, 3-6 Line 2 — Madison Camp won 6-1, 2-6, 10-6 Line 3 — Courtney Fricks lost 1-6, 6-7 (3-7) Doubles Line 1 — Olivia Long / Joie Bryant lost 2-6, 2-6 Line 2 — Kayleigh Collum / Kate Faulk lost 1-6, 5-7 ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 3, PEPPERELL 2 Singles Line 1 — Cody Kimbrough lost 2-6, 6-2, 2-10 Line 2 — Cameron O’Neal won 6-4, 6-4 Line 3 — Gideon Conant lost 0-6, 1-6 Doubles Line 1 — Landon Swanson / Oak Hemby won 6-4, 6-0 Line 2 — Zach Ogle / Tristin Alford won 6-3, 6-0 NEXT: Adairsville vs. Calhoun and Ringgold at the Calhoun Recreation Center.