The Cartersville Little League Rookie level (8U) team fell to Smyrna Little League Blue 18-0 Tuesday night in the championship round of the Georgia Little League Northwest Sectional Tournament at Smyrna Little League. Smyrna Blue went unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament and advances to the 2018 Georgia Rookie Baseball State Tournament June 16 and 17 in Warner Robins. Cartersville finished 2-2 in the Sectional Tournament after winning District 1 in a best-of-three series over Rockmart May 26-28. Playing as the visiting team Tuesday, Smyrna Blue scored twice in the top of the first​​ inning and added four or more runs in each of the next three frames on their way to the tournament title. Smyrna Blue out hit Cartersville twelve to one and utilized three different pitchers to shutout the locals. Blake Genrich had Cartersville’s lone hit. It came in the bottom of the fourth. He also reached base on a walk. CARTERSVILLE LL SANDLOT (9U) REACHES NW GA SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND The Cartersville Little League Sandlot level (9U) team defeated Smyrna Little League Red Tuesday night, 11-10, in an elimination game to reach the championship round. Cartersville hosts Smyrna Little League Blue Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Rudy York Field in Atco. Smyrna can win the title Wednesday. A Cartersville win forces an additional winner-take-all game Thursday in the double-elimination tournament. Game details were not provided but will be updated when they become available. Bartow County Little League and Cartersville Little League game results are provided to BartowSportsZone.com by the two leagues and are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports at 410 Cherokee Place in Cartersville.

The Cartersville Little League Sandlot team (9U) took advantage of 13 walks and five defensive miscues Monday night to defeat Bartow County Little League (9U) 13-3 at Rudy York Field. The Georgia Little League Northwest Georgia Sandlot Sectional win advances Cartersville to another elimination game Tuesday night. In Monday's victory, Cartersville scored in every offensive frame and only had one hit in the game. Although Bartow County scored first, Cartersville held a 3-1 lead after one inning before Bartow narrowed the margin to 4-3 in the top of the third. From there Cartersville scored nine unanswered runs to close out the game in the fourth inning. Blake Lutjens tossed a complete game to earn the pitching win for Cartersville. He gave up a pair of earned runs on three hits and one walk. Lutjens fanned five and worked ahead in the count throwing 13 first pitch strikes to the 17 batters he faced. Garrett Hewlett had Cartersville’s only hit. Dallen Fuqua walked three times and drove in three runs at the top of the Cartersville order. Cartersville also stole eight bases, led by Fuqua with three. Westing Barfield and Payton Paul both swiped two bags and Cash Priest stole a base. Cooper Reynolds had two hits, including a double and one RBI to pace the Bartow County offense. Taylor Hicks also had a base hit. Zaylen Cochran added one RBI. McCayden Hufstetler and Braxton Elrod each stole a base for Bartow. Bartow pitchers Jabari Burleson (2.2 IP, 8R, 1ER, 1H, 5BB, 2K), Reynolds (0.1 IP, 0R, 0H, 2BB, 1K), Maddox Raughton (0.2 IP, 5ER, 0H, 6BB, 1K), and Weston Wilson combined to allow only one hit, but walked 13 while striking out four. The loss eliminates Bartow County who finished 0-2 in the tournament. Cartersville, now 2-1 in the tournament, plays Monday’s Smyrna Red vs. Smyrna Blue loser in another elimination game Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Rudy York Field. The winner of Cartersville's Tuesday game will reach the championship round with one loss to face Monday's Smyrna Red/Smyrna Blue winner. CARTERSVILLE LITTLE LEAGUE 8U REACHES SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND The Cartersville Little League Rookie level (8U) defeated Smyrna Little League Red 8U Monday night 11-9 to advance to the championship round of the Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament at Smyrna Little League. Cartersville, who defeated Smyrna Red Saturday in the opening round also, took an 8-0 lead through two innings Monday night only to have Smyrna stay in contention with a five-run third inning. The locals pushed their lead to 11-5 in the top of the fifth and held off another threat by Smyrna in the bottom of the fifth for a two-run victory. Three Cartersville pitchers combined for nine strikeouts. Blake Genrich (3.1 IP, 5R, 1ER, 4H, 3BB, 5K) picked up the pitching win. River Wade (1 IP, 4ER, 1H, 3BB, 2K) and Avery Slye (0.2 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 2K) closed out the contest. Genrich had a hit, walk twice, scored twice, stole a base and drove in two runs for Cartersville. Mason Davis had one hit and one RBI. Wade doubled for the game’s only extra base hit. Slye walked twice and had one RBI. Andy Holstein added one walk and one RBI. John Brady Nichols and Price Startup each stole a base. Cartersville reaches the championship round with one loss to play Smyrna Little League Blue (8U) Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Smyrna Little League. Cartersville must win to force a second championship game Wednesday in the double-elimination tournament. Bartow County Little League and Cartersville Little League game results are provided to BartowSportsZone.com by the two leagues and are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports at 410 Cherokee Place in Cartersville.

The New York Yankees made Cartersville High School’s Anthony Seigler the No. 23 overall pick in the first round of the MLB draft Monday night. The 2018 grad becomes the second Cartersville High baseball player ever selected in the first round. Donovan Tate was taken third overall in 2009 by the San Diego Padres. Seigler, a catcher and ambidextrous pitcher, led the Hurricanes to the Class 4A championship series this season to cap a spectacular high school career and senior season. Seigler is projected as a catcher at the professional level and is expected to take the pro route and sign with the Yankees although he has a college option as a University of Florida commit. According to MLB.com, the assessed value for Seigler is a little more than $2.8 million and most teams stay within 5 percent of the assessed value. Seigler was in attendance at the MLB Network’s studios in Secaucus, NJ when his selection by the Yankees was announced. He hit .567 during the high school playoffs this season with six home runs. He added 11 more extra base hits, 16 walks, a hit-by-pitch, 20 runs, and 15 RBIs. He also did not strikeout during the postseason. For his senior season, he finished with 13 homers, 34 RBI, and hit for a .421 average.

Former Cartersville High School pitcher Sam Howard came off the Albuquerque Isotopes' disabled list this past week to pick up a win in a pair of starts, while another former Hurricane -- Elliott Anderson -- and his Auburn Tigers won the Raleigh Regional in the NCAA Tournament. The pro and college baseball weekly update for the week ending Sunday, June 3. MiLB SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes (5th yr. pro; Colorado Rockies organization; Triple-A Pacific Coast League; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS)… made a pair of starts this week in his return from the DL. The southpaw picked up his third win of the year on Memorial Day in a 4-2 victory over the Sacramento River Cats. Howard allowed only one earned run on seven hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out two. Saturday he was tagged with a pitching loss in a 5-2 decision to the Fresno Grizzlies. He again went five innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks. He fanned one. Howard is 3-4 in nine starts this season with a 4.68 ERA in just over 42 innings. Albuquerque (29-28) is in second place in the PCL’s Pacific Southern Division, 5 and 1/2 games behind Salt Lake. CONNOR JUSTUS — Mobile BayBears (3rd yr. pro; L.A. Angels organization; Double-A Southern League; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… was 0-for-13 at the plate with two walks and scored two runs in four games this past week. The BayBears went 3-2 in a series at the Tennessee Smokies and dropped their series opener at Chattanooga Sunday. Mobile (29-26) continues a five-game set at the Lookouts through Thursday and hosts the Jackson Generals for a five-game series Friday through June 12. The BayBears are currently in second place in the Southern League’s South Division, 4 and 1/2 games behind Biloxi. COLLEGE BASEBALL ELLIOTT ANDERSON — Auburn University (Soph., LHP, Cartersville HS)… worked the eighth inning Saturday in the Tigers’ 12-1 win over Army at the NCAA Tournament’s Raleigh Regional. Anderson struck out two of the four batters he faced and alowed one hit. Auburn (42-21) also defeated Northeastern and host N.C. State to win the regional and advance to next weekend’s Super Regionals where they will play at top-ranked Florida unless Florida Atlantic can beat the Gators twice on Monday to steal the Gainesville Regional.

The Cartersville Little League Sandlot team (9U) bounced back from its opening round loss on Saturday to defeat South Fulton Sunday afternoon 15-0 on a combined no-hitter by Blake Lutjens and Ben Cagle. Lutjens fanned five and did not walk a batter in his two innings of work. Cagle struck out two and walked two in his inning on the bump. Cartersville 9U jumped out to an early 7-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back adding six runs in the second inning and two more in the third to close out the game. Dixon Lindsey had two hits, two RBI and scored three runs to pace the Cartersville 9U attack. Dallen Fuqua also added a pair of hits. Lutjens drove in a two runs and had one hit. Payton Paul, Clint Hosea, and Westin Barfield added one hit and one RBI each. Cole Henson had the other Cartersville base hit. BARTOW COUNTY SANDLOT TEAM (9U) DROPS TOURNEY OPENER The Bartow County Little League Sandlot team (9U) lost its Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament opener Sunday to Smyrna Blue, 21-2. Bartow fell behind 8-0 before scoring its two runs in the bottom of the second inning to narrow the margin to 8-2. From there, it was all Smyrna Blue who added 13 more unanswered runs. Bartow County’s lone hit came off the bat of Taylor H. Cooper R drew a pair of walks and scored once. McCayden H (2 IP, 13R, 8ER, 11H, 1BB, 1K) suffered the pitching loss for Bartow. Taylor H (1.1 IP, 5R, 3ER, 3H, 1BB, 1K) and Cooper R (0.1 IP, 3R, 1ER, 2H, 1BB) also took the mound for Bartow County. Georgia Little League Baseball Northwest Georgia Sandlot (9U) Championship Double-elimination at Cartersville Little League Monday, June 4 6pm — GM 5 — Smyrna Blue (2-0) vs. Smyrna Red (1-0) 7:45pm — GM 6 — Cartersville (1-1) vs. Bartow County (0-1) Tuesday, June 5 6pm — GM 7 — Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner Wednesday, June 6 6pm — GM 8 — Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner Thursday, June 7 (if needed) 6pm — GM 9 — Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner CARTERSVILLE ROSTER: Clint Hosea, Westin Barfield, Dallen Fuqua, Zach Hall, Cole Henson, Dixon Lindsey, Blake Lutjens, Payton Paul, Cash Priest, Noah Cagle, Ben Cagle, and Garrett Hewlett. Manager: David Henson. Assistant coaches: Brian Barfield, Jay Paul, Dewayne Fuqua, and Chris Hall. BARTOW COUNTY ROSTER: Jabari Burleson, Preston Hazelwood, McCayden Hufstetler, Weston Wilson, Zaylen Cochran, William Wilson, Maddox Raughton, Cooper Reynolds, Jayce Little, Tavaris Burleson, Braxton Elrod, Taylor Hicks. Manager: Wade Wilson. Assistant coaches: Jonathan Raughton and Tony Hufstetler. CARTERSVILLE ROOKIE LEVEL TEAM (8U) FALLS INTO ELIMINATION BRACKET The Cartersville Little League Rookie level (8U) baseball team lost its second round game at the Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament to Smyrna Blue 8U Sunday, 15-4. Smyrna Blue scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 7-1 lead and added on in each inning. Cartersville scored single runs in the first and second innings before adding two more in the top of the third to narrow the Smyrna Blue lead to 8-4, but Smyrna tacked on seven more runs in the third to seal the game. Blake Genrich had a hit, a stolen base and two RBI to lead the Cartersville offense. Braden Slocumb also had one hit. John Brady Nichols walked twice and scored a run. Drake Bailey and Parker Huth both walked and scored. Both teams utilized three pitchers each in the contest. Price Startup (0.2 IP, 7ER, 2H, 4BB), Genrich (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 0H, 2BB, 1K), and Huth (0.2 IP, 7R, 4ER, 4H, 4BB, 1K) each pitched for Cartersville. Cartersville, now 1-1 in the double-elimination tournament, must now play the winner of Sunday’s Rockmart/Smyrna Red matchup on Monday evening at 6:30 p.m in an elimination game. CARTERSVILLE ROSTER: Blake Genrich, Brandt Rutledge, Parker Huth, Avery Slye, Price Startup, River Wade, Braden Slocumb, John Brady Nichols, Drake Bailey, Mason Davis, Andy Holstein, Brody Jones, Ty King. Manager: Nick Wade. Assistant coaches: Drew Startup and Joe Slye. Bartow County Little League and Cartersville Little League capsules and game results are provided to BartowSportsZone.com by the two leagues and are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports at 410 Cherokee Place in Cartersville.

The Cartersville Little League Rookie level team (8U) defeated Smyrna Red 8U Saturday in both teams’ opener of the Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament at Smyrna Little League. Cartersville trailed 1-0 early, but scored three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. The 8U Canes extended their lead to 5-1 in the top of the third, but Smyrna Red responded with a four-run third inning to knot the score at 5-all. Cartersville scored three more times in the fourth inning for an 8-5 advantage and then held on for an 8-6 victory. John Brady Nichols paced the Cartersville offense with a double, a triple, and two RBI. Mason Davis also contributed two RBI. Parker Huth and Avery Slye both stole two bases. Drake Bailey and River Wade each swiped a bag. Cartersville used three pitchers in the win. Slye (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 3K), Wade (1.1 IP, 1ER, 0H, 1BB, 4K), and Davis (1.2 IP, 4R, 3ER, 3H, 4BB, 2K) combined for nine strikeouts. Cartersville advances to the winners’ bracket Sunday at 11 a.m. to face Smyrna Blue who blanked Rockmart in their tournament opener, 14-0. CARTERSVILLE LL 9U DROPS TOURNEY OPENER The Cartersville Little League Sandlot level team (9U) lost its Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament opener to Smyrna Blue 9U Saturday morning, 9-3, at Rudy York Field in Cartersville. Smyrna Blue took an early lead and Cartersville never quite recovered. Smyrna out hit Cartersville eight to two and scored runs in each of their offensive frames. Cartersville trailed 3-1 after one inning and fell behind 9-1 before scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Payton Paul had one hit and one RBI for Cartersville. Dixon Lindsey added one hit for the locals. Clint Hosea, Westin Barfield, Dallen Fuqua, and Cash Priest all pitched for Cartersville in the loss. Cartersville plays in a losers bracket game Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m against South Fulton. Smyrna Blue advances to play Bartow County Little League 9U Sunday at 1 p.m. Local Little League Baseball and Softball updates are provided on BartowSportsZone.com courtesy of Play It Again Sports - Cartersville.​​ 410 Cherokee Place

Georgia Little League has released the tournament schedules for this weekend’s Northwest Georgia Sectional Championships. Cartersville Little League is the host and Bartow County Little League also has a 9U team in the Sandlot level tournament. Cartersville also has an 8U team in the Rookie level tournament in Smyrna. Georgia Little League Baseball Northwest Georgia Sandlot (9U) Championship at Cartersville Little League Saturday, June 2 10am — GM 1 — Smyrna Blue vs. Cartersville 12n — GM 2 — Smyrna Red vs. South Fulton Sunday, June 3 1pm — GM 3 — Bartow County vs. Smyrna Blue/Cartersville winner 3pm — GM 4 — Smyrna Blue/Cartersville loser vs. Smyrna Red/S.Fulton loser Monday, June 4 Monday, June 4 6pm — GM 5 — Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner 7:45pm — GM 6 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser Tuesday, June 5 6pm — GM 7 — Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner Wednesday, June 6 6pm — GM 8 — Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner Thursday, June 7 (if needed) 6pm — GM 9 — Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner CARTERSVILLE ROSTER: Clint Hosea, Westin Barfield, Dallen Fuqua, Zach Hall, Cole Henson, Dixon Lindsey, Blake Lutjens, Payton Paul, Cash Priest, Noah Cagle, Ben Cagle, and Garrett Hewlett. Manager: David Henson. Assistant coaches: Brian Barfield, Jay Paul, Dewayne Fuqua, and Chris Hall. BARTOW COUNTY ROSTER: Jabari Burleson, Preston Hazelwood, McCayden Hufstetler, Weston Wilson, Zaylen Cochran, William Wilson, Maddox Raughton, Cooper Reynolds, Jayce Little, Tavaris Burleson, Braxton Elrod, Taylor Hicks. Manager: Wade Wilson. Assistant coaches: Jonathan Raughton and Tony Hufstetler. Georgia Little League Baseball Northwest Georgia Rookie League (8U) Section Championship at Smyrna Little League Saturday, June 2 10am — GM 1 — Rockmart vs. Smyrna Blue 12:30pm — GM 2 — Cartersville vs. Smyrna Red Sunday, June 3 11am — GM 3 — Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 1:30pm — GM 4 — Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 Monday, June 4 6:30pm — GM 5 — Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 Tuesday, June 5 6:30 pm — GM 6 — Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 Wednesday, June 6 (if needed) 6:30 pm — GM 7 — Winner Game 3 vs Winner Game 5 CARTERSVILLE ROSTER: Blake Genrich, Brandt Rutledge, Parker Huth, Avery Slye, Price Startup, River Wade, Braden Slocumb, John Brady Nichols, Drake Bailey, Mason Davis, Andy Holstein, Brody Jones, Ty King. Manager: Nick Wade. Assistant coaches: Drew Startup and Joe Slye. Little League baseball and softball updates on BartowSportsZone.com are presented by Play It Again Sports -- Cartersville. 410 Cherokee Place

Cartersville High School finished ninth overall and had the best local finish in the race for the 2018 Georgia Athletic Directors Association Directors Cup presented by Regions Bank. Twenty-five GHSA sports are counted in the Directors Cup standings each school year. Each school’s eight highest scoring sports for each gender are counted in the standings. Co-ed sports have been categorized based on majority number of participants. Cartersville finished first in Region 5-AAAA and totaled 768 points. The Hurricanes scored points in baseball, boys basketball, volleyball, girls tennis, cheerleading, boys golf, girls soccer, football, boys soccer, boys tennis, girls cross country, boys cross country, girls track and field, wrestling, and boys track and field. The Cartersville boys were eighth overall in Class AAAA. The Lady Canes were 16th overall. Marist won Class AAAA. Blessed Trinity, St. Pius X, Woodward Academy, North Oconee, Columbus, Jefferson, West Laurens, and Northside-Columbus rounded out the top ten. Woodland placed 37th overall in Class AAAAA with 461 points. The Lady Cats were 19th in the classification and the Wildcat boys were 35th. Woodland finished fourth among the schools in Region 7-AAAAA and posted points in girls cross country, co-ed cheerleading, wrestling, girls track and field, boys tennis, boys cross country, boys soccer, girls tennis, and softball. Cass was 40th overall in Class AAAAA and sixth in Region 7-AAAAA. The Colonels earned points in wrestling, cheerleading, boys track and field, boys basketball, and girls soccer. Starr’s Mill finished ahead of Buford, Carrollton, McIntosh, and Flowery Branch to win Class AAAAA. Veterans, Whitewater, Union Grove, Chamblee, and Riverwood rounded out the top ten. In Class AAA, Adairsville was 37th overall and was seventh in Region 6-AAA. The Lady Tigers were 29th in the classification with the Tiger boys placing 41st. Adairsville scored Directors Cup points in cheerleading, girls track and field, wrestling, baseball, girls soccer, and football. Westminster won Class AAA with Lovett, Calhoun, Greater Atlanta Christian, Pace Academy, Pierce County, North Hall, Morgan County, Bremen, and Pike County following in the top ten. The purpose of the Regions Bank Directors Cup is to recognize those athletic departments in all GHSA classifications who have excelled and shown superior performance. Since the 1999-2000 school year, the GADA has presented this award annually. Award-winning schools receive a Regions Bank Directors Cup Trophy and a Wall Banner. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, the award added a presentation to the top male program and top female program along with the top overall program in each classification. Overal winners in classifications not including Bartow County competiting schools included: Wesleyan in Class A, Elbert County in Class AA, Alpharetta in Class AAAAAA, and Lambert in Class AAAAAAA.

Cartersville native and current Coastal Carolina University Men’s Head Golf Coach Jim Garren was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year this week in a release by the conference. The Chanticleers’ head coach was one of several golf recognitions for the 2018 Coastal Carolina team. First-year player Morgan Deneen was named Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and was voted first team All-Sun Belt. Luis Ruiz was tabbed second team All-Sun Belt and Thadd Obecny II was selected third team All-Sun Belt. Garren took over the Chanticleer men’s program last August with only four golfers and one signee in the program. He held an open tryout and added two players to the roster in September. Conference first-team selection Deneen, a student in the University’s PGA Golf Management program, was one of those two players. CCU took a convincing stroke-play victory at the conference championship and then defeated South Alabama and Georgia Southern in the match-play portion to advance to the program’s 12th NCAA postseason appearance. Coastal finished tenth at the 54-hole NCAA Reunion Resort Regional won by the University of Florida May 14-16. The Chanticleers shot 290-288-281 for a 5-under-par total. Ruiz led CCU with a tie for 14th (4-under) in the individual competition. Deneen tied for 26th at 2-under-par. Along with the Sun Belt Conference Championship, Garren led Coastal to one of its best seasons ever. The team’s scoring average, number of birdies, par-3 scoring average, and par-4 scoring average all ranked in the top four or better for any team in program history. The 15 rounds of par or better by the Chants was one shy of the school record. “I’m honored to be named Coach of the Year,” Garren said. “This is truly a program award. Even though my name is on it, (assistant coach) Jeremy Alcorn and all our players deserve credit for the recognition. Thank you to the Sun Belt coaches for recognizing our season.” Prior to taking the CCU job, Garren spent three seasons as the assistant coach for the Oklahoma Sooners men's golf program and helped guide that program to the 2017 National Championship. His ten years of collegiate coaching experience have also included stints at Southern Mississippi and New Mexico as an assistant.

Kingston native and Darlington grad Spencer Fields put forth an excellent showing in his debut at the NCAA Division III Championships last week. The long-distance specialist had qualified in the 10k with the 14th best time of any D-III runner during the season. He outperformed that with a ninth-placed showing in the event Thursday morning at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships Thursday at LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The junior crossed the finish line in 31 minutes, 10.21 seconds — almost exactly four seconds behind the eight-placed finisher. After the race was bumped up three hours in hopes of avoiding the heat, Fields finished in a little over 31 minutes in a pretty tight pack among the sixth- through 10th-placed finishers. Just a junior, Fields, no doubt, will look to build on the experience in hopes of returning to the NCAA championships next spring.

The Cartersville Little League Rookie level and Sandlot level teams won Georgia Little League District 1 titles over the holiday weekend. The 8U Cartersville Rookie League team defeated Rockmart in a best-of-three series, while the 9U Cartersville Sandlot team won with a two-game sweep of the Bartow County Little League Sandlot team. Cartersville Little League wins District 1 Rookie level championship The Cartersville Little League Rookie League team (8U) won the Georgia Little League District 1 championship Monday by edging visiting Rockmart 13-12 in the rubber game of their best-of-three title series. Not only was the title game a back-and-forth affair, but so was the entire series. Rockmart won the series opener on Saturday 9-7, with Cartersville forcing a third game with an 11-2 win in Game 2 Sunday. In the third game of the series Monday, Rockmart held a 2-1 lead after one inning and led 12-9 going into Cartersville’s final at-bat. The locals had an answer, however, and scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the district title with a 13-12 walk-off victory. Blake Genrich — who also pitched two and two-thirds innings and allowed only one hit — smacked a double into centerfield to score Brandt Rutledge with the go-ahead run. Genrich finished the day with three hits. “The boys really played well defensively,” said Cartersville Purple head coach Nick Wade. “We know we have some work to do going into the sectionals next weekend, but I was please with the way the boys reacted when they were down.” Cartersville pitchers Parker Huth and Rutledge each retired four outs each to close out the victory Monday. Avery Slye, Price Startup, and River Wade also pitched for Cartersville during the three-game series. Genrich completed the series with five hits and six RBI. Rutledge and Braden Slocumb contributed a pair of hits apiece. John Brady Nichols, Drake Bailey, Startup, and Wade each added one hit. Mason Davis drove in two runs. Other members of the Cartersville 8U team include Andy Holstein, Brody Jones, and Ty King. The assistant coaches are Drew Startup and Joe Slye. Both Cartersville and Rockmart will advance to the Rookie Northwest Georgia Sectional Championship at Smyrna Little League this weekend. Cartersville Little League tops Bartow County Little League to win District 1 Sandlot title The Cartersville Little League Sandlot team (9U) captured the Georgia Little League District 1 championship Sunday by completing a two-game, best-of-three series sweep over Bartow County Little League. Cartersville won 13-7 on Saturday and 17-10 Sunday. Both teams will advance to the Northwest Georgia Sectional Championship hosted by Cartersville Little League that begins Saturday. Cartersville 9U manager David Henson credited the pitching of Clint Hosea, Westin Barfield, and Dallen Fuqua as leading his team to the series win over Bartow County. Zach Hall was the Cartersville’s leading hitter. In addition to those mentioned, the Cartersville 9U roster includes Cole Henson, Dixon Lindsey, Blake Lutjens, Payton Paul, Cash Priest, Noah Cagle, Ben Cagle, and Garrett Hewlett. Assistant coaches for Cartersville include Brian Barfield, Jay Paul, Dewayne Fuqua, and Chris Hall. The Bartow County Little League sandlot team played the District 1 playoff series on the heels of wrapping up the league’s season and playoffs last Thursday. “We were only able to practice twice as a team prior to the playoffs,” noted Bartow manager Wade Wilson. “We didn’t win, but I’m optimistic about what we can do once we get to the Sectionals and have some practice time together. We showed a lot of grit and fight in that last game. We were down 10-0 and battled back to tie it in the next to last inning.” Wilson credited pitchers Jabari Burleson, Preston Hazelwood, and McCayden Hufstetler for their work on the mound in the District playoff. Weston Wilson, Zaylen Cochran, and William Wilson were noted as the team’s top hitters. Other members of the Bartow County sandlot team include: Maddox Raughton, Cooper Reynolds, Jayce Little, Tavaris Burleson, Braxton Elrod, and Taylor Hicks. Assistant coaches are Jonathan Raughton and Tony Hufstetler. Cartersville Sandlot 9U opens the five-team, double-elimination Sectional Tournament at Smyrna Little League Saturday at 10 a.m. against Smyrna Blue. Bartow County Sandlot 9U willl play the winner of that game Sunday at 1 p.m. The Cartersville Rookie League team, who is hosting the Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament, also begins play Saturday. Game time assignment will be determined at a meeting this week. In other recent Cartersville Little League news, the Indians won the 2018 major league playoffs. Link to results: Click Here. The Indians' roster, managed by Landon Adams with assistant coaches Jay Frazier and Geoff Shrewsbury, includes: Weston Chatman, Dawson Bishop, Owen Dunn, Logan Shrewsbury, Gavin Shrewsbury, Drew Perry, Jackson Harwell, Cooper Adams, Lucas Henry, Andrew Lutjens, Maddox Frazier, and Maverick Madonna. ​NOTE: Pitching data not provided for all BCLL games. Games not completed or not posted on the respective leagues' GameChanger sites are not included, but will be added to future posts when made available. Bartow County Little League and Cartersville Little League capsules and game results are provided to BartowSportsZone.com by the two leagues and are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports at 410 Cherokee Place in Cartersville.

At the professional level, Connor Justus hit .333 for the week to improve his season batting average and Sam Howard remains inactive on the Albuquerque disabled list. On the collegiate diamonds, several teams and a handful of local athletes at the NCAA Division I level await their post-season fate with the Field of 64 field to be announced Monday at noon. The pro and college baseball weekly update for the week ending Sunday, May 27. MiLB SAM HOWARD — Albuquerque Isotopes (5th-yr. pro; LHP; Colorado Rockies organization; Georgia Southern University; Cartersville HS)… remains listed on the Isotopes’ 7-day disabled list and has not pitched since injuring his throwing shoulder May 12 during a baserunning slide at home plate against Salt Lake. Based on scheduled starters on the Albuquerque web site, Howard is not scheduled to start again until at least after Thursday’s game. The southpaw has a 2-3 record this season in seven starts. He has a 5.01 ERA and 30 strikeouts in just over 32 innings pitched. CONNOR JUSTUS — Mobile BayBears (3rd-yr. pro; MIF; L.A. Angels organization; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS)… finished the week with a flurry Sunday by going 3-for-3 with two walks and a run scored in a 6-3 home loss to division-leading Biloxi. Justus was 6-for-18 for the week (.333) with one RBI, four runs scored, and three walks as the BayBears went 4-3 to remain 3.5 games behind Biloxi in the Southern League’s Southern Division. His batting average is now up to .216, the best it has been since the third week of the season. Mobile (26-23) starts a five-day, five-game series at the Tennessee Smokies Tuesday before playing at the Chattanooga Lookouts Sunday through June 7. COLLEGE BASEBALL ELLIOTT ANDERSON — Auburn University (So., LHP, Cartersville HS)… struck out the only batter he faced this week during a 7-0 SEC Tournament game loss to 4th-ranked Ole Miss. 23rd-ranked Auburn went 2-2 in the tournament with wins over Ole Miss and 26th-ranked Kentucky. The Tigers (39-21), who will find out their NCAA Regional assignment Monday, had SEC tourney losses to Texas A&M and Ole Miss. MASON ROBINSON — Louisiana Tech (R-Jr., OF, Woodland HS)… went 2-for-11 in three Conference USA tournament games Saturday and Sunday in Biloxi, Mississippi. Robinson had one RBI in the Bulldogs’ 7-5 win over Florida International Saturday. Louisiana Tech (39-20) also had C-USA tournament losses to Rice and Florida Atlantic. The Bulldogs, who entered the week on the bubble of qualifying for their second NCAA Tournament in the past three years, will now await Selection Monday to see if their season will be extended.