Several athletes from Bartow County schools earned spots in their respective State Championship Meets May 10-12 with top eight finishes at State Sectional qualifying Saturday. Woodland led all local schools with ten athletes advancing. Adairsville followed with six, Cass had four to advance, and Cartersville three. Locals advancing in more than one event include Carli Clymer, Jonathan Holloway and Markal Brown of Woodland. Daylon Bailey and Nakiyah Washington of Adairsville, and Cartersville’s London Shaw. Adairsville athletes advance to the Class AAA State Championships at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany. Cartersville athletes move on to the Class AAAA State Championships at Valhalla Stadium on the campus of Berry College in Rome, while Woodland and Cass qualifiers will compete in the Class AAAAA State Championships at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton. Results from Saturday’s State Sectional Qualifiers: Class 5A - State Sectional A Starrs Mill High School Woodland top 8 finishes: Girls 800M — 5th — Carli Clymer (2:24.81) Girls 1600M — 6th — Carli Clymer (5:20.69) Girls 3200M — 2nd — McKenna Trapheagen (11:21.73) Girls 3200M — 8th — Lindsay Scifers (12:03.61) Girls Pole Vault — 4th — Karson Norris (9-06) Girls Pole Vault — 6th — Brooke Cooper (9-00) Boys 800M — 8th — Jonathan Holloway (2:05.05) Boys 4x400M Relay — 8th — Jeven Reliford, Demarcus Williams, Jonathan Holloway, Markal Brown (3:26.79) Boys Pole Vault — 5th — Tommy Duke (12-00) Boys Long Jump — 8th — Markal Brown (21-02.5) Cass top 8 finishes: Girls High Jump — 2nd — Kyler Trouten (5-02) Girls Shot Put — 3rd — Chanelle Clemmons (40-03.5) Boys High Jump — 2nd — Tavarus Varnum (6-08) Boys Pole Vault — 3rd — Stephen Smith (12-06) Class 3A-B Sectional at Bremen High School Adairsville top 8 finishes: Boys 100M — 7th — Daylon Bailey (11.34) Boys 4x100M Relay — 8th — Daylon Bailey, Travon Branch, Ethan Belcher, Derrick Simons (44.07) Girls Discus Throw — 3rd — Nakiyah Washington (106-08) Josie Summerville — 2nd — Josie Summerville (36-06.25) Girls Shot Put — 5th — Nakiyah Washington (33-03) Class 4A-B Sectional at Kinnett Stadium, Columbus Cartersville top 8 finishes: Girls Shot Put — 2nd — London Shaw Girls Discus Throw — 5th — London Shaw Boys Pole Vault — 2nd — Nick Bebko (photo) Girls 800M — Kayla Carpenter

The Georgia Highlands softball team pounded out 32 hits and completed a two-game sweep of West Georgia Tech Saturday at Stars Field winning both games in five innings. The Chargers won 13-1 and 15-5. Pitcher Micayla McCoy earned both wins with Peyton Henderson working in relief in both games. Mackenzy McFarland paced the Chargers’ offense with a 4-for-5 performance that included four home runs, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Sierrah Gani was a perfect 5-for-5 with a double. GHC (32-21, 16-10) wraps up the regular season Sunday with a home doubleheader against East Georgia State.

East Georgia State completed a four-game series sweep of Georgia Highlands Saturday by winning a twin-bill with the Chargers at LakePoint in Emerson. The visiting Bobcats won 2-1 in extra innings in Saturday’s first game and took the second game, 13-10. The results of Saturday’s games all across the conference helped determine the four teams that have qualified for the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association. Unfortunately for Georgia Highlands, the Chargers will not make the tournament. East Georgia continues to lead the conference standings with one week remaining in the regular season. South Georgia, Gordon College, and ABAC will join East Georgia in the GCAA playoffs. Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader went to an eighth inning scoreless. East Georgia scored twice in the top of the inning for a 2-0 lead and Georgia Highlands managed a run, but came up short in the bottom of the eighth for a 2-1 loss. Both starting pitchers went the distance. Rhett Gay (8 IP, 1ER, 5H, 1BB, 5K) picked up the win for East Georgia. Drew Wilson (8 IP, 2ER, 5H, 0BB, 6K) suffered the loss for Georgia Highlands. Nathan Fancher led East Georgia’s offense with two hits. He also drove in the two runs in the eighth. Cameron Hearn had two hits for the Chargers. Skylar McPhee, Nick Piccapietra, and Bryson Horne added one hit each. Joey Demasi drove in the Georgia Highlands’ run in the eighth. In the second game, the Chargers raced to an early 7-2 lead before East Georgia began chipping away. The Bobcats scored four runs in the top of the fourth and six in the fifth inning to lead 12-9. Both teams added a single run in the seventh for a 13-10 final score. Both teams utilized three pitchers. Case Matthews (3 IP, 1ER, 4H) picked up the win for East Georgia with middle relief. Tyler Sellers (4 IP, 8R, 3ER, 6H, 3BB, 4K) started for the Chargers followed by Skylar McPhee (1.2 IP, 5ER, 3H, 3BB, 1K) and Travis Kuebler (1.1 IP, 0ER, 1BB, 1K). Nathan Fancher and Drew Haywood combined for six hits including three homers and nine RBI to lead the Bobcats. Zach Miller and Austin Foster had three hits and one RBI each for Georgia Highlands. Bryson Horne (2 RBI), Nick Piccapietra, and Skylar McPhee (RBI) contributed two hits apiece. East Georgia has now won 11 of 12, improved to 29-14 overall, and is now 22-5 in GCAA play. The Bobcats lead South Georgia by two games in the conference with three to play. Georgia Highlands (28-22, 11-17) will conclude the season Tuesday afternoon at South Georgia and next Saturday afternoon at home against Andrew College.

The Cartersville boys soccer team defeated Pickens 6-1 Friday night at Weinman Stadium to advance to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs where they will host 3rd-ranked Chestatee next Wednesday. The Hurricanes dominated control of the ball and took charge of the game’s flow early in the first half. Houston Read scored the opening goal for Cartersville off a cross from Jonathan Cruz in the game’s 19th minute. A few minutes later, Grant Farmer fed Pedro Ghanem to put the Canes up 2-0 and Ghanem added another in the 36th minute for a 3-0 advantage at the intermission. James Chege and Elian Abeja added second half goals to give Cartersville a 5-0 lead before Pickens cut the lead to 5-1. Farmer tacked on the Canes’ final score off a Cruz assist in the game’s 76th minute to wrap up the opening round playoff win. Pickens’ season ended with a 3-12-1 record. Cartersville improved to 12-6.

Georgia Highlands and East Georgia State combined for 28 hits that included nine home runs and 22 total runs Friday night at LakePoint in Emerson, but it was the visiting Bobcats that came away with a 15-7 victory. East Georgia took control with a six-run fifth inning that gave them a 10-3 lead. They added four more insurance runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth. Georgia Highlands narrowed East Georgia’s early lead to 4-3 in the third inning, but never got closer adding a single run in the fifth and three more in the eighth inning. Tyler Owens (6 IP, 4ER, 10H, 1BB, 1K) picked up the pitching win for the Bobcats. Mathew Facciponti (2 IP, 3ER, 2H, 2BB, 2K) and Connor Willis (1 IP, 0R, 0H, 2K) closed out the late innings. Matt Norton (4.1 IP, 8ER, 10H, 0BB, 1K) started for the Chargers and took the loss. Jake Meyer (3 IP, 5ER, 2H, 3BB, 1K), Zach Fordham (0.2 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB), and Connor Dove (1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 2K) also pitched for Georgia Highlands. Nathan Fancher and Christian Castro both had two home runs each and combined for seven RBI for East Georgia. Keven Jimenez, Ashton Pratt, and Ryan Woiwode also homered for the Bobcats who out hit the Chargers 16 to 12. Joey Demasi and Nick Piccapietra hit homers for Georgia Highlands. Piccapietra, Austin Foster, Blake Bradley, and Willis Kemp all had two hits. Zach Miller drove in two runs with one hit. Parker Orr doubled home one run. Cameron Hearn added one hit. East Georgia State (27-14, 20-5) continues to lead the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association with their win. Georgia Highlands (28-20, 11-15) host the Bobcats in a conference doubleheader Saturday at LakePoint at 1 p.m.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes started the 2018 Class 4A baseball state playoffs in impressive style Friday night with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Pickens to win the first round series and advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Canes won the opener 5-1 and blanked the Dragons 12-0 in the nightcap. The sweep means Cartersville will now host Marist at Richard Bell Field in the second round. That best-of-three series begins next Thursday (May 3) with a doubleheader. Marist swept Madison County Friday by scores of 16-6 and 4-0. In the opener, Canes’ pitchers Mason Barnett and Gage Morris combined to limit Pickens to only five hits and two walks. Barnett allowed only one hit and an unearned run while striking out five. Morris fanned seven. Anthony Seigler, who reached base in every plate appearance in the doubleheader, had a double, homer, and walked twice in the first game. Jake Gooch also contributed a pair of hits and one RBI. Ian Inaba added two RBI with one hit. Jordan Wilkie, Devin Warner (double), and Barnett had the other Hurricanes’ hits. In Game 2, the Canes struck early and often and Jake Gooch dominated the Dragons from the mound. Playing as the visiting team, Cartersville scored three runs in the top of the first and never looked back. The Hurricanes added two runs in the second, a run in the third, and six runs in the fourth inning. Gooch tossed a five-inning, complete-game, one-hitter without walking a batter. He struck out nine. Gooch hit a two-run homer in the first inning and JP Martin launched a long, solo shot in the second inning as the Canes jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Devin Warner and Jordan Wilkie both doubled in the third inning to give Cartersville a 6-0 lead and the Canes’ six-run fourth inning included a Barnett triple, a two-run single by Ian Inaba, and RBIs by Wilkie and Martin. Seigler finished the series 3-for-3 with a double, triple, homer, five walks and one RBI to pace the Hurricanes’ offense. Gooch was 3-for-6 with a homer and three RBI. Warner was 3-for-4 with a double. Wilkie was 3-for-5 with two RBI and Inaba drove in three runs with a pair of hits. Cartersville improved to 25-7 for the year. Pickens season ends with a 14-17 record.

The Adairsville baseball team was eliminated from the Class 3A state tournament Friday night after being swept in a doubleheader by Pace Academy 17-1 and 4-0. The Knights won the best-of-three series at Tiger Valley, 2-0. Pace Academy rode a strong pitching performance by Brian Zeldin in Game 1 and struck for runs in every inning as they won 17-1 in four innings. Zeldin tossed a two-hitter, walked two, and fanned five in four innings of work. Tigers’ pitchers walked 15 batters and the Knights cashed in their opportunities with seven hits that included a pair of home runs by Andrew Jenkins and two doubles by Darian Howard. Zeke Diamond and Jaden Steagall had the other Pace hits. Pace led 12-0 before Adairsville scored a run in the bottom of the third inning on back-to-back hits by Trace Still and BJ Roper and an RBI groundout by Corey Nation. Garrett Mishoe started on the mound for Adairsville and suffered the pitching loss. Levi Blackwell and Noah Nation also pitched for the Tigers. In Game 2, Tigers’ ace Kyler Pelfrey kept Adairsville in striking range with a strong six inning performance. The Tigers’ bats, however, were not up to the task against Knights’ pitcher Jaden Steagall who limited Adairsville to three hits and two walks and kept them off the scoreboard in a 4-0 win. Pelfrey allowed only four hits and one walk for a pair of earned runs. He fanned nine but was saddled with the pitching loss. Pace Academy scored the game’s first run in the fourth, added two more in the fifth, and added a final run in the sixth inning. Diamond, Steagall (RBI), Zeldin (double), and Jayden Thomas had the hits for Pace. Noah Dutton, MIshoe, and Landon Ayers had hits for the Tigers. Pace Academy improved to 22-8 for the season and will face the Morgan County/East Hall winner in the second round. Adairsville finished the 2018 season with a 20-10 record and a runner-up finish in Region 6-AAA.

The Cartersville boys golf team won its region title and placed second in the area that combines Regions 5- and 6-AAAA at Nob North Golf Course in Dalton. Canes’ freshman Buck Brumlow won the area medalist title with an even-par 72 in the 18-hole championship. The Hurricanes, who placed second in the area and totaled under the maximum qualifying score, advance to the Achasta Golf Resort in Dahlonega for the state tournament May 21-22. Lafayette, out of Region 6-AAAA, won the area title with a team total of 308. Cartersville was next at 314 with counting scores from Brumlow, Chanc Willis (79), Blane Davis (81), and Dalton Henson (82). The Cartersville girls placed in the top ten at the area tournament. Addie Evans had the low score for the Lady Canes with a 104.

The Cartersville Lady Canes’ soccer team went on the road Thursday to defeat Heritage-Catoosa 4-1 in Ringgold and advanced to the second round of the Class AAAA state tournament. The Lady Canes will now meet St. Pius X (11-6-2) in the Sweet Sixteen in Atlanta. The 3rd-ranked Golden Lions, champions of Region 8-AAAA, edged Chestatee in the opening round of the playoffs, 2-1. Cartersville scored in the first ten minutes Thursday to take a lead it would not relinquish. Courtney Rhea scored off a cross from Micah Vance for the opening tally. Vance then added a second goal on a breakaway that put the Lady Canes ahead, 2-0. Heritage narrowed the margin to 2-1, but a goal by Claire Choate (photo wearing No. 11) off another Vance assist put Cartersville ahead 3-1 at the intermission. Kalyn Donegan added a final Canes goal in the opening minutes of the second half and Cartersville fended off the Lady Generals for the remainder of the half for a 4-1 win. Keeper Kalli Scheff was credited with one of her best games of the year at the back end of the Lady Canes’ defense. She had at least ten high quality saves. Cartersville improved to 11-7 on the year.

The Adairsville girls soccer team was eliminated from the Class 3A state playoffs Thursday with a 5-0 loss at Lovett. 2nd-ranked Lovett scored twice in the opening minutes and led 3-0 at halftime on their way to the shutout victory. The Lady Lions improved to 11-3-4 on the season and advances to play Greater Atlanta Christian in the second round next Tuesday. The Lady Tigers season ends with an 11-3-2 mark.

Both local high school baseball first round playoff series doubleheaders have been postponed. Cartersville vs. Pickens in Class 4A will now be Friday at 4pm DH. “If” game would be Saturday at 1pm. All games at Richard Bell Field. Adairsville vs. Pace Academy in Class 3A will now be Friday at 4pm DH. “If” game would be Saturday at 5pm. All games in Tiger Valley.

The Cartersville High School girls tennis team advanced to the Class AAAA quarterfinals Wednesday with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Blessed Trinity while the Cartersville boys were eliminated by Blessed Trinity. Emma McCary was a straight sets winner at Line 2 singles, while Ashley Popham won a three set match at Line 1 singles. Jordan Ross and Lydia Wiedetz also captured a three set match for the Lady Canes victory. The Cartersville girls advance to the state quarterfinals to face the winner of the second round match between Columbus and Druid Hills. State quarterfinal matches are scheduled to be completed no later than next Wednesday, May 2. The Blessed Trinity boys advance to meet the Burke County / Columbus winner in the state quarterfinals. The Woodland boys team also lost Wednesday in the Class 5A second round. The Wildcats, fell 4-1 to Chamblee at the Dekalb Tennis Center with Blake Bottegal picking up the only Woodland victory at Line 2 singles. Chamblee advances to meet McIntosh in the state quarterfinals.