Woodland softball picked up an important Region 7-AAAAA victory on the road Tuesday night defeating Hiram 9-7. The Lady Cats’ offense had a productive night and banged out 14 hits in their win. They took a 9-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh and then held off a furious rally by Hiram. The home-standing Lady Hornets struck for five runs in the final frame but came up two runs short. Woodland pitcher Sarah Baynard (7 IP, 7R, 5ER, 12H, 3BB) picked up the complete-game pitching win. She struck out seven. Caroline Higdon (3 RBIs), Jordan Duck (2 RBIs), and Morgan Bailey each had three hits for the Lady Cats. Brittany Cox contributed a pair of hits and one RBI. Skylar Chappel drove in a run with one hit. Morgan Cooper and Bella Carnes had the other Woodland base hits. Woodland (7-10, 4-6) plays a non-region game at Lassiter Wednesday at 5:55 p.m. followed by key Region 7-AAAAA road games at Paulding County Thursday and Villa Rica Friday. The two region matchups are also 5:55 p.m. starts. VILLA RICA 11, CASS 1 Villa Rica scored eight runs in the fifth inning Tuesday night to put away the Lady Colonels, 11-1, in a Region 7-AAAAA softball game at Cass. Villa Rica pitcher Kali Barbour limited Cass to five hits and only one third inning run on a RBI double by Sarah Moore. Moore finished with two of the Cass hits. Kaila Carson, Mae Mae McIntyre, and Sarah Fox had the other Lady Colonels’ safeties. Abbey Gamble homered, had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Villa Rica attack. Baylee Walls had two hits and Izzy Rohr had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Five other Wildcats had one hit each. Villa Rica improved to 16-6 overall and 8-3 in region play. Cass (4-18, 0-10) looks for its first region win Thursday at East Paulding and will host Paulding County Friday. Both games are 5:55 p.m. starts. CHAPEL HILL 9, CARTERSVILLE 1 Kira Morgan tossed a complete-game two-hitter Tuesday night at Cartersville as the visiting Panthers downed the Lady Canes, 9-1. Morgan scattered a pair of hits and one walk while striking out two for the win. Colbi Ballard (4 IP, 3ER, 8H, 2BB, 3K) and Lauren McElhaney (2 IP, 6ER, 6H, 1BB) split the pitching duties for Cartersville. Allie Jackson had both Cartersville hits. Paige Vincent and Taylor Middlebrooks had three hits and two RBIs each to lead the Chapel Hill offense. Kennedy Hagan (RBI), Savana Sikes (2 RBIs), and Rylie Moody (RBI) finished with two hits each. Chapel Hill improved to 10-9 overall and 6-2 in Region 5-AAAA. Cartersville (7-12, 5-7) plays Campbell (8:30am) and Ridgeland (12 noon) Saturday at the North Cobb Warrior Classic. SONORAVILLE 5-9, ADAIRSVILLE 3-4 Sonoraville took a Region 6-AAA doubleheader at Adairsville Tuesday night winning the opener 5-3 and the nightcap, 9-4. The visiting Lady Phoenix improved to 14-10 overall and 10-2 in region play with the sweep. Adairsville slipped to 10-9 overall and 4-8 in region games. The Lady Tigers are scheduled to play their final regular season region game Thursday at Calhoun at 5:30 p.m. CALHOUN 8, ADAIRSVILLE 5 Visiting Calhoun scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning Monday night at Adairsville to break open a 2-1 game and then held off a late rally by the Lady Tigers for an 8-5 Region 6-AAA win. Blair Hall had four hits and one RBI and Adella Carver had three hits to lead the Yellow Jackets offense. Carlie Henderson, Lyndi Rae Davis, and Hannah Mashburn added two hits apiece for Calhoun who totaled 17 hits in the game. Calhoun pitcher Maggie McBrayer picked up the complete game win. She allowed five earned runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out nine. Trailing 8-1, Sadye Johnson gave the Lady Tigers some late inning life with a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh but Adairsville did no further damage. Havyn Isaac and Sierra Tanner had two hits each in the game for Adairsville. Loren Harris drove in a run with one hit and Natalie Burrow added a hit for the Tigers. Calhoun improved to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in region play.

Northwest Whitfield pitcher Anna Grace Rann limited Woodland to four hits and struck out five as the visiting Lady Bruins shutout the Lady Cats 4-0 Monday night. The Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning and added a single run in the fourth and two more runs in the seventh inning. Molly Middleton, Brittany Ogle, and Rann combined for six of Northwest Whitfield’s seven hits. Sydney Horne drove in two runs with a double. Jordan Duck (4 IP, 2ER, 6H, 4BB), Hope Schultz (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 1K), and Madi Bentley (1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 1BB) shared the pitching duties for Woodland. Bella Carnes, Ansley Evans, Caroline Higdon, and Skylar Chappell had the Woodland hits. Northwest Whitfield improved their season mark to 20-1 with the win. Woodland (6-10, 3-6) plays at Hiram Tuesday (5 p.m.), at Lassiter Wednesday (5:55 p.m.), at Paulding County Thursday (5:55 p.m.), and at Villa Rica Friday (5:55 p.m.).

Carrollton broke open a 4-3 game with eight runs in the middle innings Monday night to defeat visiting Cass, 13-5, in a Region 7-AAAAA softball matchup. The host Lady Trojans posted four runs in the first inning, but Cass narrowed the lead to 4-3 in the top of the third. From that point, Carrollton reeled off three runs in the third inning, two in the fourth, and three more in the fifth inning to take control of the game. Carrollton out hit Cass fourteen to six. Olivia Fannin and Savannah Cook combined for six hits and six RBIs to lead the Lady Trojans offense. Fannin (6 IP, 5R, 4ER, 6H, 4BB, 14K) also collected the pitching win with a complete game effort. Sarah Moore had two hits including a double and one RBI for Cass. Taylor Gibson and Alexia Najarro (RBI) both added a double. Mae Mae McIntyre drove in two runs with one hit. Hallie Owens added one hit. Carrollton improved to 18-2 overall and 10-1 in Region 7-AAAAA. Cass (4-17, 0-9) hosts Villa Rica Tuesday at 5:55 p.m., plays at East Paulding Thursday, and hosts Paulding County on Friday.

VIC BEASLEY — Atlanta Falcons (3rd-year pro; OLB/DE; Clemson University; Adairsville HS). . . had one sack and one tackle assist Sunday night in the Falcons’ 34-23 victory over visiting Green Bay. The tackle also forced a fumble. Beasley left the game in the second half with a reported hamstring injury and on Monday afternoon NFL writer Marc Sessler reported the Falcons' linebacker will miss "about a month." Beasley was the NFL sack leader last season with 15.5 sacks. He has recorded one sack in each of the Falcons' first two games. Atlanta (2-0) plays at the Detroit Lions Sunday afternoon and has one bye week in the midst of Beasley's projected absence. Based on Sessler's report, Beasley could be ready to return for Atlanta's Week 6 game against the Dolphins. COLLEGE FOOTBALL QUADRE ALLEN — Tusculum College (Jr., DB, Woodland HS). . . saw playing time in the Pioneers’ 30-24 loss at Limestone last Saturday. Tusculum (1-2, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference) plays at UNC-Pembroke this Saturday night. DeANDRE APPLIN — Georgia State University (Jr., DB, Adairsville HS). . . had two tackles Saturday in the Panthers’ 56-0 loss at 5th-ranked Penn State. Georgia State (0-2) plays this Saturday night at UNC-Charlotte. CHRIS BLACKSTON — University of West Georgia (Soph. DB, Adairsville HS). . . saw playing time in the Wolves 17-7 loss last Saturday at Delta State. West Georgia (2-1, 0-1 Gulf South Conference) hosts Albany State Saturday afternoon. TERRIUS CALLAHAN — Austin Peay State University (R-Fr., WR, Cartersville HS). . . received playing time in the Governors’ 69-13 home blowout of Morehead State. APSU (1-2) plays at Murray State this Saturday night. MARCUS CHILDERS — Northern Illinois University (R-Fr., QB, Adairsville HS). . . ran for 10 yards on two carries in the Huskies 21-17 upset of Nebraska Saturday in Lincoln. NIU (2-1) is idle this week and travels to San Diego State Sepetember 30. XAVIOR COAXUM — LaGrange College (Fr., DB, Cartersville HS) (photo right). . . had six solo tackles and two assists last Saturday in the Panthers’ 39-30 win at Methodist College. LaGrange (1-2, 1-0 USA South Athletic Conferene) hosts Brevard College in a non-conference game Saturday. DALEN CURTIS — Brevard College (Fr., OL, Cartersville HS). . . started at center for the Tornados as their offense rolled up over 500 yards of total offense in a 63-7 road rout at Greensboro College last Saturday afternoon. Brevard (1-2) plays at LaGrange College this Saturday. TRASE FEZZIA — Ellsworth CC (Fr., DB, Cartersville HS). . . saw action in the Panthers’ 36-30 home loss last Saturday to Dodge City CC. Ellsworth (2-2) has the week off, but will host College of DuPage Saturday, September 30. T.L. FORD — UNC-Charlotte (Sr., WR, Cartersville HS). . . hauled in a pair of receptions last Saturday for 41 yards including a third quarter 29-yard touchdown, but the 49ers lost at home to North Carolina A&T 35-31. Charlotte (0-3) entertains Georgia State this Saturday night. MILLER FORRISTALL — University of Alabama (Soph., TE, Cartersville HS) (photo right). . . exited Alabama’s 41-23 victory Saturday over visiting Colorado State following a 12-yard reception for a first down at the CSU nine yard line. Forristall did not return. Head coach Nick Saban said Forristall received an MRI that confirmed a torn ACL that will end his 2017 season. GABE GRIDLEY — ASA-New York (R-Fr., Punter, Cartersville HS). . . punted five times in ASA New York’s 39-38 loss Sunday to Georgia Military College in Harrisonburg, VA. ASA-NY (2-1) plays Gattica CC this Saturday afternoon at Lincoln HS in Brooklyn. SEAN HOLTON — Davidson College (Fr., LB, Cartersville HS). . . saw action in the Wildcats’ 42-21 home win over Guilford College last Saturday night. Davidson (2-1) has this week open and will host Marist September 30. EMMANUEL JONES — Colorado State University (Fr., LB, Woodland HS). . . had a pair of tackle assists Saturday in the Rams’ 41-23 loss at top-ranked Alabama. CSU (2-2) is idle this week and travels to Hawai’i for their opening Mountain West Conference game September 30. RODNEY MITCHELL — Coastal Carolina University (Sr., OL, Cartersville HS). . . the starting left tackle for the Chanticleers held lead his team’s offense to 227 yards rushing and 327 total yards in a 30-23 loss at Alabama-Birmingham. Coastal Carolina (1-1) has a home game this Saturday night against Western Illinois. MARK QUATTLEBAUM — UNC-Charlotte (R-Jr., SL, Cartersville HS). . . made one reception for 3 yards in the 49ers’ 35-31 loss at home to North Carolina A&T last Saturday. UCCC (0-3) hosts Georgia State Saturday night. ISAIAH ROSS — Point University (Sr., LB, Woodland HS). . . made two solo tackles and added one tackle assist last Saturday in the Skyhawks’ 25-7 loss at 16th-ranked Georgetown College (KY). Point (1-2) plays at Charleston Southern University this Saturday night. TORRIAN SCRUTCHINS — Ellsworth CC (Fr., DB, Cartersville HS). . . made two tackles including one for loss and was credited with one quarterback hurry, but the Panthers loss to visiting Dodge City CC last Saturday 36-30. Ellsworth (2-2) is idle this week and hosts College of DuPage September 30. BRETT SHEDD — Shorter University (Soph., Long Snapper, Woodland HS). . . saw action in the Hawks’ 31-6 loss at Florida Tech. Shorter (0-3) hosts Gulf South Conference rival Delta State Saturday at Barron Stadium in Rome. DONAVAN TATE — University of Arizona (Fr., QB, Cartersville HS) (photo right). . . saw action in his second game and completed his first pass for 10 yards as the Wildcats blew out UTEP 63-16 last Saturday night at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. Arizone (2-1) opens Pac-12 Conference play Friday night at home against Utah. BRANDON WADE — Ellsworth CC (Fr., DL, Cartersville HS). . . saw action in last Saturday’s 36-30 home loss to Dodge City CC. Ellsworth (2-2) is idle this week and resumes action September 30 at home against College of DuPage. JAKE WALKER — Furman University (Fr., TE, Cartersville, Darlington HS). . . has seen action in all three games this season but made his first catch of his collegiate career Saturday for 10 yards in the Paladins’ 49-16 loss at NC State. Furman (0-3) travels to Hamilton, NY to face Colgate this Saturday afternoon.

Football is not the only Fall sport in full swing at the collegiate level. Bartow County has athletes competing in several other sports at the college level this time of year. With a tremendous accomplishment, former Cartersville volleyball standout Katie O’Connor became the Western Carolina University record holder this past weekend in matches in Birmingham. She is now the all-time WCU volleyball blocks assist leader. NOTE: The Athletes Beyond Bartow update for football this past weekend will be published in a separate article. VOLLEYBALL KATIE O’CONNOR — Western Carolina University (Sr., MB, Cartersville HS). . . O’Connor became the Western Carolina University volleyball program record holder for block assists in a career Friday in her team’s first match at the Fight Like Hal Memorial Invitational in Birmingham. The Lady Catamount middle blocker posted four block assists in WCU’s three-set win over New Orleans. She added a block and 13 kills in the victory. In a four-set loss to UAB Friday, O’Connor had five kills and one block assist. In a win Saturday over Mississippi Valley State, she added six kills at WCU (5-8) won in three-straight sets. The Catamounts play at East Tennessee State Tuesday night and at Chattanooga Friday night. PHOTO: O'Connor (right) with a block assist. GOLF MAGGIE ASHMORE — Augusta State University (Sr., Kingston resident, Heritage Golf Academy, SC) . . . was second for the Lady Jaguars with rounds of 75-71-71 and tied for 28th overall at the Jim West Challenge at The Fazio Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, TX September 11-12. The Lady Jags finished 9th in the 13-team field. The Duke women won the 54-hole event by 22 strokes over Oklahoma and 23 shots ahead of Texas Tech. ASU plays in the Lady Paladin Invitational hosted by Furman University this Friday through Sunday in Greenville, SC. LINDSEY BONNER — York College (PA) (Fr., Cartersville HS). . . shot rounds of 101-93 and placed third on her team and 14th overall at the four-team Bay Creek Invitational September 11-12 at Bay Creek Resork in Cape Charles, VA. The Lady Spartans finished second as a team behind Christopher Newport University. York placed fourth as a team this past weekend at the Penn State-Harrisburg Fall Invitational at Country Club of Harrisburg. Bonner shot a pair of 106 rounds to finish third on her roster and 19th overall in the five-team event. The hosts, PSU-Harrisburg won the tournament, followed by Gettysburg College and Eastern University. The Spartans play next in Lexington, VA at the Washington & Lee Invitational October 2-3. TENNIS PEYTON GOLLHOFER — Ball State University (Jr., Cartersville, GA, Laurel Springs Academy). . . playing at the University of Cincinnati Invitational, Gollhofer partnered with Isabelle Dohanics at 2nd-line doubles to defeat their Xavier opponents 6-3; paired with Sarah Swiderski in a Line 2 6-3 loss to their University of Illinois-Chicago opponents; and won her Line 3 singles match over Antonella Bramato of Cincinnati 6-2, 6-2 last Friday. In Saturday’s action, Gollhofer paired with Dohanics to win a Line 1 doubles match over Cincinnati 7-5 and lost her Line 2 singles match vs. Xavier’s Sophia Abelson 6-1, 7-5. Next for BSU is the ITA Regionals at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN October 12-16. SOCCER MADISON BENNETT — North Greenville University (Sophomore, D, Woodland HS) . . . played 25 minutes in a 3-0 loss last Tuesday at Limestone College and added 11 minutes of playing time in the Crusaders 1-0 home win over King University last Saturday. NGU (2-3-1, 2-1 Conference Carolinas) hosts Bob Jones University in a non-conference match Tuesday before traveling to Franklin Springs, GA to play conference foe Emmanuel College on Saturday. KATELYNN HARBEKE — Life University (Jr., MF, Cass HS) . . . took two shots, including one on goal last Wednesday in a 5-2 home loss to Bryan College (TN). Harbeke also took two shots and scored one goal Sunday afternoon as the Eagles blanked the Shaw University Bears 6-0. Life (3-3) plays at Middle Georgia State Friday in Macon and will host Faulkner University Monday night, September 25. KATIE LAWHORN — Life University (Fr., MF, Adairsville HS) . . . was a starting midfielder in a 5-2 home loss to Bryan College (TN) last Wednesday and Sunday’s 6-0 win over Shaw. She scored one goal on her only shot taken in the Sunday victory. Life (3-3) plays at Middle Georgia State Friday in Macon and will host Faulkner University Monday night, September 25. CODY WEST — Duquesne University (R-Sr., D, Cass HS). . . played all 90 minutes, took a pair of shots including one on goal as the Dukes defeated visiting Navy 2-1 Saturday in Pittsburgh. He did not participate in last Tuesday night’s 1-0 home loss to Wright State. Duquesne (2-4) plays at Temple Tuesday night and travels to Robert Morris next Sunday afternoon. CROSS COUNTRY AUBREE COLE — Jacksonville State University (Sophomore ,Cartersville HS). . . placed 35th individually in 20:04.7 and led her team at the Rhodes College 5000M Invitational this past Saturday in Memphis, TN. JSU finished 15th of 25 schools. The event, with 242 runners, was won by Arkansas State. Next for JSU is the Foothills Invitational September 30 in Oxford, AL. SPENCER FIELDS — Rhodes College (Junior, Kingston, GA, Darlington HS). . . won the 8000M Rhodes College Invitational this past Saturday at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, TN with a time of 25:43.7 and led the Lynx to a team championship as well. Division III Rhodes finished with 30 team points and was 57 points ahead of D-I Memphis. There were 20 teams and 222 individual runners in the invitational meet. Fields finished 3.3 seconds ahead of teammate Ryan Phillips to claim the individual title. The Lynx had four runners in the top seven and five in the top sixteen on their home course.

Hudson Swafford and Charles Howell III were the two representatives for Cartersville Country Club’s Scott Hamilton Golf Academy and/or Athletic Motion Golf heading into this past weekend’s PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoffs at the BMW Championship in Lake Forest, IL. Unfortunately, neither player advanced to the PGA Tour Championship this weekend at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, but both wrapped up outstanding seasons. Only the top 70 players on tour qualified for the BMW and the playoff field was narrowed to only the top 30 players for the event in Atlanta. Swafford tied for 40th at the BMW with a 7-under-par 277 finish. He fired rounds of 68-66-73-70 and finished 38th in the FedEx Cup standings. Howell was 3-over-par (68-76-69-74) and finished 40th in the standings with a tie for 67th at the BMW. (L-R) Hudson Swafford, Charles Howell III, Kyle Thompson On the WEB.com Tour, SHGA/AMG player Kyle Thompson tied for 68th at the Boise Open. Thompson is a top 25 player on that tour’s standings (currently 8th) which will earn his PGA Tour Card for next season. Two other SHGA/AMG players — Matt Atkins and Casey Wittenberg — missed the cut in Boise. Atkins is 20th on the WEB.com Tour standings with two events remaining, the DAP Championship in Beachwood, OH September 21-24 and the WEB.com Tour Championship September 28-October 1 in Atlantic Beach, FL. On the senior PGA Champions Tour, SHGA player Joe Durant did not play at this past weekend’s Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship in British Columbia, Canada. Durant is currently 15th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with four events remaining on the tour schedule prior to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, AZ November 10-12. Each week, Bartow Sports Zone tracks the professional golfers on tour affiliated with Cartersville Country Club's Scott Hamilton Golf Academy (ScottHamiltonGolf.com) and teaching professional Mike Granato (MikeGranatoGolf.com). Both Hamilton and Granato are affiliated professionals with Athletic Motion Golf. (https://athleticmotiongolf.com) Scott Hamilton is the long time Director of Golf at Cartersville Country Club and is teacher/advisor/instructor to many prominent golf professionals competing on the PGA Tour, PGA Champions Tour, WEB.com Tour, LPGA Tour, and more. Mike Granato is a local golf instructor who also works with many of Hamilton's clients.

Sophomore runner Carli Clymer completed the Woodland High School Run at the Rock 5K course in 19:45 Saturday morning to lead seven Lady Cats’ runners to finish in the top ten individually as Woodland dominated their home invitational. Angela Cochran finished second for Woodland and third overall in 20:02. She was followed by teammates McKenna Trapheagen (20:26), Baylee Evans (20:38), Lindsay Scifers (20:41) and Cheyenne Spinks (21:14) as the Lady Cats took six of the top seven spots. Only Gordon Lee’s Gracie O’Neal wedged in that group placing second in 19:57. Mackenzie Stephenson (22:26) placed tenth individually to round out the Lady Cats’ top seven. Freshman Avery Hull was 53rd (25:07), freshman Piercy Gierlak (25:43) was 67th, and Libby Towle (31:33) was 124th in the 24 school, 136-runner event. The Woodland girls top five runner total of only 19 points easily finished ahead of second place East Paulding (106), third place Cartersville (138), fourth place Heritage-Catoosa (147), and Region 7-AAAAA rival Rome (154). Cass finished sixteenth in the field with 425 points. The Lady Canes were led to their third place finish by four runners who stayed together in the pack. Vanna White (23:44), Alice Terry (23:47), Kayla Carpenter (23:52), and Alex Machado (23:54) placed 25th through 28th in the field. Zane Bryant (24:23) was 39th, Katie Tolbert (25:23) 63rd, and Krystinn Dabbs (26:32) finished 82nd for Cartersville. Olivia Flynn was the top finisher for Cass. The sophomore ran a 24:11 to place 35th. Hannah McDuffie (30:50), Kaylee Moore (31:28), McKinzie Tompkins (32:38) and Emma Pirkle (34:35) were the other scoring runners for the Lady Colonels. Adairsville did not field a complete team and did not have a team score, but individual runners Destiny Adams (30:22) and Makayla Thacker (30:34) finished 117th and 119th, respectively. The boys race was won by Wheeler High School with 45 points. Woodland was second with 113 points and Cartersville placed third with 155. Rome and Carrollton rounded out the top five teams with 165 and 171 points. Adairsville finished 20th and Cass did not field a team score. Alex Dyck (17:22), a junior at Wheeler, won the boys’ individual race ahead of Jasper Wilson (17:28, Gordon Lee) and Jason Blankenship (17:43, Cedartown). Woodland was led by sophomore Dylan Stermer who placed fifth in the field of 181 runners. Levi Brandenburg placed 12th in 18:22, Dawson McClure was 22nd in 18:45, Reece Mitchell finished 35th in 19:02, Kobe Cochran was 42nd in 19:17, Patrick Bollwerk was 55th in 19:41, and Noah Warren ran 20:28 to place 83rd for the Wildcats. Cartersville’s top individual was sophomore Max Florence. He ran 15th overall in 18:36. He was followed by Canes’ teammates Jacob Busek (25th, 14:48), Bill Archer (29th, 18:53), Parker Breedlove (44th, 19:26), Clay Ross (46th, 19:26), Matthew Wilson (60th, 19:46), and Jacob Smith (67th, 20:05). For Adairsville, Evan Crane ran 129th in 22:16. William Longmore (146th, 23:14), Zach Scott (151st, 23:30), Gavin Cissa (163rd, 24:32), Grayson Dailey (165th, 24:45), and Matt Ward (177th, 28:37) were the Tigers other scoring runners Cass sophomore Prem Patel (19:40) finished 53rd, Ethan Williams (20:12) was 74th, Craigory Chatman (22:59) finished 143rd, and Logan Van Stinj (23:18) was 148th. Each of the local teams will compete next Saturday (Sept. 23) in the Wingfoot Invitational hosted by the Atlanta Track Club at Sam Smith Park in Cartersville. The meet will double as the Bartow County Championship as well.

Cass softball finished 2-2 this weekend at the Chattanooga Score International Softball Invitational. The Lady Colonels defeated Sonoraville 4-3 and Murray County 6-1, but had losses to Ringgold 12-1 and Coahulla Creek 4-0. Taylor Gibson and Haley Owens each had a pitching win for Cass. Gibson (6 IP, 3ER, 8H, 0BB, 2K) picked up the victory against Sonoraville. Owens (5 IP, 1ER, 6H, 1BB, 1K) was the winner in the Murray County game. Sarah Fox was 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the tournament. Sarah Moore finished 3-for-10 with a double and one RBI. Keturah Hight was 2-for-3 and scored two runs. Macenzie Dougharty had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Alexia Najaroo also had two hits that included a double and scored two runs. Cass (4-16, 0-8) plays at Carrollton Monday and hosts Villa Rica Tuesday. Both games are 5:55 p.m. starts. LaGRANGE 3, CARTERSVILLE 1 LaGrange scored three times in the first inning and made it stand up for a 3-1 Region 5-AAAA win in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader with the Lady Canes. Lady Grangers’ pitcher Camden Smith scattered six hits and a walk over seven innings to outduel Cartersville pitcher Colbi Ballard. Smith struck out three. Ballard did not allow an earned run and limited LaGrange to only three hits. She fanned two and did not walk a batter. Paris Poston had three hits including a double for Cartersville. Jolea Prokop, Lauren McElhaney, and Ballard added one hit apiece. AnnaKate McElhaney had one RBI. LaGRANGE 6, CARTERSVILLE 5 In the second game of Saturday’s Region 5-AAAA doubleheader, LaGrange took a 5-0 lead, but Cartersville kept the game close with a four-run fifth inning. Both teams added a single run in the seventh inning for a 6-5 final. Camden Smith (7 IP, 5R, 1ER, 5H, 1BB, 1K) picked up her second pitching win of the day for LaGrange. Hannah Karcher was 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the visiting Grangers’ offense. Madison Dennis added two hits for LaGrange. Five different Lady Canes had one hit each. Paris Poston’s hit was a double. Cio Seigler (RBI), Colbi Ballard (RBI), Presley Edwards (RBI), and Jolea Prokop had the other Lady Canes’ hits. LaGrange improved to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in region play Cartersville (7-11, 5-6) will entertain Chapel Hill Tuesday in a 5:55 p.m. start. EAST PAULDING 4, WOODLAND 3 The Lady Cats led 1-0 early and 3-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday at East Paulding, but lost to the host Lady Raiders in walk-off fashion 4-3. Maggie O’Kelley — who was also the complete-game winning pitcher — drove in the Raiders’ go-ahead runs with a two-out double in the final inning. O’Kelley scattered seven hits and five walks to earn the pitching victory. She struck out eight. Sarah Baynard (6.2 IP, 4R, 2ER, 6H, 4BB, 3K) was the tough luck loser in the circle for the Lady Cats. Bella Carnes had two hits including a double and one RBI for Woodland. Morgan Bailey, Ansley Evans, Jordan Duck, Morgan Cooper, and Baynard added one hit each as the Lady Cats out hit East Paulding seven to six. East Paulding evened its season mark at 9-9 and 4-5 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (6-9, 3-6) hosts Northwest Whitfield in a non-region game Monday at 5:55 p.m. before traveling to Hiram Tuesday, Lassiter Wednesday, Paulding County Thursday, and Villa Rica on Friday. ADAIRSVILLE 5, HARALSON COUNTY 3 The Lady Tigers took a 4-0 lead in the first inning Thursday and held off the visiting Haralson County Lady Rebels, 5-3. Adairsville had four singles in the productive first inning, but also took advantage of an error and two hit batsmen. Loren Harris (2 IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB, 1K), Taylor Rhodes (4 IP, 2ER, 5H, 0BB, 2K), and Victoria O’Neal (1 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 3BB, 2K) all pitched for Adairsville. Rhodes picked up the win in the circle. O’Neal was credited with a save. Harris hit a solo home run for the Lady Tigers in the fifth inning. O’Neal had two hits. Natalie Burrow had two RBIs and a hit. Makenzie Gwin, Havyn Isaac, and Alexa Varner each contributed a hit. Sadye Johnson added one RBI. Adairsville (11-5, 4-5) hosts Calhoun Monday at 5:30 p.m. and will face Sonoraville at home on Tuesday in a 5 p.m. doubleheader.

Cartersville volleyball won three straight matches Saturday in the 2017 Bartow County Volleyball Championship to defend their title. The Lady Canes beat Cass 25-14, 25-23 in the championship match. “Cass brought the fight to us,” said Cartersville head coach Dutch Cothran. “We got some momentum and finished out the first set rather comfortably, but the second set was hard fought. We made some errors, but the Lady Colonels stepped up their game.” To reach the finals, Cartersville had wins over Adairsville 25-16, 25-18 and earlier over Cass 25-6, 25-8. Cass (15-11) made the championship round for a rematch with Cartersville with a pair of wins over Woodland. Cass defeated Woodland 25-7, 25-17 in their first match and 25-18, 25-6 in the semifinal. “The championship match was our most intense of the season,” said Cass coach Chelsa Morris. “Kyler Trouten did an outstanding job adjusting to the different offensive dilemmas throughout the day and Keegan Krause got into a good groove blocking and hitting. I thought the girls came together well as a team today and played the hardest they have played all season.” "Overall, I think we played pretty well today,” added Cothran. “We made some errors early in our first match, but we were able to overcome them.” Woodland finished third in the tournament with a victory over Adairsville. Caitie Helman of Cartersville was the tournament MVP. “Nedu Evans would have also been a great candidate for the award,” said Cothran. “She and Heilman were great today.” Cartersville (18-2, 4-0) hosts Sandy Creek and LaGrange Tuesday at the Storm Center beginning at 5 p.m. Like the Lady Canes, Sandy Creek is unbeaten this season in region play. Cass won the JV county tournament, defeating Cartersville in the finals.

All three Bartow County high school football teams in action Friday night lost to region opponents. Adairsville led 21-0 early at Ringgold, but lost 47-42. Woodland was blanked by visiting Villa Rica 36-0 and Cass fell at Hiram, 14-7. Cartersville was idle this week. Adairsville leads early, but drops region opener Kevin Pate, WBHF contributor The Adairsville Tigers got off to a quick start against the Ringgold Tigers Friday night but ultimately fell by a score of 47-42 in Ringgold. The Region 6-AAA cross-over game could hold weight at the end of the season for region playoff seeding, but was not a sub-region game for the local Tigers. Adairsville controlled the first quarter by scoring the game's first 21 points. Christian Steel took a fumble recovery 45 yards into the end zone for the game’s first score. One drive later, quarterback Mason Boswell connected with Cody Henderson for a 42-yard touchdown play. On the next drive, Boswell hooked up with Ethan Belcher for a 36-yard score that gave the visiting Tigers a 21-0 lead. Ringgold didn’t count itself out, however. Andre Tarver scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and Ty Jones scored on the next possession to cut the Adairsville lead to 21-14 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was then controlled by Ringgold. Cole Kibler tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Drake Starks to tie the game at 21 each. Ringgold then scored on its fourth consecutive drive to take a 27-21 lead after a missed PAT. Adairsville found a way to answer on the ensuing kickoff. Travon Branch returned the kick 97 yards for a touchdown that gave Adairsville a 28-27 lead. Ringgold did not go away, however. Kibler, who passed for more than 200 yards on the night, found Tarver for a 20-yard touchdown pass and then took the ball in himself on the next drive for a 40-28 Ringgold lead. Ringgold ended the first half on a 40-7 scoring run. Adairsville narrowed the lead to five points in the third quarter when Boswell rushed 41 yards for a score, but Ringgold answered on the next drive with a Jones 25-yard run for a touchdown. Adairsville added another score on a Boswell 12 yard run, but that was as close as they would get following a scoreless fourth quarter. Ringgold evened its season record at 2-2. Adairsville (2-2, 0-0) continues cross-over region play next week with a home game against Murray County at 7:30. Sub-region play for the Tigers begins October 6 against Calhoun. The Murray County game September 22 will be live on BartowSportsZone.com with pregame coverage starting at 6 p.m. Villa Rica Overpowers Woodland The Woodland Wildcats had their two-game winning streak snapped on Friday night with a 36-0 loss to Villa Rica. The Wildcats had trouble moving past the big defensive line of Villa Rica all night and had trouble containing Phillip Zachery who compiled over 100 rushing yards. Villa Rica scored on four of its five first-half possessions with three of those drives culminating with touchdown runs. The visiting Wildcats built a 22-0 lead in the first two quarters. Zachery, Elijah Fluker, and Mecose Todd each scored on touchdown runs for Villa Rica. Another first-half drive ended with a 25-yard field goal by Luke Darby. Woodland quarterback Brody Williams led the host Wildcats with 96 yards rushing and completed a 15 yard pass to Demarcus Williams. Williams added 55 yards rushing. Villa Rica improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (2-2, 1-1) travels to fourth-ranked Carrollton next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Red Zone failures plague Colonels at Hiram The Cass Colonels fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter Friday night at Region 7-AAAAA rival Hiram and could not overcome the early deficit in a 14-7 loss. Cass reached the red zone four times in the game and came up empty on each attempt. Their only score came in the fourth quarter on a long pass play. Hiram struck first with a 1-yard touchdown run by Marcel Murray to cap an opening 76-yard drive that took 10 plays. After stopping Cass on their first red zone attempt, the Hornets got the ball back on their own 25-yard line. One play later, Murray hit paydirt on a 75-yard gallop that gave Hiram a 14-0 lead. Cass reached the red zone again late in the second quarter, but failed to capitalize and went to the intermission trailing by two touchdowns. In the third quarter, the Colonels recovered a Hiram fumble at the Hornets 10 yard line but failed to score again. Cass finally got on the scoreboard with 6:09 remaining in the game. Rett Moore connected with Malik Grimes on a pass that Grimes tipped to himself and out ran the defense 69-yards to the end zone. Anthony Robledo added the PAT to narrow the Hiram lead to 14-7. The Colonels got the ball back one more time in the final minute at their own 3-yard line, but turned the ball over on an interception. Thomas Gilliam finished with 90 yards on 15 carries for Cass. Rett Moore ran 14 times for 62 yards and Grimes had the 69-yard touchdown catch. On defense, Tripp Breeden had six tackles, including two for loss. Evan Hinton added six tackles and one for loss. He also recovered a fumble. Hiram improved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Region 7-AAAAA. Cass (0-4, 0-2) travels to ninth-ranked Kell (1-3, 1-1) next Friday in Cobb County. (Cass stats courtesy Andrew Houghton, The Daily Tribune News.)

Cass volleyball defeated visiting Model Thursday night in straight sets, 25-15 and 25-19. "It was the first time we've won on Senior Night in at least five years," said Cass coach Chelsea Morris. "We are proud of our seniors. It was a nice tribute." The Lady Colonels honored seniors Keila Sanchez, Kyler Trouten, Lana White, Macy Wright, Delwyn Jones, Emily Tracy, and Brianna Bullock. Cass (13-9) travels to Cartersville Saturday morning for the Bartow County Championship Tournament. WOODLAND DROPS TWO MATCHES Woodland volleyball lost a pair of matches Thursday at Armuchee High School, falling to the host Indians and Cherokee County (AL). The match with Cherokee County went three sets, but the Lady Cats fell in straight sets to Armuchee. Woodland opens play in the Bartow County Championship Tournament Saturday morning at 9 a.m. against Cass.

ADAIRSVILLE 5, HARALSON COUNTY 3 The Lady Tigers improved to 10-6 overall and 4-5 in Region 6-AAA. Haralson County is now 5-10 overall and 2-7 in region play. HIRAM 6, CASS 3 (8 innings) The Lady Colonels rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh Thursday night at Stars Field, but lost in extra innings 6-3 to visiting Hiram. Hiram scored an unearned run in the third inning on an error and a RBI single by Kaylean Cancro. Kyleigh Haney hit a two-run homer for the Hornets in the sixth inning for their other two runs in regulation. Cass scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game and were close to walking off with a win. They had the bases loaded with no outs trailing 3-2, but managed only one more run in the frame. Hiram scored three times in the top of the eighth and Cass again had baserunners in the bottom of the inning, but could do no further damage. Hiram pitcher Madison Martin shutout the Colonels in seven of eight innings. Cass pitcher Haley Owens limited Hiram to only one earned run through the first seven innings. The visiting Lady Hornets improved to 5-10 overall and 4-6 in Region 7-AAAAA. Cass (2-14, 0-8) entertains Villa Rica Tuesday at 5:55 pm. SANDY CREEK 10, CARTERSVILLE 3 Cartersville softball held an early lead, but Sandy Creek scored ten unanswered runs to defeat the Lady Canes Thursday, 10-3. Cio Seigler doubled and Presley Edwards drove her home for the Canes’ 1-0 lead in the second inning. Paris Poston doubled home Kalli Scheff and Allie Jackson in the third inning for a 3-0 Lady Canes advantage. Scheff reached on a dropped third strike and Jackson singled in the inning. Lady Canes pitcher Colbi Ballard allowed only two hits through the first three and one-third innings, but four walks in the top of the fourth tied the game 3-3 and led Cartersville coach Shannon Dietrich to insert AnnaKate McElhaney as pitcher. After the pitching change, an infield error, a walk, and a two-run single generated a 6-3 lead for Sandy Creek. In the sixth inning, the Patriots took advantage of a walk, two Cartersville errors, an RBI single by Lily Metsker and a three-run homer by Erica Bowers to add four more runs to take a 10-3 lead. Six Lady Canes had one hit each. Poston (2 RBIs) and Seigler both had doubles. Edwards (RBI), McElhaney, Jackson, and Hope Short had the other Cartersville base hits. Ballard (3.1 IP, 5R, 4ER, 2H, 6BB, 4K) was tagged with the pitching loss. McElhaney (3.2 IP, 5R, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 1K) finished up the game in the circle. Sandy Creek improved to 6-8 overall and 1-6 in Region 5-AAAA. Cartersville (7-9, 5-4) hosts LaGrange in a region doubleheader Saturday at noon. KELL 3, WOODLAND 2 Visiting Kell scored twice in the top of the seventh inning Thursday at Woodland for a come-from-behind 3-2 Region 7-AAAAA win over the Lady Cats. Kell took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Woodland took a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Morgan Bailey and Caroline Higdon singled to open the inning for Woodland. Jordan Duck drove them both home with a double. Kell’s seventh inning runs came on a double, two walks, and a two-RBI single. Mia DeAngelis struck out 15 for the pitching win and added a pair of doubles offensively for the Longhorns. Aleisha Keheley and Valerie Artigues also had two hits for Kell. Duck and Bailey led Woodland’s offense with two hits each. Higdon and Ansley Evans had the other Lady Cats’ hits. Kell improved to 10-2 overall and 8-1 in Region 7-AAAAA. Woodland (6-8, 3-5) plays at East Paulding Saturday at 10 a.m. and hosts Northwest Whitfield Monday at 5:55 p.m.