Bartow County 12-and-under baseball all-stars needed both championship games Monday night, but captured the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) District 5 title at Westside Park in Whitfield County to advance to the state tournament July 11-15 at Effingham County. Bartow 12U defeated Rome (10-8) and Rockmart (13-4) to earn a spot in the championship round without a loss in the double-elimination tournament. After falling to Bartow 12U in the opening round, Rome won four straight elimination games to force an "if needed" championship game. Rome defeated Dalton (13-3), Whitfield County (4-1), and Rockmart (20-5) to earn a rematch with Bartow. In game one, Bartow held a 6-2 lead, but failed to maintain it and lost to Rome 9-6. That forced a second title game Monday with Bartow once again turning the tables. Bartow took a 3-1 lead after three innings, then plated six runs in the fourth to seal a 9-3 win and the district title. Bartow County 12U plays its first game at the double-elimination GRPA 12U Traditional State Tournament on Wednesday, July 12 at 12 noon. They play the winner of Tuesday night's game between Effingham County and Ware County. Bartow County 12U Roster: Reece Alexander, Hayden Blalock, Dawson Craig, Todd Gaddy, Julian Herndon, Cooper Brown, Landon O'Neal, Mark Perdue, Andrew Stiles, Erich Wilburn, Caleb Wiley, and Mason Williams. Bartow County 10-and-under #2 finished as GRPA District 5 runner-up Monday night following a 10-3 loss to Calhoun in the championship game. Bartow County #2 finished the tournament with a 3-2 record and both losses were to Calhoun. Bartow County #2 won three games to reach the finals. They had wins over Rockmart (7-6), Cartersville #1 (8-5), and Cartersville #2 (12-7). Calhoun advances to the double-elimination GRPA 10U State Tournament at Paulson Park in Savannah July 11-15. Calhoun plays the Clayton County/Camden County winner July 12 at 11am. Bartow County #2 Roster: Brayden Butler, Jake Clowers, Jett Johnson, Malachi Linley, Isaiah Livsey, Hunter Lovett, Conner Lujan, Joshua McBroom, Robert Mitchell, Kaiden Pirkle, Aiden Ritchie, Righley Worthington. ​​Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, Bartow County Recreation Department, and Cartersville Recreation Department baseball results are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. Game capsules are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville - 410 Cherokee Place.

Speculation that the high school football doubleheader scheduled for Weinman Stadium would be televised has turned to reality today with the release of ESPN’s seven-game schedule for the 2017 GEICO High School Football Kickoff. USA TODAY High School Sports reported today that the ESPN schedule will include the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes’ game with Bartram Trail (Fla.) at Weinman Stadium on Saturday, August 26 at 7:30pm. The game will be part of a televised doubleheader in Cartersville that opens at 3:30pm with Saraland (Ala.) playing Heard County (Ga.). The opener will be televised live on ESPNU. The Cartersville game will be live on ESPN2. The doubleheader is being billed as a quarterback showcase with Jack West for Saraland, Ohio State commit Emory Jones for Heard County, Auburn commit Joey Gatewood for Bartram Trail and Cartersville’s Trevor Lawrence who has committed to Clemson. Five of the six teams in the USA Today final Super 25 rankings are included in the weekend slate of games that will appear on ESPN’s family of networks. The games will also feature 29 players in the ESPN300, including the top two: Lawrence and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) defensive end Xavier Thomas. Other games in the powerhouse lineup include three-time defending Super 25 champion Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) hosting last year’s No. 4 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.); No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) against No. 6 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.); Tulsa Union (Okla.) vs. Broken Arrow (Okla.); IMG Academy (Fla.) vs. Chandler (Ariz.); and Wayne (Ohio) vs. Pine-Richland (Pa.). ESPN will announce its regular season schedule of games at a later date. ESPN’s GEICO OPENING WEEKEND SCHEDULE Friday, August 25 7 pm — ESPNU — St. John Bosco (CA) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) 9 pm — ESPN — DeMatha (MD) vs. Bishop Gorman (NV) Saturday, August 26 Noon — ESPN — Tulsa Union (OK) vs. Broken Arrow (OK) 3:30 pm — ESPNU — Saraland (AL) vs. Heard County (GA) 7:30 pm — ESPN2 — Bartram Trail (FL) vs. Cartersville (GA) 10:30 pm — ESPNU — IMG Academy (FL) vs. Chandler (AZ) Sunday, August 27 1:30 pm — ESPN — Wayne (OH) vs. Pine-Richland (PA)

Cartersville High School 5-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence is one of 19 players from the state of Georgia on the official roster at the 2017 edition of The Opening Finals at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. The invitation-only event begins June 28 and continues through July 3 and includes the Nike 7ON Championship, Final 5 Linemen Challenge, Elite 11 and Nike Football Rating National Championship competitions. Overall, the top 166 high school football players in the nation — as selected by Student Sports — will participate in four days of training, coaching, and competition. The Opening Finals includes the top, high-profile players at every position and receives eight hours of broadcast coverage on ESPNU. NFL stars Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, Ndamukong Suh, Marshawn Lynch, Todd Gurley, Richard Sherman, Darrelle Revis and more have worked with The Opening Finals participants in the past in drills and competitions. In three years as the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes’ quarterback, Lawrence (6-5, 210, Clemson commit) has averaged almost 16 yards per throw in a spread offense that has back-to-back Class AAAA state championships. The pro-style quarterback has 120 touchdowns, only 20 interceptions and has connected on 62 percent of his throws. Two other Georgia high school quarterbacks will be on The Opening Finals roster, but both are of a different style than Lawrence. Justin Fields of Harrison and Jarren Williams of Central Gwinnett are both highly sought-after dual-threat quarterbacks. Fields (6-3, 220) has more than two dozen offers from high-profile Division I programs around the nation. He originally committed to Penn State but has backed off that commitment for now. Florida, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, and Ole Miss are commonly reported as the top contenders for Fields. Williams (6-2, 205) is a University of Kentucky commit and will be on Team Savage Pro as a teammate of Cartersville’s Lawrence in Beaverton. At Central Gwinnett, Williams is coached by former Cass High School and Presbyterian College wide receiver Todd Wofford. Wofford also coached at Woodland High School. At other positions, offensive guard Jamaree Salyer (6-4, 342) has attracted a lot of attention. The Pace Academy 5-star rising senior has at least 28 high-profile offers with experts having him leaning toward Georgia or Clemson. Trey Hill (6-3, 345, Houston Co.) is another offensive guard that is currently undecided. The state of Georgia will be represented at each of the other positions at The Opening. See the complete roster of Georgia players below: Trevor Lawrence — QB — Cartersville Derrik Allen — DB — Lassiter Brenton Cox Jr. — DL — Stockbridge Kenneth Dicks III — DB — Lambert Justin Fields — QB — Harrison Trey Hill — OL — Houston County Jaycee Horn — DB — Alpharetta Kearis Jackson — WR — Peach County Kyler McMichael — DB — Greater Atlanta Christian Azeez Ojulari — DL — Marietta Chigoziem Okonkwo — TE — Hillgrove Owen Pappoe — LB — Grayson J.J. Peterson — LB — Colquitt County Jamaree Salyer — OL — Pace Academy Myles Sims — DB — Westlake Chris Smith — DB — Hapeville Charter Christian Turner — RB — Buford Josh Vann — WR — Tucker Jarren Williams — QB — Central Gwinnett A complete national roster for The Opening Finals is available HERE.

Bartow County Junior Little League won the Georgia District 1 championship Monday night by completing a two-game sweep of Cartersville Junior Little League at Perry Park. Bartow rallied for five runs in the sixth inning to edge Cartersville 5-4 after winning Sunday’s best-of-three series opener 7-5. With their District 1 title, Bartow County advances to the Georgia Junior Little League State Tournament in Athens that begins Saturday, July 22. Cartersville, behind a strong pitching performance by starter Ernie Cortez, held a 3-0 lead Monday night going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Charlie Hideaman drove in Cartersville’s first run with a single in the top of the third that scored Blake Sutton. Cartersville then took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Brady Jenkins doubled and later scored on a wild pitch. In the top of the sixth, Trevor Montgomery gave Cartersville a 3-0 lead when he walked, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Jenkins sac fly. Bartow’s decisive five-run bottom of the sixth came without benefit of a hit. Five walks, an error, and three passed balls staked Bartow and pitcher T.J. Grimes to a 5-3 lead. The two run edge would prove to be enough with Cartersville adding only one more run in the top of the seventh. Cartersville's Sutton doubled and moved up to third on a throw before scoring on a Jackson Cline groundout, but that would be as close as they would get. Grimes (2 IP, 2ER, 2H, 1BB, 3K) picked up the pitching win for Bartow County by closing out the final two frames in relief of starter Jayden Smith (5 IP, 2ER, 4H, 2BB, 4K). Smith worked the first five innings. Jenkins (0.1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 0H, 3BB) suffered the pitching loss for Cartersville in relief of Cortez (5 IP, 3R, 2ER, 2H, 5BB, 5K). Montgomery (0.2 IP, 0R, 0H) recorded the final two outs in the sixth. Jonah Cooper and Sutton led Cartersville at the plate with two hits including a double each. Jenkins (double, RBI) and Hideaman (RBI) had the other Cartersville base hits. Grimes (2 RBIs) and Patrick Shelley had the only Bartow hits. Athens Little League will host the Georgia Junior Little League State Tournament with games beginning Saturday, July 22. Bartow Junior Little League roster: Isaac Linley, Bryce Richards, Alex Freeman, Jayden Smith, Jordan Gani, Patrick Shelley, Colin Eaton, T.J. Grimes, Jimbo Gaines, Trevor Collum, Nick Bailey, and Jordan Jonathan. ​​​Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, and Bartow County and Cartersville Recreation youth softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. Game results are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville - 410 Cherokee Place.

Three different players affiliated with Cartersville Country Club's Scott Hamilton Golf Academy and Athletic Motion Golf secured top five finishes on separate tours this past weekend. Joe Durant fired three rounds in the 60s and climbed eleven spots on the Schwab Cup money list with a tie for third at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wisconsin. Durant is now 18th on the 2017 senior tour money list. Boo Weekley tied for fifth place at the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut won by Jordan Spieth. Weekley stayed near the top of the leaderboard all weekend with three rounds in the 60s, but slipped to a 72 on Sunday. On the WEB.com Tour, Kyle Thompson fired consecutive 64s Friday and Saturday and led after 54 holes. A 74 on Sunday left Thompson in a four-way playoff at 14-under-par. The playoff was won on the second hole by Adam Schenk. On the LPGA Tour, Brooke Pancake tied for 48th with a 5-under-par 54-hole total at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. PGA TOUR Travelers Championship - June 22-25 - Cromwell, CT Winner: Jordan Spieth (12-under, 63-69-66-70; won playoff with Daniel Berger) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf players: T5 — Boo Weekley — 9-under (66-68-65-72) T35 — Matt Every — 4-under (66-72-69-69) T66 — Hudson Swafford — 1-over (66-71-74-70) MC — Scott Stallings — 3-over (69-74) MC — Bobby Wyatt — 5-over (69-76) MC — Ben Crane — 7-over (72-75) Boo Weekley Next Event: Quicken Loans National — June 29-July 2 — TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm — Potomac, MD PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR American Family Insurance Championship - June 23-25 - Madison, WI Winner: Fred Couples (15-under, 67-68-66) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf players: T3 — Joe Durant — 12-under (69-68-67) ** Durant moved up to 18th on the Schwab Cup Money List Next Event: June 29-July 2 — U.S. Senior Open Championship — Salem CC — Peabody, MA Joe Durant WEB.COM TOUR Lincoln Land Charity Championship — June 22-25 — Springfield, IL Winner: Adam Schenk (14-under, 67-66-65-72; won 4-way playoff that included SHGA player Kyle Thompson) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf players: T2 — Kyle Thompson — 14-under (68-64-64-74)** T79 — Matt Atkins — 1-under (70-67-69-77) MC — Chris Wilson — 1-under (69-72) ** lost on second playoff hole when Schenk birdied No. 18. Eric Axley and William Kropp were also in playoff with Thompson and Schenk. Next Event: Nashville Open — June 29-July 2 — Nashville Golf & Athletic Club — Nashville, TN Kyle Thompson LPGA TOUR Walmart NW Arkansas Championship — June 23-25 — Rogers, Ark. Winner: So Yeon Ryu (18-under, 65-61-69) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy / Athletic Motion Golf player: T48 — Brooke Pancake — 5-under (72-67-69) Next Event: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship — June 29-July 2 — Olympia Fields CC — Olympia Fields, IL Brooke Pancake 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.

Cartersville Little League won both the A-Team and B-Team 12U District 1 championships Sunday evening by completing two-game sweeps of Bartow County Little League in both best-of-three series. Cartersville Little League A-Team won 10-8 Saturday and 25-1 Sunday to advance to the Little League State Tournament in Peachtree City that begins on Saturday, July 22. CARTERSVILLE 12U-A 10, BARTOW COUNTY 8 Cartersville Little League’s 12U A-Team held off a late charge by Bartow County Little League Saturday night to win the best-of-three District 1 series opener, 10-8. Cartersville took a five-run league in the top of the fifth inning and led 9-4, but Bartow pulled within a run in the bottom of the frame. Cartersville added an insurance run in the top of the sixth and Isaac Seigler (1 IP, 0R, 1BB, 1K) tossed a scoreless bottom of the inning to secure the two-run win. Trip Bradley (4.1 IP, 4ER, 6H, 2BB, 7K) picked up Saturday’s pitching win for Cartersville in relief of starter Harrison Childers (0.2 IP, 4ER, 4H, 1K). Chris Roper had two hits including a home run and two RBIs for Cartersville. Tyler Shelton also had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Hunter Kelly (double, RBI); Bradley (double, RBI); Martavius Cochran (triple, RBI); Collin Fletcher (triple); and Drake Carver had the other hits for Cartersville. Tyler Driggers had two hits including a home run and three RBIs for Bartow. Devon Pryor also had two hits and a home run with two RBIs. Brice Craig drove in a run with a double and a triple. Braden Powell and Cameron Constantine each contributed two hits while Ashton Phillips added one hit and one RBI. Powell (4 IP, 8ER, 7H, 2BB, 6K) suffered Saturday’s pitching loss for Bartow. Dawson Walters (0.2 IP, 1ER, 2H, 2K), Driggers (0.1 IP, 2ER, 0H, 2BB, 1K), and Phillips (1 IP, 0ER, 0H, 1BB, 1K) each pitched in relief for Bartow. CARTERSVILLE 12U-A 25, BARTOW COUNTY 1 Cartersville Little League 12U A-Team routed Bartow County Little League 25-1 Sunday night to complete a two-game series sweep and capture the District 1 championship. Cartersville pounded out 17 hits in their three offensive frames to secure the four-inning victory while Tyler Shelton (4 IP, 1R, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 9K) kept Bartow off the scoreboard except for a single run in the final inning. Jakiyon Porter (two hits, five RBIs), Shelton (two hits, three RBIs), and Martavius Cochran (three RBIs) all hit home runs Sunday for Cartersville. Paul Gamble (three hits, three RBIs), Drake Carver (two hits including a triple, two RBIs), Harrison Childers (two hits, one RBI), Kace Adams (one hit, two RBIs), Chris Roper (one hit, one RBI), Collin Fletcher (one hit), Trip Bradley (one hit), and Anderson McCrary (one hit) rounded out the Cartersville attack. Braden Powell, Tyler Driggers, and Ethan Reynolds had the only hits for Bartow County. —————————————————- Cartersville Little League 12U B-Team won the district title with a 13-3 win on Saturday and a 14-3 final score on Sunday. CARTERSVILLE 12U-B 13, BARTOW COUNTY 3 Avery Higgins (4 IP, 3ER, 4H, 4BB, 5K) tossed a four-inning complete game and Malachai Jeffries had five RBIs and a grand slam home run for Cartersville B-Team in Saturday’s win. Pearse Mullinax added a pair of hits and two RBIs and Colt Williams had two hits for Cartersville. Jack Chatman and Silas Freeman both added a hit and one RBI. Jacob Peace and Higgins both scored twice with three walks each. Brody Tidwell also scored twice on a pair of walks while Kaden Stephenson and Collin Genrich each scored a run and reached on a base on balls. Hayden Blalock had two hits including a double and one RBI Saturday for Bartow. Landon O’Neal added a double Andrew Stiles had the other Bartow hit. Erich Wilburn (1.1 IP, 5ER, 0H, 8BB, 2K), Todd Gaddy (0.2 IP, 3ER, 2H, 2BB), and Caleb Wiley (2 IP, 5ER, 5H, 3BB, 2K) each pitched Saturday for Bartow. CARTERSVILLE 12U-B 14, BARTOW COUNTY 3 Cartersville Little League 12U B-Team took a 5-1 lead with a five-run second inning and added runs in each of the succeeding innings on their way to a 14-3, five-inning victory to clinch a two-game sweep of Bartow County B-Team and win the District 1 title. Cartersville pounded out 21 hits, including a pair of home runs and eight total extra-base hits in their win. Meanwhile, Jack Chatman (3 IP, 1ER, 4H, 4BB, 2K) and Silas Freeman (2 IP, 2ER, 2H, 2BB, 3K) combined to allow only three runs and six hits while striking out five. Malachai Jeffries hit for the cycle and had two RBIs for Cartersville. Pearse Mullinax also had a four-hit game. Chatman had two hits including a home run and two RBIs. Jacob Peace had two RBIs with a pair of doubles. Brody Tidwell had two hits including a double and one RBI. Collin Genrich also had a two hit game. Nick Zirkelbach (double, RBI); Avery Higgins; Silas Freeman (RBI); Kaden Stephenson; and Davis Wilkey (RBI) contributed one hit apiece. Andrew Stiles and Hayden Blalock had two hits each for Bartow B-Team in Sunday’s loss. Dawson Craig had two RBIs with a double and Landon O’Neal added a double. Stiles (2 IP, 5ER, 6H) was tagged with the pitching loss. O’Neal (1 IP, 2ER, 6H, 1BB), Mason Williams (1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 1K), Craig (0.2 IP, 5ER, 5H, 1K), and Blalock (0.1 IP, 1ER, 2H, 2BB) each took the mound for Bartow. ​ Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, and Bartow County and Cartersville Recreation youth softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. Game results are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville - 410 Cherokee Place.

Bartow County Junior Little League (14U) took the first game of a best-of-three series 7-5 over Cartersville Junior Little League Sunday afternoon at Perry Park as the two local leagues play for the Georgia Little League District 1 championship and a berth in the Georgia Junior Little League state tournament. Trevor Collum (photo left) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and allowed only one earned run in three and one-third innings on the mound to help lead Bartow County. Collum (3.1 IP, 3R, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 4K) started on the mound and was relieved in the fourth inning with a 6-1 lead and the bases loaded. Middle reliever Nick Bailey allowed a two-run double, but fanned the next two batters to escape the inning with Bartow holding a 6-3 lead. Bailey (1.2 IP, 0R, 2H, 1BB, 5K) worked a scoreless fifth inning and gave way to Jordan Jonathan (2 IP, 2ER, 3H, 1BB, 2K) who allowed a pair of late runs before closing out the game. Charlie Hideaman (1 IP, 4ER, 1H, 4BB, 2K) started for Cartersville and was saddled with the pitching loss. Micah Earwood (6 IP, 3R, 2ER, 8H, 1BB, 2K) worked the final six innings on the mound. Hideaman (photo left) also led Cartersville at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance. Earwood finished with a double and two RBIs. Isaiah Davis and Jackson Norris both doubled and scored a run. Jessie Grogan tripled, walked, and scored twice. Blake Sutton added one hit and Tyler Putz drove in a run in the seventh with a sac fly. Bartow’s nine hits were all singles. They also swiped a dozen bases in the game on thirteen attempts while Cartersville stole eight on eleven tries. Collum scored twice for Bartow on a walk and three hits with one RBI. Bailey (photo right) drove in three runs and had one hit. Jordan Gani (RBI), Jordan Jonathan, Alex Freeman, Colin Eaton, and Patrick Shelley finished with one hit apiece. Bryce Richards scored twice and collected a base on balls. T.J. Grimes, Gani, and Shelley scored the other Bartow runs. Bartow will attempt to close out the best-of-three series Monday night at Perry Park at 7 pm. A win by Cartersville forces a third game on Tuesday. The series winner advances to the Georgia Junior Little League State Tournament that begins Saturday, July 22 in Athens. Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, and Bartow County and Cartersville Recreation youth softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. Game results are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville - 410 Cherokee Place.

Cartersville High School’s Anthony Seigler is one of 80 high school players selected for the national scouting showcase Tournament of Stars that begins Tuesday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, NC. The elite player event continues through Saturday, July 1. Seigler, a rising senior and Auburn University commit, is listed as a 5-11, 200-pound catcher, left-hand pitcher, and right-hand pitcher on the roster of selected players. His rare ability to pitch from either side and skill set to play all nine positions makes him unique among the nation’s elite talents. Photo credit: Tonsmeire Studio, Louis Tonsmeire According to the Baseball America website, the 80 players will be divided into four teams — Pride, Brave, United, and Free — for showcase games Tuesday through Thursday. Final events on Friday and Saturday include skills testing and measurements, a home run derby, plus bronze and gold medal games. The complete roster of players and schedule of events may be found here — http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2017-tournament-stars-rosters-a/#AWDGfZ8gZY8fCiII.97

Cartersville native Sam Howard picked up his first win with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes Friday night allowing four runs and seven hits over six innings in a 9-5 defeat of the El Paso Chihuahuas. Howard, a 24-year-old 4th-year pro in the Colorado Rockies organization, kept El Paso off the board for the first three innings, but the Chihuahuas sandwiched a pair of singles around back-to-back doubles to produce a three-run fourth inning. He then gave up a leadoff home run in the top of the sixth before retiring the side. His evening ended with the Isotopes leading 9-4. PHOTOS: Sam Howard and Connor Justus Howard struck out three and walked two of the 26 batters he faced. He is now 2-4 with a 3.26 ERA in a dozen starts in 2017 split between Albuquerque and Double-A Hartford. The former Cartersville Hurricanes and Georgia Southern Eagles' southpaw has worked just over 60 innings this season with 51 strikeouts and only 14 walks. Opponents are hitting .224 against him. Albuquerque (37-37) is currently in second place in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Southern Division trailing the Salt Lake Bees (LAA) by 3.5 games. Second-year pro Connor Justus was 3-for-9 Friday and Saturday night as the Advanced Class A Inland Empire 66er's improved to 3-0 to start the second half standings in the California League. Justus singled, doubled, walked, and scored a run batting in the five-spot of the order as the 66er's beat Lake Elsinore 8-4 Friday. The former Cartersville High School and Georgia Tech shortstop added another hit Saturday in a 6-5 win. He also drove in a run and scored a run in Thursday’s second-half opener with the Storm. The fresh start of the California League’s second-half schedule may have arrived at a good time for the 22-year-old Justus. After hitting .276 in his first season as a pro at both Rookie Level Orem, Utah and Class A Burlington, Iowa, the Los Angeles Angels’ 5th-round pick has slipped to a .183 batting average in 2017 at Inland Empire. He leads the 66er's in walks (40), however, to maintain a .332 on-base average and is second on the team in stolen bases and third in both doubles (11) and homers (5). Through 61 games and 61 starts at shortstop this season, Justus has kept his defensive numbers steady. He maintains a .946 fielding percentage in 240 total chances and has committed only 13 errors in just over 547 innings. The 66ers have turned 34 double plays. Inland Empire finished the California League first-half standings with a 30-40 mark and were fourth in the South Division.

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes completed a 5-0 sweep in morning pool-play at the USA Football 7-on-7 Regional Qualifier at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson Friday and earned the No. 2-seed. But the Canes lost their bracket play opener to Greater Atlanta Christian, 16-14, to end their streak and their run in the tournament. Cartersville had pool play wins over Ridgeland (23-18), Kennesaw Mountain (25-6), Trinity Christian School (27-3), Jefferson County (27-15) and North Paulding (28-20) during pool play. GAC was eliminated in the second round by eventual finalist North Cobb 13-12. North Cobb lost to Walton in the championship game, 25-10. A total of 18 varsity teams participated in the tournament. Cartersville’s ninth grade team also competed in a seven-team JV/9th Grade Division. The Canes’ ninth graders finished the day with a 3-3 mark and defeated Parkview 21-18 in the first round of bracket play before being edged by Walton JV 31-30 in the semifinals. Complete game results for the entire event are available online: http://7on7.usafootball.com/QualifierContainer/Detail?id=1742

Rain has forced changes in many of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association District 5 softball and baseball tournaments, but games did resume Friday night and will pick back up again on Monday at various locations across northwest Georgia. At the 12-and-under traditional baseball tournament in Whitfield County, Rome defeated Rockmart 20-5 to advance to the championship round Monday against Bartow County. The game is scheduled for Westside Park at 6:15pm. Bartow remains unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament. A second championship game would follow Monday night if needed. At the 10-and-under baseball tournament also at Westside Park, Cartersville #2 eliminated Bartow #1 7-3 in a rematch of two teams that played in the tournament’s first round. Bartow #1 won the first match-up between the two teams 13-5, but bowed out of the tournament Friday night with a 2-2 mark. Cartersville #2 (3-1) awaits the loser of the Calhoun/Bartow #2 game. Calhoun (2-0) plays Bartow #2 (2-0) with the winner advancing to a championship game Monday night at 8pm. In Calhoun the 8-and-under coach pitch baseball tournament is down to its final four teams. Calhoun and Gordon County 8s are both 2-0 and play one another Monday night at 6pm at Calhoun Park. Bartow County (3-1) and Rockmart (2-1) play an elimination game Monday at 6pm with the winner to face the Calhoun/Gordon loser. In GRPA District 5 softball action, the 12-and-under tournament is down to its final three teams at Hamilton Crossing Park. Rome (3-0) is in the finals awaiting the survivor of Whitfield County/Paulding Monday night. Whitfield and Paulding are both 2-1. That tournament resumes Monday evening. The 10-and-under machine pitch softball tournament concluded last Wednesday night at Heritage Park in Dalton, with Bartow County taking the title. Bartow will play in the GRPA state tournament that begins July 11 at Bill Reynolds Sports Complex in Bainbridge. The 10-and-under live pitch softball tournament continues Monday at Hamilton Crossing Park with four teams still alive for the District 5 title. Calhoun (1-1) and Murray County (2-1) face-off in an elimination game while Rome (2-0) and Summerville (1-0) play each other as the only remaining unbeaten teams in the double-elimination event. Finally at the 8-and-under coach pitch softball tournament in Calhoun, Whitfield County (2-0) plays Gordon County (2-0) Monday night in the winners bracket. Summerville (2-1) also plays Calhoun (3-1) in an elimination game. Bartow County was eliminated in two games, falling to Gordon County 23-6 and Rome 25-22. ​​Bartow County Little League, Cartersville Little League, and Bartow County and Cartersville Recreation youth softball and baseball updates are provided by the respective leagues and recreation departments. Game results are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports - Cartersville - 410 Cherokee Place.

Cartersville High School football is competing in the USA Football 7-on-7 Regional Qualifier at LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson Friday. Varsity teams are divided into two pools and are guaranteed five pool play games prior to Saturday's championship bracket. Championship begins in the afternoon with the tournament continuing through the finals at 5 pm and an awards ceremony to follow. The Cartersville 9th graders are in the JV / 9th grade pool. Cartersville’s varsity will compete in Pool B. Other participating schools include: Walton, Kell, Mountain View, South Forsyth, Cherokee, North Cobb, Greater Atlanta Christian, Blessed Trinity, Whitefield Academy, Collins Hill, Lassiter, Kennesaw Mountain, North Paulding, Trinity Christian, Ridgeland, Jefferson County, and Community Christian. Updates are available online: http://7on7.usafootball.com/QualifierContainer/Detail?id=1742