Mercer University golfer Hannah Mae Deems of Taylorsville continued her strong play at the 2017 Women’s Match Play Championship Friday on the Great Waters Golf Course at Reynold’s Plantation Lake Oconee in Eatonton (6,007-yards, par-72). Deems, who was low medalist with a 3-under-par 141 (71-70), 36-hole total on Wednesday and Thursday, entered Friday’s match play portion of the championship as the No. 1-seed. In the rising senior’s morning round, Deems defeated Meghan Nay of Canton 2&1 and dispatched ninth-seed Woo Wade of Dunwoody 5&4 in the quarterfinals. Nay is a rising redshirt sophomore at University of Louisville. Wade is a Marist High School 16-year-old sophomore. Against Nay, Deems survived a back-and-forth match and actually trailed by one hole through number seven, but rallied to win holes 12, 15, and 16 down the stretch for her opening win. Deem’s victory over Wade was a bit more dominant. She went 3-up through four holes and was 5-up through 12 and cruised into Saturday’s semifinals. In the semifinals Saturday morning, Deems will face 4th-seeded Tess Davenport of Buford who went 20 holes in both of her matches on Friday. The Mill Creek high schooler finished third in her state high school tournament only a couple of weeks ago. She defeated Canton’s Abigail Bolt in the Round of 16 and outlasted Elisa Yang of Norcross in the quarterfinals. Katy Harris (St. Simons Island, junior, Ole Miss) and Caroline Craig (Sautee Nacoochee, High School junior) will square off in the other semifinal Saturday morning. The championship match will be just after noon on Saturday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2017 Softball All-America teams, selected by the NAIA All-America committee. Senior Kali Pugh of Oklahoma City is named the NAIA Player of the Year and Freshman Kathleen Daniel of Brenau (Ga.) is honored as the NAIA Pitcher of the Year. The All-America teams are comprised of First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention selections. Former Woodland High School standout and 2017 shortstop for Reinhardt University, Taylor Braselton, was named an NAIA Second Team All-American. Braselton finished her senior season with a .457 batting average and started 58 of 59 games for the Lady Eagles. She had 96 hits in 210 official at-bats with nine doubles, three triples, and 33 RBIs. Her on-base percentage was .529 and she stole 35 bases in 37 attempts. Defensively, the RU middle infielder had a .912 fielding percentage in 274 chances and was part of 24 double plays. 2017 NAIA Softball All-America Teams First Team (sorted by position) Name -- School -- Pos. -- Yr. -- Hometown Kathleen Daniel -- Brenau (Ga.) P Fr. Locust Grove, Ga. Georgia Wall* -- Oklahoma City P So. Marlow, Okla. Abby Meador*^ -- Oklahoma City P Jr. Midwest City, Okla. Jaci Smith* -- Oklahoma City C So. Godley, Texas Kelsey Connolly -- Thomas (Ga.) C Jr. Lodi, Ca. Kali Pugh* -- Oklahoma City INF Sr. Vista, Calif. Erin Sharpe -- Bellevue (Neb.) INF So. Bosque Farms, N.M. Madison Ellis* -- Oklahoma City INF Sr. Yukon, Okla. Molly Carter -- Columbia (Mo.) INF So. Columbia, Mo. Julinn Torres* -- LSU Alexandria (La.) INF Sr. El Paso, Texas Niki Cook -- Georgia Gwinnett OF Jr. Buford, Ga. Carly Spalding^ -- Columbia (Mo.) OF Sr. Monroe City, Mo. Tara Moates^ -- Oregon Tech OF Jr. Klamath Falls, Ore. Aubri Hockenbury -- Houston-Victoria (Texas) OF Sr. Santa Fe, Texas Kaisey Carson* -- Indiana Wesleyan UTIL Sr. Avon, Ind. Dani Billings -- LSU Alexandria (La.) DP Jr. Nixa, Mo. Breena Smith -- Marian (Ind.) At-LP So. Indianapolis, Ind. Morghan Dieringer -- St. Francis (Ill.) At-LP Jr. New Lenox, Ill. Kelli Fisher -- Bellevue (Neb.) At-LP Sr. Yutan, Neb. Brashante Dareus -- Georgia Gwinnett ALINF Sr. Freeport, Bahamas Second Team (sorted by position) Name -- School -- Pos. -- Hometown Kelsey Conkey -- Rio Grande (Ohio) P So. Minford, Ohio Rachel Henks -- Morningside (Iowa) P Sr. Lee's Summit, Mo. Claudia Farrell*^ -- Grand View (Iowa) P Jr. Des Moines, Iowa Kelsey Gravens -- Midway (Ky.) C Jr. Mt. Washington, Ky. Destiny Turner^ -- College of Idaho C Sr. Boise, Idaho Madison Wright -- Simpson INF So. Carlisle, Iowa Taylor Braselton -- Reinhardt (Ga.) INF Sr. Euharlee, Ga. Jacqueline Roof* -- Campbellsville (Ky.) INF Jr. Paducah, Ky. Kyndle Wolfinger -- Siena Heights (Mich.) INF Sr. Jackson, Mich. Michaela Criner -- Rio Grande (Ohio) INF Fr. Lancaster, Ohio Michaela Shouldis -- Oklahoma Wesleyan OF Jr. Dayton, Ore. Kayla Prachyl -- Texas Wesleyan OF Jr. Ennis, Texas Samantha Stallbaumer -- Oklahoma City OF So. Haven, Kan. Megan Washam -- Evangel OF Sr. Corinth, Texas Taylor Winn* -- Lindenwood-Belleville UTIL Sr. Herrin, Ill. Theresa DeCosty -- Columbia (Mo.) DP Sr. St. Charles, Mo. Jessie Isham -- Corban (Ore.) At-LC So. Salem, Ore. Molli Morgan -- Ottawa (Kan.) At-LP Sr. Paola, Kan. Madison Byrd -- Tabor (Kan.) At-LP Fr. Stanton, Calif. Marci West -- LSU Alexandria (La.) At-LP Sr. Anacoco, La. Honorable Mention Name — School Marinna Shadley -- Ave Maria Olivia Brees -- Baker (Kan.) Sarah Crews -- Clarke Sabrina Boyd -- Corban (Ore.) Iris Rodriguez -- Corban (Ore.) Alexa Flores -- Davenport McKenzie Kenobbie -- Dickinson State Laykyn Lindsay -- Friends (Kan.) Devin Brown -- Grand View (Iowa) Kelsey Brodbeck -- Keiser (Fla.) Casey Bryan -- Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) Grace Lumpkin -- Marian (Ind.) Caylee Porter -- Martin Methodist (Tenn.) Kassidy Butler -- Michigan Dearborn Mallory Land -- Park (Mo.) Alexis Paulo-Meyers -- Peru State (Neb.) Tate Landmark -- Science & Arts (Okla.) Kelsey Randall -- Southern Oregon Chelsie Valentine -- Warner (Fla.) Rachel Hickman -- William Carey (Miss.) Player of the Year: Kali Pugh, Oklahoma City Pitcher of the Year: Kathleen Daniel, Brenau (Ga.) * 2016 All-American ^2015 All-American

A trio of former Cartersville High School baseball standouts begin an experience Friday that most young baseball players only get to dream about. For Elliott Anderson, Michael Goss, and JoJo Underwood, the “Road to Omaha” opens at two different NCAA D-I Baseball regionals. L-R: Elliott Anderson, Michael Goss, JoJo Underwood Auburn freshman Anderson is at the Tallahassee Regional with his Tigers teammates where they will face the University of Central Florida in an opening round game at 12 noon. Meanwhile, seniors Goss and Underwood are with their UNC-Greensboro teammates at the Clemson Regional where the Spartans will challenge the host Tigers at 7:00 pm. Each of the 16 regionals across the country include four teams in a double-elimination format. The winner of each regional advances to a Super Regional (best-of-three series) with those eight winners moving on to the College World Series in Omaha. The Tallahassee Regional includes host Florida State (39-20), UCF (40-20), Auburn (35-24), and Tennessee Tech (40-19). The Clemson Regional is comprised of the the top-seeded host Tigers (39-19), Vanderbilt (33-22-1), St. John’s (42-11), and UNCG (35-22). Anderson made 13 relief appearances for Auburn this season and worked 12.1 innings. He finished with a 6.57 ERA and a 1-0 record. He was also part of two shutouts and struck out nine. He faced 52 batters who hit for a .365 average against him. Auburn is in the postseason for their 20th regional appearance in program history. It is only the second Tigers' appearance, however, since 2010. The Tigers have now been sent to Tallahassee eight times for regional play where they have won the regional twice in their previous seven trips. Auburn was 1-2 at the site in 2015. Auburn was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation earlier this season and were challenging for a national seed, but a seven-game losing streak that included sweep losses to Alabama and LSU halted those aspirations. The Tigers have lost 10 of 13 games to close out the season and were one of the final four at-large teams to make the field of 64. Texas A&M, UCLA, and Michigan were the other last at-large teams included. At the peak of their season, Auburn was 19th in the RPI before falling to 45th in that ranking. The Tigers finished the season ranked 23rd by Baseball America and did win seven of their ten Southeastern Conference series. They won nine games against top-10 teams and were 3-1 against national seed Florida. Goss, Underwood, and the UNC-Greensboro team entered last week’s Southern Conference Tournament as the 3-seed, but won four of five games including two-of-three against Furman to garner the SoCon’s automatic berth into the NCAA field of 64. Goss is coming off a Southern Conference Tournament performance that earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. In the two-game finals, Goss was 5-for-9 with a home run and six RBIs. The Spartans' first baseman enters the Clemson Regional with a season .320 batting average, 8 homers, and 52 RBIs in 53 games with 194 at-bats. Underwood did not see action in the SoCon Tourney, but has been a key contributor all season with a .314 batting average, two homers, and nine RBIs in 51 at-bats across 25 games. He has seen action at both catcher and third base. The Spartans — a 4-seed — are making their first NCAA Regional appearance since 1997. Clemson enters the NCAA Tournament having dropped both of their games in the ACC Tournament. Vanderbilt out of the SEC is the second seed. The Commodores finished third in the SEC East at 15-13-1. St. Johns, a member of the Big East Conference, will be the three seed. The Red Storm were 42-11 this season and 13-2 in neutral site games. 2017 NCAA Baseball Tournament: Schedule, game times, TV channels Corvallis Regional (Oregon State) Oregon State vs. Holy Cross | 11 p.m. ET Friday | ESPNU Nebraska vs. Yale | 4 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Clemson Regional (Clemson) Clemson vs. UNC Greensboro | 7 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Vanderbilt vs. St. John’s | 12 p.m. Friday | SEC Network Long Beach Regional (Long Beach State) Long Beach State vs. San Diego State | 11 p.m. Friday | ESPN2 Texas vs. UCLA | 7 p.m. Friday | ESPN2 Stanford Regional (Stanford) Stanford vs. Sacramento State | Thursday | WatchESPN CSU Fullerton vs. BYU | Thursday | WatchESPN Lubbock Regional (Texas Tech) Texas Tech vs. Delaware | 3 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Arizona vs. Sam Houston State | 7 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Tallahassee Regional (Florida State) Florida State vs. Tennessee Tech | 6 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN UCF vs. Auburn | 12 p.m. Friday | ESPN2 Hattiesburg Regional (Southern Miss) Southern Miss vs. Illinois-Chicago | 2 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Mississippi State vs. South Alabama | 7 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Baton Rouge Regional (LSU) LSU vs. Texas Southern | 3:30 p.m. Friday | SEC Network SE Louisiana vs. Rice | 8 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Chapel Hill Regional (North Carolina) North Carolina vs. Davidson | 6 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Florida Gulf Coast vs. Michigan | 1 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Houston Regional (Houston) Houston vs. Iowa | 8 p.m. Friday | ESPNU Baylor vs. Texas A&M | 3 p.m. Friday | ESPN2 Lexington Regional (Kentucky) Kentucky vs. Ohio | 12 p.m. Friday | ESPNU Indiana vs. North Carolina State | 7 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Louisville Regional (Louisville) Louisville vs. Radford | 6 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Oklahoma vs. Xavier | 2 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Fort Worth Regional (TCU) TCU vs. Central Connecticut State | 9 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Virginia vs. Dallas Baptist | 4 p.m. Friday | ESPNU Fayetteville Regional (Arkansas) Arkansas vs. Oral Roberts | 8 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Missouri State vs. Oklahoma State | 3 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Winston-Salem Regional (Wake Forest) Wake Forest vs. UMBC | 7 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN West Virginia vs. Maryland | 2 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Gainesville Regional (Florida) Florida vs. Marist | 7 p.m. Friday | SEC Network South Florida vs. Bethune-Cookman | 1 p.m. Friday | WatchESPN Regionals: Thursday, June 1 through Monday, June 5. The regionals will be held at 16 campus sites in four-team, double-elimination tournaments. The 16 regional winners advance to the Super Regionals. One of the regionals will start Thursday, with the other 15 starting Friday. Super Regionals: Friday, June 9 through Monday, June 12. The eight campus sites will be home for games June 9-11 or June 10-12. Two teams will play a best-of-3 format, with winners advancing to the 2017 NCAA College World Series. College World Series: Saturday, June 17 through Tuesday, June 27 or Wednesday, June 28. Eight teams compete in two four-team, double-elimination tournaments. The winners of the two brackets will met in a best-of-3 championship series. The College World Series Finals will have games Monday, June 26 and Tuesday, June 27. If the first two games are split, a deciding game will be on Wednesday, June 28. 2017 NCAA Baseball Tournament: Top 8 seeds Top 8 National seeds: Oregon State North Carolina Florida LSU Texas Tech TCU Louisville Stanford

Adairsville High School will have two new basketball head coaches for the 2017-2018 school year. A long time coach of multiple sports at both Adairsville High School and Adairsville Middle School — Michael Roberson — takes over as the new head girls coach for the Lady Tigers. Roberson was most recently the middle school basketball coach and high school girls tennis coach at Adairsville. He takes over for the departing Lee Whitaker and will have posts Josie Summerville and Nakiyah Washington returning along with point guard Emily Collum. The Adairsville boys program will be guided by Alex Disbrow. Most recently at Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga for the past three seasons, Disbrow has also held head coaching positions in Tennessee at Kenwood High School and Hixson High School. The U.S. History teacher is married with three young children. He played at Dade County High = School and was also an assistant at Dade early in his career. Disbrow replaces Reggie Wilkes as the head coach at Adairsville and will have returning seniors Hunter Hice, Cody Henderson, and Ethan Belcher.

Hannah Mae Deems of Taylorsville, a junior golfer for Mercer University and former player at Darlington High School, has reached the Georgia State Golf Association women’s match play championship bracket that begins Friday at Reynolds Lake Oconee - Great Waters Golf Club. Deems is the top seed in the 16-player championship bracket — earning that spot with a 3-under-par 141, 36-hole total in qualifying. She is set to play 16th-seeded Meghan Nay of Canton (Univ. of Louisville) in the opening round Friday with an 8 am starting time. Behind Deems sits Payton Schanen of Johns Creek (Mercer Univ.) and Hannah Barger of Elberton (Charleston Southern University) who both finished stroke play at 1-under par. Barger claimed the number two seed and Schanen will be the three seed. Reigning Women's Match Play Champion, Louise Yu of Duluth (Vanderbilt), posted a 3-over par (76-71) and will be the number seven seed. The Championship continues through Saturday on the 6,007-yard par-72 layout in Eatonton.

Minor League baseball players Sam Howard and Connor Justus -- both from Cartersville -- continue to toil and groom their games with their respective MiLB franchises. Howard had a pair of starts for Hartford and Justus continues to perform at a high level in the middle of the Inland Empire defense. SAM HOWARD — Hartford Yard Goats - Colorado Rockies organization; Double-A Eastern League (4th yr. pro; LHP, Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS) Colorado Rockies prospect and Cartersville native Sam Howard did not receive a decision in his two most recent starts, but his team — the Hartford Yard Goats of the Double-A Eastern League picked up victories in both of those games. Howard, who made one start with Triple-A Albuquerque to begin the 2017 season, has now made seven starts for the Yard Goats. On May 21 Howard allowed an earned run on four hits in 4.1 innings against the Akron Rubber Ducks. He struck out two. This past Wednesday against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, he allowed an earned run on three hits and fanned two in a 4 inning start. Hartford defeated Richmond 2-1. For the season, the former Hurricanes and Georgia Southern southpaw, is 1-3 with a 1.73 ERA in 8 starts. He has one complete game shutout. He has accumulated 31 strikeouts and issued only 8 walks in 39 innings. Opponents have a .167 batting average against him. Hartford (25-26) is 8.5 games back of the Trenton Thunder (NYY) in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League. The Yard Goats are completing a series Thursday at home against Richmond (SF) before hosting New Hampshire (TOR) Friday through Sunday. CONNOR JUSTUS — Inland Empire 66ers - Los Angeles Angels organization - Class A Advanced - California League (2nd year pro; SS, Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS) In games May 21 through May 31 (8 games), Los Angeles Angels shortstop prospect Connor Justus saw his batting average slip just a few points. The stretch of games were against California League South Division leader Lancaster (COL) and Lake Elsino (SD). Justus was 6-for-31 with a double, triple, homer, three runs scored and two RBI in those games. He also coaxed five walks, stole a base, and was hit by a pitch. For the season, he currently carries a .200 batting average and a .346 on-base percentage. He has eight doubles, a triple, three home runs and 13 RBIs. Justus has a .961 fielding percentage in 180 total chances and has been part of 27 double plays. Inland Empire (25-28) is four games behind the Lancaster JetHawks (COL) in the South Division of the California League. The 66ers have home games with Modesto (SEA) Thursday through Saturday and host Visalia (ARI) Sunday through Tuesday.

The 2017 Little League Baseball District 1 and Georgia State Baseball tournament schedules started last week with the Cartersville 7/8-year old A Team sweeping Rockmart to win the district title. The wide range of age divisions and levels continue this weekend with the Little League Northwest Georgia Sectional Tournament for 7/8-year olds and 8/9-year olds. Cartersville Little League rosters for this weekend include: Cartersville LL 9-year-old Logan Buchanan, Will Camp, J.P. Gooch, Bear McWhorter, Asa Mitcham, Cohen Payne, Emery Peyton, Sydney Seigler, Harris Turner, Griffin Woodall, Kamdyn Woods Cartersville LL 7-8-year old Team A Westin Barfield, Robert Barker Jr., Carter Callan, Dallen Fuqua, Blake Genrich, Zachary Hall, Cole Henson, Garrett Hewlett, Dixon Lindsey, Payton Paul, Cash Priest, Dawson Ray Cartersville LL 7-8-year old Team B Drake Bailey, Jorian Bailey, Devon Beavers, Ramsey Dunn, Jahkhoree Gainor, Clint Hosea, Blake Lutjens, Jack Peters, Brant Rutledge, Braden Slocumb Bartow Sports Zone will share the other Cartersville and Bartow County tournament team rosters as they become available for release. The remainder of the upcoming Little League District 1 and Georgia State tournament schedule: Start Date - - - - - - - Tournament - - - - - - -- - Location/Host - - - - - District 1 Entries Sat. Jun 3 . . . . . LL NW Ga. Sectional 7/8 . . . Smyrna LL . . . . . . Cartersville, Rockmart Sat. Jun 3 . . . . . LL NW Ga. Sectional 8/9 . . . Cartersville LL . . . Cartersville, Rockmart Sat. Jun 17 . . . . 7/8 State Tournament Sat. Jun 17 . . . . 8/9 State Tournament Sat. Jun 24 . . . . 8-10 A-Team District 1 . . . . . . Rockmart LL . . . Cartersville, Bartow, Rockmart Sat. Jun 24 . . . . 8-10 B-Team District 1 . . . . . Rockmart LL . . . . Cartersville, Bartow, Rockmart Sat. Jun 24 . . . . 9-11 District 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cartersville, Bartow Co. Sat. Jun 24 . . . . 10-12 A-Team District 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cartersville, Bartow Co. Sat. Jun 24 . . . . 10-12 B-Team District 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cartersville, Bartow Co. Sat. Jun 24 . . . . Junior League District 1 . . . . Bartow Co. . . . . . . Cartersville, Bartow Co. Sat. July 8 . . . . . 8-10 State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chatham County. . . District 1 winner Sat. July 8 . . . . . 9-11 State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cartersville LL . . . Cartersville/Bartow winner Sat. July 8 . . . . . Intermediate (50/70) . . . . . . . Milford LL . . . . . . . Rockmart Sat. July 8 . . . . . .Senior League State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bartow Co. Sat. July 22 . . . . 10-12 A-Team State . . . . . . . . Peachtree City . . . District 1 winner Sat. July 22 . . . . Junior League State (13-14) . . Athens LL . . . . . . Cartersville/Bartow winner NOTE: Rockmart Intermediate advances to state with no district tournament Bartow County Senior League advances to state with no district tournament SOFTBALL: Bartow County Little League, Junior League, and Senior League advance to the state tournament without play at the district level. Sat. July 8 . . . . . . 8-9-10 Softball State . . . . . . . . . . . . Warner Robins Sat. July 8 . . . . . . 9-10-11 Softball State . . . . . . . . . . . Warner Robins Sat. July 8 . . . . . . 10-11-12 Softball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warner Robins Sat. July 8 . . . . . . Junior League Softball (13-14) . . . . Warner Robins Sat. July 8 . . . . . . Senior League Softball (13-16) . . . . Warner Robins Cartersville and Bartow County Little League information and results are provided to Bartow Sports Zone by the respective leagues and sponsored by Cartersville Play It Again Sports in Cherokee Place.

The Oklahoma Sooners with assistant coach and Cartersville native Jim Garren defeated the Oregon Ducks in the final match to win the 2017 NCAA men’s golf national championship Wednesday at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Sugar Grove, Illiniois. The title is the second all-time for the Sooners and their first since 1989. They held off Oregon 3.5 to 1.5. With the win in the finals, Oklahoma denied Oregon a chance at back-to-back championships. The Ducks were the 2016 national champions. The Sooners finished in second place behind Vanderbilt in the 72 hole stroke play segment of the championship last Friday through Monday to earn a spot in the eight-team match play portion. Oklahoma then made a tremendous back-nine charge in the quarterfinals Tuesday morning to overcome Baylor 3-2. That put the Sooners in the national semifinals where they defeated Illinois 3.5 - 1.5. In the finals against Oregon, Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead with two match points secured by Blaine Hale’s 4&3 win and Max McGreevy’s 3&2 win. Rylee Reinertson fell in his match and Grant Hirschman was all-square in his pairing when Brad Dalke secured his 2&1 win to clinch the deciding match for the national title. Dalke overcame Oregon’s Sulman Raza on the back nine and closed him out on the 17th green. Dalke almost clinched the title on the 16th hole, positioning himself for a six-foot putt to close out his match with Raza. But his putt went just wide and Raza was able to sink a clutch 10-footer to extend the match one more hole. Raza hit his tee shot into the waist-high rough on the 17th, and recovered for a bogey. That enabled Dalke to two-putt for bogey and lock down the final point needed to raise the NCAA trophy. Hale, McGreevy, Reinertson, and Dalke were all 2-1 in match play. Hirschman was 1-0 and was all-square in two matches when the Sooners secured wins. Back during stroke play, Hale tied for 11th overall to lead the Sooners with a 286 total (72-69-70-75). McGreevy tied for 16th at 287 (69-72-68-78). Hirschman (73-72-72-74 — 291), Dalke (70-70-79-77 — 296), and Reinertson (74-68-74-83 — 299) rounded out Oklahoma’s stroke play scoring. Karsten Creek Golf Club, the Oklahoma State home course in Stillwater, Oklahoma will host the 2018 Division I Championship. PHOTOS: (L-R) OU team Tuesday evening after reaching finals. Head coach Ryan Hybl. Assistant Coach Jim Garren. MATCH PLAY PAIRINGS / RESULTS Tuesday, May 30 Quarterfinal Round (1) Vanderbilt defeated (8) UNLV (5) Oregon defeated (4) Oklahoma State (3) Illinois defeated (6) USC (2) Oklahoma defeated (7) Baylor Tuesday, May 30 Semifinal Round (2) Oklahoma defeated (3) Illinois (5) Oregon defeated (1) Vanderbilt Wednesday, May 31 Championship Match (2) Oklahoma defeated (5) Oregon

The Oklahoma Sooners men’s golf team with assistant coach Jim Garren of Cartersville had to rally on the back nine to edge Baylor 3-2 Tuesday in the NCAA quarterfinals, but took care of business in style Tuesday afternoon to down Illinois 3-1 in the national semifinals. The two match play wins put Oklahoma in the NCAA national championship match Wednesday against defending national champion Oregon. The 2017 NCAA Golf Championships are being played on the 7,300-yard par-72 Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Sugar Grove, Illinois. PHOTO: Garren, Hirschman watch as Reinertson's tap-in send OU to the national championship match. The Sooners finished second in 72 holes of stroke play this past Friday through Monday to earn a spot in the match play portion of the championship. The top eight teams qualified for match play to determine the national championship. In the morning quarterinals Tuesday, OU fell behind 7th-seeded Baylor and at one point trailed in all five matches. The Sooners rallied on the homeward nine, however, with Riley Reinertson, Grant Hirschman, and Brad Dalke all winning 1-up for a team 3-2 victory. The Dalke win went to an extra hole where he won with a par. "Today was incredible," said an excited Garren. "We were down in every match on the back nine in the quarterfinals. Then some "Sooner Magic" kicked in. No words can describe that comeback. We got so many big time golf shots on the biggest stage. It was probably the most exciting day in Sooner golf history." In the afternoon semifinal match against Illinois, Oklahoma took control early with the first three Sooners on the course bringing home wins. OU’s only senior — Max McGreevy took his match 2&1 while sophomore Blaine Hill won 4&3. When junior Reinertson closed out his match 3&1, the Sooners were in the finals. Hirschman, a junior, was all square through hole 16 when Reinertson closed things out on the green in front of him. OU sophomore Dalke narrowly lost his semifinal match 1-up. "We had an hour break and the boys had to try and calm their bodies down," noted assistant coach Garren. "We got them fed and relaxed a bit before a quick warm up. Illinois had huge crowds and they were loud. It was a Ryder Cup type atmosphere. We told the guys one thing, if you make birdies they will shut up. We got off to a perfect start. Our first three guys got big leads and the crowd wasn't much of a factor until the end. Illinois made a nice run at us and their fans got super loud, but luckily we had some big leads." Those large early leads certainly helped the Sooners hold off the late charge by the Illini. "Our guys closed strong," said Garren. "Even Brad and Hirsch got back in it down the stretch. This afternoon we showed our strength as a golf team and just need to carry our momentum into the finals tomorrow." Oregon rallied Monday and moved up eight spots in the final round of stroke play just to qualify for match play. The Ducks then defeated Oklahoma State in a tight quarterfinal match Tuesday morning before edging top seed Vanderbilt in the semifinals. MATCH PLAY PAIRINGS / RESULTS Tuesday, May 30 Quarterfinal Round (1) Vanderbilt defeated (8) UNLV (5) Oregon defeated (4) Oklahoma State (3) Illinois defeated (6) USC (2) Oklahoma defeated (7) Baylor Tuesday, May 30 Semifinal Round (2) Oklahoma defeated (3) Illinois (5) Oregon defeated (1) Vanderbilt Wednesday, May 31 Championship Match (2) Oklahoma vs. (5) Oregon -- Golf Channel TV coverage (4-8 p.m. Live)

Final results for Scott Hamilton Golf Academy players for tour events ending last Sunday, May 28. On the senior PGA Champions Tour, Joe Durant (photo) finished 2-over-par and tied for 46th place. The senior major was won by Bernhard Langer at 18-under par. It was Langer's second win in a row. He held off a Sunday threat from Vijay Singh who finished one shot back. Scott Stallings and Chris Kirk were the only Scott Hamilton Golf Academy clients to make the cut this past weekend at the PGA Tour Dean & Deluca Invitational played at Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth, Texas. A former SHGA student, Kevin Kisner, picked up his second PGA Tour victory by finishing 10-under-par. He was one shot ahead of Jordan Spieth and Sean O’Hair. Stallings tied for 63rd and was 7-over-par. Kirk finished one shot further behind at 8-over-par. Four other SHGA players — Aaron Baddeley, Matt Every, Steven Bowditch, and Boo Weekly — each missed the 36-hole cut. SHGA player Brooke Pancake missed the cut on the LPGA Tour. She shot 5-over-par (74-75) at the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The WEB.com Tour did not have an event this past weekend. 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. RESULTS FOR WEEK ENDING SUNDAY, MAY 28 PGA TOUR Dean & Deluca Invitational Colonial Country Club - Ft. Worth, TX May 25-28 Winner: Kevin Kisner (-10) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy Players: T63 — Scott Stallings (+7) T67 — Chris Kirk (+8) (photo) MC — Aaron Baddeley MC — Matt Every MC — Steven Bowditch MC — Boo Weekley Next Event: June 1-4 — the Memorial Tournament — Murifield Village GC — Dublin, OH PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship Trump National Golf Club - Washington, DC Winner: Bernhard Langer (-18) Scott Hamilton Golf Academy player: T46 — Joe Durant (+2) Next: June 9-11 — Principal Charity Classic — Wakonda Club — Des Moines, IA WEB.COM TOUR BMW Charity Pro-Am by SYNNEX Corp. Thorblade Club — Greer, SC May 18-21 Winner: Stephan Jaeger ( -19 ) T17 — Kyle Thompson ( -11 — 65-70-68 ) (photo) CUT — Casey Wittenberg CUT — Matt Atkins Next Event: Rex Hospital Open — June 1-4 — TPC Wakefield Plantation — Raleigh, NC LPGA TOUR LPGA Volvik Championship Ann Arbor, MI May 25-28 Winner: Shanshan Feng (-19) Brooke Pancake missed the cut. (74-75) Next event: June 2-4 — ShopRite LPGA Classic — Galloway, NJ

The Oklahoma Sooners, with assistant coach Jim Garren of Cartersville, move into the match play portion of the NCAA DI Men’s Golf Championship as the No. 2-seed following Monday’s final stroke play round. The 7,300-yard par-72 Rich Harvest Farms course in Sugar Grove, Illinois played its toughest of the first four days on Monday. Vanderbilt finished the stroke play portion of the Championship at 13-under-par, but was 5-over-par on Monday. Only Oregon, who made the match play portion of the event as the No. 5-seed, matched Vanderbilt’s fourth round team score. Oklahoma is the No. 2-seed and was 1-under-par for the four days of stroke play. The Sooners shot 16-over-par on Monday. Blaine Hale led OU with a tie for 11th individually (72-69-70-75). Max McGreevy tied for 16th (69-72-68-78). Grant Hirschman finished tied for 32nd (73-72-72-74). Brad Dalke tied for 51st (70-70-79-77) and Rylee Reinertson tied for 65th (74-68-74-83). The remaining teams in match play that begins Tuesday morning are Illinois (3-seed, +2), Oklahoma State (4-seed, +3), Southern California (6-seed, +6), Baylor (7-seed, +7), and UNLV (8-seed, +7). Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss) won the 2017 individual championship Monday by finishing 11-under-par (66-71-69-71). Mason Overstreet (Arkansas) was runner-up at 7-under-par (70-68-72-71). MATCH PLAY PAIRINGS Quarterfinal Round (1) Vanderbilt vs (8) UNLV (4) Oklahoma State vs (5) Oregon (3) Illinois vs (6) USC (2) Oklahoma vs (7) Baylor 2017 Oklahoma Golf Team GOLF CHANNEL TV COVERAGE Tuesday, May 30 Quarterfinals, Team Match Play 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Live) Tuesday, May 30 Semifinals, Team Match Play 4-8 p.m. (Live) Wednesday, May 31 Team Match Play National Championship 4-8 p.m. (Live)

Tim Ayers, who has coached baseball and softball off-and-on at Cass High School for the past dozen years, has been hired as the new head coach for the Colonels’ baseball program. Ayers follows Adam Williams who resigned in late April following the Colonels’ 15-15 season. An assistant on Williams’ staff as the primary hitting coach, Ayers was selected by principal Mike Nelson and athletic director Dr. Nicky Moore over a large number of applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. “I’m excited for the opportunity,” Ayers said. “We will continue many of the good things coach Williams started but I want to implement some other things that I think will help the program become even better.” Ayers, a special education teacher at Cass High School, played four years of college baseball as both a catcher and a first baseman. He started his collegiate career at Glen Oaks CC in Michigan and then played at Georgetown College in Kentucky. He has previous coaching experience with Division I IUPUI and has served as a hitting instructor with East Cobb Baseball and 6-4-3 Baseball Academy. Other than summer ball, this will be Ayers’ first head coaching stint. Ayers’ plans to keep the existing coaching staff at Cass intact. Matt Thompson, Jamey Gaddy, and head football coach Bobby Hughes will remain on the staff plus Ayers expects to add one more coach. “We are lifting four days a week with the football team this summer,” noted Ayers. “We will spend plenty of time in the cage and do some field work with a heavy focus on fundamentals.” Cass will return several players in 2018 that are involved with summer travel programs. Steven Spell is playing with Titans Baseball. Nathan Smith, Bryson Markley, and Logan Nelson are playing with Nelson Baseball School. Gavin Young is part of the BDB Coyotes, Matt Shook is playing with 9 Stars Saints, and six players are playing with the North Georgia Snipers including high school returner Blaine Ingram. The Colonels lost three key seniors to college programs at the end of this past season, including top pitcher Jake Collum and leading hitter Bailey Campbell. Ayers will begin working immediately to find those replacements this off-season. “We have to find and develop some pitching,” Ayers continued. “Evan Hinton is the only returning player that pitched in region play. We have to get our kids to compete all the time. My expectations are that we be known as a blue collar, hard-nosed team. We have to get tougher.”