The Cass boys placed third and the Cass girls were sixth Saturday at the 13-school Southeast Whitfield Invitational in Dalton. Cass junior sprinter, Terry Berdin, was selected boys overall running MVP of the meet. Berdin set a person best in his 100 meter dash with a winning time of 10.72. He also won the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.03. The Colonels’ 4x100M Relay team won with a finals time of 43.44. Ray Varnum won the 110 meter hurdles with a finals time of 15.09 and he won the long jump with a mark of 21 feet and 1 inch. Tavarus Varnum won the boys’ high jump by clearing 6 feet 0.25 inches. In the girls’ high jump, Cass junior Kyler Trouten set new school record by clearing 5 feet and 2 inches. Trouten also had a fifth place finish in the 300 meter hurdles. Other top finishes for Cass athletes: 2nd — Girls Shot Put — Channel Clemmons 3rd — Boys 100M — Laizon West 3rd — Boys 300M Hurdles — Nigel Whittington 3rd — Boys 200M — Laizon West 4th — Boys 300M Hurdles — Chris Moore 4th — Girls 100M — Sabrina Buggs 4th — Girls 100M Hurdles — Hillary McCarver 4th — Girls 4x100M Relay 4th — Boys 100M Hurdles — Nigel Whittington 4th — Girls Discus Throw — Channel Clemmons 5th — Girls 200M — Sabrina Buggs 6th — Girls 200M — Sidney Mays Cass travels to Calhoun High School Tuesday for a quad-meet with Coosa, Coahulla Creek, and Calhoun. The team will also participate in the Calhoun Invitational at Calhoun High School next Saturday.

The Adairsville Tigers’ baseball team lost Saturday at North Cobb 11-1 in five innings. The home-standing Warriors scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and led 4-1 after two frames. North Cobb then added three more runs in the third inning and four in the fifth inning to end the contest early by mercy, run-rule. Adairsville managed only two hits off Peyton Baker. He struck out eight and did not issue a walk. Sam Seaman had a hit for the Tigers and Taylor Whitley hit a solo home run in the second inning. The Warriors improved to 7-4 with their win. Adairsville (1-6) is scheduled to host Carrollton Monday at 5:55pm and will travel to county-rival Cass on Friday for a 5:55pm first pitch.

The Cass Colonels' baseball team split a pair of games Saturday in action hosted by Alexander High School in Douglas County. Cass fell to the host Alexander Cougars, but defeated the McIntosh Chiefs. ALEXANDER 10, CASS 7 Cass rallied to tie Alexander twice, but succumbed to four runs over the Cougars final two frames in a 10-7 loss Saturday afternoon in Douglasville. Alexander led 4-0 before Cass tied the game with a four-run second inning. The Cougars then led 6-4 before Cass tied the game again in the top of the fifth, 6-6. The Cougars scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth and another run in the sixth and held on for the three-run win. Alexander (5-3) pounded out 17 hits against Cass pitching compared to only four hits for the Colonels who took advantage of five Cougars’ errors to score five unearned runs. Bricen Spencer and Payton Grant split the pitching duties for Alexander with Grant picking up the win. The Cougars’ Justin Culpepper, Jason Hinchman, and Zach Smith combined for nine hits and eight RBIs. Austin Pruett (2 IP, 5ER, 8H, 1BB, 2K) suffered the pitching loss for Cass in relief of starter Evan Hinton (3 IP, 5ER, 9H, 1BB, 2K). Gavin Young (1 IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB) pitched a scoreless sxith frame for the Colonels. Owen Means (RBI), Bailey Campbell (RBI), Cody Johnson (double), and Zach Yancey had the Cass hits. Bryson Markley finished with two RBIs and stole a base. CASS 7, McINTOSH 4 In their second game of the day, Cass scored two runs in each of the first three innings Saturday on their way to a 7-4 win over McIntosh. The game was played at Alexander High School in Douglas County. McIntosh scored three runs in the fourth and added another in the fifth to cut the Cass lead down to 6-4, but the Cody Johnson came in to close down the Chiefs over the final two innings and the Colonels added an insurance run in the sixth inning. Zach Yancey (5 IP, 4R, 1ER, 3H, 3BB, 6K) started on the mound and picked up the pitching victory. Johnson (2 IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB) earned a save. Yancey also had a 3-for-4 performance at the plate that included a two-run homer in the third inning. Steven Spell had three hits and three RBIs for the Colonels. Clay Means (2 RBI), Tyler Hendon, and Nathan Smith had two hits each. Bailey Campbell added a hit and walked twice. Jake Collum had one hit — a double. McIntosh also lost to Alexander earlier in the day. The Chiefs record now stands at 5-4. Cass (7-4) plays at Kennesaw Mountain Tuesday and will host Adairsville Friday.

Fourth year pro and Cartersville native, Sam Howard, tossed another pair of shutout innings Saturday for the MLB Colorado Rockies in a Cactus League, spring training, 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Howard, a non-roster invitee to the major league Rockies spring training camp, made his second appearance in relief for Colorado this spring. He had a previous two inning outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Saturday, Howard pitched the 5th and 6th innings against the Mariners. In the fifth, he got a fly out from Tyler O’Neil, a line out to left field from Tyler Smith, and struck out Leonys Martin. In the sixth inning, Howard got Jean Segura to ground out to third. Robinson Cano popped up to the shortstop, and he struck out Nelson Cruz. In the two appearances combined this spring, the former Cartersville Hurricane has pitched four innings, allowed only one hit, no walks, and has struck out three. Opponents have a batting average against him of .077. Colorado is 5-4 in Cactus League games this spring. Seattle improved to 6-2. Howard spent the second half of the 2016 season with the Hartford Yard Goats in the Class AA Eastern League.

The Bartow County Recreation Department’s 10U boys basketball team won the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) state championship Saturday with a 31-21 victory over College Park. Bartow took a big lead early and never looked back. The locals led 11-0 after one quarter and held a 14-4 advantage at halftime. Bartow then pushed their lead to 24-6 through three quarters before winning by ten. Jayden Foster score 14 points for Bartow. Kaden Baldwin contributed six points. Tyrek Hames scored three points. Zach Postell, Joseph Boatman, Ja’kavien Harris, and Zantavian Brown added two points each. Bartow won four straight games in the state tournament, defeating Spalding (52-28), Fulton County (40-29), and Pooler 38-33 in the semifinals prior to their title game win.

The Bartow County Recreation Department’s 8U boys basketball team won its opening round game bracket game Saturday morning in the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association State Championship Tournament in College Park. Bartow defeated East Point 38-25 to move into the state semifinal round later in the day Saturday at 3:15pm. They will play DeKalb County at the Wyatt Rec Center Gym. DeKalb defeated Fulton County in the first round. In the win over East Point, Bartow led 10-5 after one quarter and 20-8 at halftime before expanding their advantage to 32-14 after three periods. Ja’kez Baldwin scored 14 points and Christian Teasley posted 11 points to top all Bartow scorers. Naiser Bennet chipped in with five points. Kyron McClendon scored four. Jeremy Dent, Jr. and Jaden Daise added two points each.

The Georgia Highlands College softball team swept a pair of conference games with Andrew College Friday at Stars Field in Cassville. Pitcher Micayla McCoy earned the win in Game One and Rebecca Meade earned a save as the Chargers won 8-3. Meade then tossed a complete game in the nightcap for a pitching win as GHC won 13-3 in five innings. Freshmen led the Chargers offensively as Mackenzy McFarland (photo right) launched her first collegiate home run deep over the left field wall and Shayla Smith got on base nearly every at-bat. Smith had a perfect 4-for-4 performance in Game Two. The Chargers are now 20-5 on the season and 4-2 conference. Georgia Highlands has another conference double-header Saturday with Abraham Baldwin College at Stars Field. Games are scheduled for 4pm and 6pm. Stars Field is located at 2200 Joe Frank Harris Parkway, Cartersville, 30121. Games are also streamed live on the Georgia Highlands College Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/GeorgiaHighlandsCollegeSoftball/.

The Georgia Highlands College baseball team scored four runs in the first two innings Friday night and added eight more runs in innings five through seven in a 12-3 win over Cuyahoga CC (OH). Brandon Bell homered in a 2-for-3 performance that included a walk, three runs scored, and three RBIs. Caleb McElwaney had three hits and a pair of RBIs. Bronco O’Brien and Nick Fink also had two hits. Colby Taylor (6.1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 8H, 2BB, 6K) started on the mound for the Chargers and was credited with the win. Tyler Sellers (2.2 IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 5K) entered in the seventh and closed out the win. GHC (9-8) plays Cuyahoga Saturday at 4pm at LakePoint. The Chargers then play Macomb CC (Mich.) at 7pm Saturday and at noon on Sunday.

The 2nd-ranked Class AAAA Cartersville baseball team rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday night at Richard Bell Field to give the Hurricanes a 6-5, come-from-behind win over Buford — the top-ranked team in Class AAAAA. Trailing 5-4 and down to their final out, Spencer Dickey walked to load the bases. After Preston Welchel was hit by a pitch to force in a run for a 5-5 tie, Anthony Seigler singled into right field for a walk-off RBI and win over the Wolves. Seigler (4.2 IP, 5R, 3ER, 5H, 3BB, 2HBP, 6K) started on the mound and pitched the Canes into the fifth inning. Mason Barnett (2.1 IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 3K) picked up the pitching win in relief. Noah Daniel went 2-for-3 with a triple and 3 RBIs for Cartersville’s offense. Brant Smith was 2-for-4. J.P. Martin (RBI), Seigler, Jacob Fowler, Dickey, Welchel, and Mayo had the other Cartersville hits as the Canes out hit Buford10-5. Wolves’ reliever Tyler Perkins was tagged with the pitching loss in relief of David Ramsey and starter Zach Fordham. Austin Turner had two hits for Buford. Garrison Price, Noah Ledford, and Akira Mitchell had the other hits for the Wolves. Buford slipped to 3-6 on the season with the loss. Cartersville (7-1) will play four games in three days next Thursday through Saturday at the 2017 Perfect Game High School Showdown at LakePoint in Emerson. The Canes open the tournament Thursday night at 6pm against James Clemens High School from Madison, Alabama. CASS 7, HERITAGE-CONYERS 0 Jake Collum tossed a 7-inning, complete game shutout Friday night as the Cass baseball team blanked visiting Heritage, 7-0. Collum allowed only two hits and four walks in his win. He struck out nine. The Colonels scored single runs in the first, fourth, and fifth innings before posting four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bailey Campbell hit his fourth homerun of the year and finished the night 2-for-4. Collum was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and one RBI. Cody Johnson (RBI) and Tyler Hendon (double) had two hits each. Nathan Smith and Clay Means also had hits for the Colonels. The loss dropped the Patriots to 5-7 on the season. Cass (6-3) plays two games at Alexander High School Saturday. The Colonels will play the host Cougars at 12noon and will face McIntosh at 3pm.

The Cass boys soccer team lost at Rome Friday night, 5-2. Anthony Robledo scored an unassisted goal with 20:23 remaining in the first half to tie the Wolves, 1-1. Rome had opened the scoring with a goal with 37:12 remaining in first half. The Wolves then took a 2-1 lead only 4:02 before the intermission. Rome took a 3-1 lead with 34:18 remaining in the game, but Cass threatened late with an unassisted goal by Jackson Laurent with only 8:57 remaining. The Wolves put the game away with a pair of successful penalty kicks with 5:16 and 1:43 remaining. Brandon Romero had 14 saves in goal for the Colonels. Rome evened its season record at 3-3 with the win. Cass (0-7) will host Paulding County Tuesday at 7:45pm. ROME GIRLS 4, CASS 2 Rome won its first game of the year with a 4-2 win over the visiting Lady Colonels. Rome is now 1-5 for the season. Cass (2-5) hosts Paulding county Tuesday at 5:45pm. HIRAM GIRLS 5, WOODLAND 2 The Lady Hornets picked up their first win of the year in six games. Woodland (0-5-1) plays at Kell Tuesday. HIRAM BOYS 3, WOODLAND 1 The Woodland boys soccer team lost 3-1 in a home match Friday with Region 7AAAAA opponent, Hiram. The Hornets improved to 2-4 on the year. Woodland (3-2-1) plays at Kell on Tuesday at 7:30pm.

The Bartow County Recreation Department’s 10U boys basketball team won its first game at the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) state tournament Friday night in Griffin. Playing in Pool A of the preliminary round, Bartow defeated host Spalding County, 52-28. Bartow led throughout. The locals led 17-9 after one quarter and 30-18 at halftime. Bartow then extended the lead to 41-24 after three quarters on their way to a 24-point victory. Zantavian Brown scored a team-high 12 points for Bartow. Joseph Brown scored nine; Jayden Foster and Jamarian Pullum totaled eight points each; Jonathan Gough and Kaden Baldwin chipped in four points each; Tyrek Hames scored three points; Kevin Henderson and Ja’Kavien Harris added two points each. BARTOW 40, FULTON COUNTY 29 Bartow also defeated Fulton County, 40-29 in a second, Pool A, preliminary game Friday night. Bartow led a close game at each quarter stop. The locals led Fulton County 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and 25-19 at halftime. Fulton narrowed the margin to 31-27 going into the final period, but Bartow pulled away for an 11-point win. Zantavian Brown led Bartow with 14 points. Jayden Foster followed with 10 points. Kaden Baldwin scored six; Jamarian Pullum and Joseph Boatman totaled four; Ja'Kavien Harris added two points. Bartow 10U will begin tournament bracket play Saturday at the Taylor Street Gym in Spalding County. The opening round begins at 10am. The semifinals will be at 1:45pm and 3pm. Bartow has a bye to the semifinals where they will play the Walton Central South/Pooler winner at 1:45pm. The state championship game will be Saturday night at 6pm.

The Adairsville Tigers pounded out 17 hits in the game and rallied for eight runs in the sixth inning Thursday night for a come-from-behind 12-10 win at Rome. For the Tigers, it was their first win of the year. Adairsville led 2-0 until Rome posted four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Tigers tied the game in the top of the fifth, but the Wolves scored again in the bottom of the inning to go back up 5-4. Trailing by a run, Adairsville scored eight runs in the top of the sixth to take a 12-5 lead and then held on for the win. Rome scored five runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth, but that is as close as they would get. Adairsville starting pitcher Caden Gibbs (5.2 IP, 7ER, 10H, 3BB, 1K) was the winner. Garrett Mishoe (0.0 IP, 3R, 1ER, 1H, 2BB) also pitched in the sixth inning and Sam Seaman (1.2 IP, 0R, 0H, 3BB, 3K) recorded the final five outs to earn a save. Halen Huskins (2 RBI) and Kyler Pelfrey (RBI) had three hits each for Adairsville. Seaman (2 RBI), Hunter Hice (RBI), Corey Nation, and Gibbs had two hits each. Justin Green (2 RBI), Mishoe (RBI), and Taylor Whitley had the other Tigers’ hits. Xavier Roberts had a three hit game for Rome. Chandler Bridges and Sevie Andrews had a pair of hits. Knox Kadum had a triple and finished with three RBIs. Rome is now 5-4 on the season. Adairsville (1-5) plays at North Cobb Saturday at 1pm and will host Carrollton Monday at 5:55pm.