This edition of our 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' reports includes updates on local athletes contributing to their collegiate programs this spring in track and field, tennis, and softball. Games, matches, events included are for the week ending April 17. Bartow Sports Zone maintains a roster of local athletes competing currently on college or professional rosters. See the 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' page on this web site for more. TRACK AND FIELD ROGER HERRERA — Reinhardt University (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . ran 26th in the 1500 meter run and 28th in the 3000 meter run at the Mountain Laurel Invitational hosted by Sewanee (TN) April 15. The Eagles compete at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships April 22 in Sevierville, Tennessee. SAMANTHA PATTERSON — Jacksonville State (Soph, Woodland HS) … pole vaulter, placed 11th (3.50m) of 25 competitors and the Lady Gamecocks finished fifth of 14 teams at the South Alabama Invitaitonal April 14. JSU competes next at the Auburn Invitational April 22-23. TENNIS PEYTON GOLHOFFER — Ball State (Fr., Laurel Springs Academy, Cartersville resident) . . . playing at the No. 1 singles line, dropped her match 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (10-3), but teamed with partner Audrey Berger for a 7-6 (8-6) doubles win at the No. 1 line as the Cardinals defeated Bowling Green 6-1. The Ball State women continue to dominate the Mid-America conference with a 6-1 record. The Cardinals are 19-3 overall and will host Toledo April 23 to wrap up the MAC regular season. SOMALIA LEWIS — Emmanuel College (Fr., Woodland HS) . . . won her singles match 8-1 in a 9-0 team win at home over Johnson University (TN) April 16. The Lady Lions also defeated Converse College (SC) 6-3 on April 17. Emmanuel plays at Belmont Abbey April 22. SOFTBALL BETHANY BALLARD — Armstrong State University (Jr., Cass HS) . . . made a pinch hitting appearance April 16 in a 9-1 home win over Georgia Southwestern. Ballard has a .333 batting average in 11 appearances and 12 at bats for the Pirates. She has a pair of doubles and four RBI. Armstrong State (35-11 overall, 19-5 Peach Belt Conference) is the No. 2 seed in the PBC Tournament April 22-23 at Georgia College. The Lady Pirates play USC-Aiken in the opening round. TAYLOR BRASELTON — Reinhardt University (Jr., Woodland HS) . . . went 2-for-8 including a double, a walk, and two runs scored in a doubleheader sweep at Milligan (TN) April 15. Braselton has a .339 batting average with eight RBI and five stolen bases in 32 starts for the Eagles. Reinhardt (37-10 overall, 18-2 Appalachian Athletic Conference) has won 13 straight games, the AAC title for the seventh straight year. The Eagles are one of 10 schools selected to host a four-team opening round bracket in the NAIA national tournament May 16-18. BRIDGETT HAMPTON -- Walters State CC (Fr., Woodland HS) . . . went 5-for-10, scored two runs, and drove in six runs as the Lady Senators won three of four at home against Chattanooga State CC. Hampton has a .349 batting average in 19 games with three homers and 16 RBI. The Lady Senators (32-5 overall, 22-2 Tennessee Community College Athletic Association) play at Spartanburg Methodist April 20 and entertain Jackson State CC in a four-game series April 22-23. SYDNEY HODORFF — LaGrange College (Fr., Woodland HS) . . . was 0-for-3 in a pair of losses to Birmingham Southern. Hodorff has a .291 batting average and two homers in 30 games with nine runs scored and five RBI. LaGrange (13-20 overall, 6-14 USA South Athletic Conference) hosts Emory April 23. MALLORY JACKSON — Georgia Highlands CC (Fr., Woodland HS) . . . went 1-for-6 with a double and two walks, scored one run, and drove in one run during a doubleheader sweep of Andrew College April 16. Jackson has a .214 batting average with four homers and 23 RBI through 49 games. Georgia Highlands (24-30 overall, 7-7 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association) hosts a doubleheader with Chattanooga State CC April 25 and opens post-season play at the Region XVII Tournament (site TBA) April 28-30. ASHLEY JORDAN — Georgia Highlands CC (Soph, Woodland HS) . . . went 3-for-7, scored two runs, drove in a run, and stole a base in a doubleheader sweep of Andrew College April 16. Jordan has a .304 batting average with 15 RBI, 21 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases through 52 games. Georgia Highlands (24-30 overall, 7-7 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association) hosts a doubleheader with Chattanooga State CC April 25 and opens post-season play at the Region XVII Tournament (site TBA) April 28-30. TAYLOR WEEKS — Reinhardt University (Jr., Adairsville HS) . . . went 2-for-9 with three RBI in a doubleheader sweep at Milligan (TN). Weeks has a .423 batting average with 34 RBI and 34 runs scored. Reinhardt (37-10 overall, 18-2 Appalachian Athletic Conference) has won 13 straight games, the AAC title for the seventh straight year. The Eagles are one of 10 schools selected to host a four-team opening round bracket in the NAIA national tournament May 16-18. RANDI WIMPY — Reinhardt University (Sr., Woodland HS) . . .went 1-for-6 with two walks, scored three runs, and drove in one in a doubleheader sweep at Milligan (TN). Reinhardt (37-10 overall, 18-2 Appalachian Athletic Conference) has won 13 straight games, the AAC title for the seventh straight year. The Eagles are one of 10 schools selected to host a four-team opening round bracket in the NAIA national tournament May 16-18. LAUREN WOMACK — Georgia Highlands CC (Fr., Cass HS) . . . went 2-for-5, scored two runs, and added two RBI in a home doubleheader sweep of Andrew College April 16. Womack has a .304 batting average with 14 RBI, 24 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases through 52 games. The Chargers (24-30 overall, 7-7 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association) host a doubleheader with Chattanooga State CC April 25 and open post-season play at the Region XVII Tournament (site TBA) April 28-30. Did we miss someone? Please let us know. Use the contact page of this site to provide information we may have missed or email us: bartowsportszone@comcast.net

The Georgia High School Association approved the return of Spring football games beginning in 2017. Spring football practice will continue to be limited to ten days, but a Spring game against another school will be permitted on the tenth day. For the full story, please see Todd Holcomb's story at ajc.com --> LINK

Cauy Williams’ RBI single in the top of the ninth proved to be the difference Monday night as Woodland won at North Springs, 4-3. The game winning hit supported a nine-inning, complete game performance by Woodland pitcher, Mitchell Taylor. Taylor allowed only two earned runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out six in earning the win. The two teams battled into extra innings tied 3-3. The Wildcats held a 3-2 lead through four innings, but the Spartans knotted the game with a run in the fifth. Three scoreless innings followed, until the Woodland winning run in the ninth. The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Williams walked and Jordan Lee entered as a courtesy runner. Lee later scored on an RBI single by Kolby Stansel. North Springs (6-18) scored twice in the bottom of the second to take a 2-1 lead, but the Cats responded with two runs in the top of the third inning. Jacob Frye and Hunter Reaid walked to open Woodland’s third frame. Brandon Allen was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Williams drove in one run with an RBI single to left field and the second run of the inning was forced home when Noah Ludy was hit by a pitch. Allen finished with three hits for the Wildcats including a double. Williams was 2-for-3 with two walks and two RBI. Trent Harrison had two hits including a double. Frye, Reaid, and Stansel (RBI) had the other Woodland hits. Ty Milliner had two hits for North Springs. Beau Foster and Noah Lampert had one hit and one RBI each for the Spartans. Woodland improved to 5-18 with the victory. The middle game of this three-game series is Wednesday at Woodland. The two teams will wrap up their 2016 seasons Friday, back at North Springs. CASS 3, NORTH ATLANTA 2 (10 innings) It took ten innings Monday night in Atlanta, but the Colonels came away with a one-run victory at North Atlanta High School, 3-2. Casey Patterson delivered the go-ahead RBI double in the tenth inning scoring Bailey Campbell. A scoreless stalemate was broken by Cass in the top of the ninth inning, but the Warriors responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to send the game to the tenth. The Colonels scored twice in the tenth to take a 3-1 lead, but North Atlanta was not done. A one-out, RBI single made the score 3-2 with one out, but the game ended on a groundout to first and double play tag at home plate to end the Warriors’ threat and secure the win. Jordan Reed picked up the pitching win by working the ninth and tenth innings on the mound for Cass. Austin Pruett tossed three shutout innings to start the game for the Colonels and Cody Johnson allowed only one, unearned run on four hits and three walks in five innings of middle relief. Jake Collum and Patterson had two hits and one RBI each for Cass. Both Patterson hits were doubles. Reed and Campbell had the other Colonels’ hits. Nathan Smith drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. Cass (6-18) hosts North Atlanta (3-21) in the second game of the series Wednesday at 5:55pm and the season finale’ for both teams is set for Friday at North Atlanta. MOUNT PARAN 7, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 0 Excel was shutout 7-0 Monday night by Region 6-A rival, Mount Paran Christian, at LakePoint in Emerson. Mount Paran improved to 16-7 overall and 12-4 in region play. ECA falls to 1-17.

The Woodland boys soccer team lost at Forsyth Central Monday night, 10-0. The host Bulldogs scored in the first two minutes and again in the 12th minute on their way to a 6-0 halftime lead. The four second half goals came in the 44th, 53rd, and 54th minutes with the final goal occurring with just over 10 minutes remaining. Woodland plays Tuesday night at Coosa.

The Cartersville High School girls and boys track and field teams competed Monday at the opening day of the Region 7-AAAA Track and Field Championships at Southeast Whitfield High School in Dalton. The Cartersville girls are second after three events scored on Monday behind Heritage-Catoosa. The Cartersville boys are in fifth place through four events. The meet continues on Tuesday at Southeast. Here are the Monday top results for the Hurricanes. Top 8 in preliminaries qualified for the finals on Tuesday. If the event was a Monday final, it is indicated below. The top four in each final qualifies for the Class AAAA state sectional meet. Girls 100M Prelim 1st — Destiny Mitchell, 13.01 6th — Demaya Bryan, 13.43 Girls 200M Prelim 6th — Grace Cochran, 29.14 7th — Demaya Bryan, 29.41 Girls 400M Prelim 3rd — Grace Cochran, 1:03.47 Girls 800M Prelim 2nd — Bree Cole, 2:31.55 Girls 1600M Finals 2nd — Bree Cole, 5:37.11 8th — Kayla Carpenter, 6:05.61 Girls 300M Hurdles Prelim 8th — Briyana Greyling, 57.11 Girls 4x100M Relay Prelim 2nd — Cartersville ‘A’ Destiny Mitchell, Grace Cochran, Anna Cooney, Demaya Bryan Girls Long Jump Finals 3rd — Destiny Mitchell, 15-02.50 Girls Discus Throw Finals 4th — London Shaw, 87-02.50 5th — Madison Heath, 84-11 Boys 100M Prelim 7th — Malcolm Cooley, 11.93 8th — Nivin Nelson, 11.94 Boys 200M Prelim 6th — Trey Creamer, 23.38 Boys 400M Prelim 2nd — Trey Creamer, 53.22 Boys 800M Prelim 8th — Alex Mosac, 2:16.08 Boys 1600M Finals 3rd — Haden Boone, 4:45.81 9th — Andy Sims, 5:01.44 Boys 300M Hurdles Prelim 7th — Stanley Watkins, 48.31 Boys 4x100M Relay Prelim 4th — Cartersville Malcolm Cooley, Kaleb Chatman, Nivin Nelson, Trey Creamer Boys High Jump Finals 4th — Kaleb Chatman, 5-10.00 9th — Derrick Stotamire, 5-04.00 Boys Shot Put Finals 8th — Jordon Wells, 39-05.00 9th — Dalen Curtis, 39-01.00

This week's 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' baseball report includes updates on 16 of the 25 former local high school baseball players currently contributing at their respective college programs across the country. Bartow Sports Zone maintains a roster of local athletes competing currently on college or professional rosters. See the 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' page on this web site for more. BASEBALL CLIFTON DEMPSEY — Maryville College (Soph., Cartersville HS) . . . the Scots second baseman went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored four runs in the regular season finale’ against Centre College (KY) April 12. In the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament in Wilson, NC April 14-17, Dempsey was 2-for-6, scored three runs, and had 2 RBI as the Scots beat Methodist (NC) and Averett (VA) to reach the conference best-of-three championship series. In the finals series, Dempsey was 4-for-11 with a walk, two runs scored, and one RBI. Maryville won the first game 9-2, but lost the last two games, 1-0 and 9-8 to finish conference tournament runner-up. Dempsey has a .331 batting average with 18 RBI in 43 games this season. The Scots (29-15) set a school record for wins in 2016 and await a potential at-large bid to the NCAA D3 Tournament. The field will be announced on Sunday, May 8. BRANDON ETHERIDGE — Georgia Highlands CC (Soph., Cass HS) . . . went 3-for-15 with a walk and two runs scored as the Chargers dropped three of four games with South Georgia State CC in a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association conference series. Etheridge has a .283 batting average for the season with 15 RBI and eight stolen bases in 41 games played. GHC (23-21, 8-8) plays a four-game series with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College that begins April 19 at LakePoint in Emerson and includes three road games in Tifton April 22-23. TY FOWLER — Tennessee Wesleyan College (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . made an eighth inning home appearance April 15 allowing a pair of unearned runs with two walks and a strikeout as the 6th-ranked Bulldogs defeated Truett-McConnell College 12-7. Fowler now has seven appearances and nine innings pitched. He has a 1-0 record and a 2.00 ERA with opponents hitting only .229 against him. Tennessee Wesleyan (33-9 overall, 19-2 Appalachian Athletic Conference) plays a three-game conference series at Point University (GA) April 22-23. MICHAEL GOSS — UNC-Greensboro (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . went 3-for-6, scored twice, and drove in two runs in a home-and-home split April 12-13 with Wake Forest. The Deamon Deacons won 6-4 at home and the Spartans won in a home rout,18-3. He was 2-for-12, including an RBI double, with a walk and two runs scored as the Spartans won two of three games with conference foe Furman April 15-17. Goss has a .330 batting average with 15 extra base hits, including three homers, in 26 starts. UNCG (28-10 overall, 7-2 Southern Conference) play a non-conference game at Elon (NC) April 20 and host a three-game conference series with East Tennessee State April 22-24. ROBERT HARRIS — Troy University (Jr., Adairsville HS) . . . made a pair of two-inning relief appearances against Jacksonville State (April 12) at home and at Arkansas State (April 15). He allowed two hits, a walk, and one earned run in an 8-7 loss to Jacksonville State. He also allowed an earned run on three hits in an 11-1 win at Arkansas State. Harris struck out seven in the four innings of work. He has pitched 23 and 1/3 innings with a 5.79 ERA in 14 appearances. The Trojans (22-15, 8-7 Sun Belt Conference) play at Alabama April 19 in a non-conference game before hosting a three-game conference series with UT-Arlington April 22-24. HARRISON HATFIELD — Shorter University (Soph, Cartersville HS) . . . had a ninth inning, pinch hit single in an 8-0 loss at University of West Alabama April 17. He has 19 appearances for the Hawks this season, including seven starts. The Hawks suffered four losses during the week. Shorter (13-28 overall, 6-21 Gulf South Conference) plays at Southern Wesleyan University April 20 in a non-conference game and plays at University of West Florida in a three-game conference series April 23-24. BRADLEY HOOD — Georgia Highlands CC (Fr., Cass HS) . . . made a one inning relief appearance April 15 during an 11-1 loss to South Georgia State CC. He walked one and allowed one hit. Hood has pitched 12 and 2/3 innings in 11 appearances for Georgia Highlands with 10 strikeouts and a 2.84 ERA. The Chargers (23-21, 8-8) play a four-game series with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College that begins April 19 at LakePoint in Emerson and includes three road games in Tifton April 22-23. TRIPP JAMIESON — Univ. of the Cumberlands (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . went 1-for-3 in a 5-0 win at Alice Lloyd (KY) April 13 and went 2-for-9 with one RBI in a three-game, home series sweep of St. Catharine (KY) April 15-16. Jamieson has a .256 batting average with two home runs and 16 RBI in 31 games. He has started 26 games, usually as designated hitter. The Patriots (29-18 overall, 7-11 Mid-South Conference) play a doubleheader at Milligan College (TN) April 19, host Asbury University (KY) April 20, and play a three-game conference series at University of Pikeville (KY) April 22-23. CONNOR JUSTUS — Georgia Tech (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . went 2-for-8, coaxed six walks, scored three runs, and collected three RBI as the Yellow Jackets won one of three games in a conference series with NC State April 15-17. He was also 0-4 in a 3-1 loss to Georgia April 12. Justus has a .375 batting average with 18 extra base hits, including a pair of homeruns, and 24 RBI in 35 starts this season. His slugging percentage is .559 and he has seven stolen bases. The shortstop also has a .948 fielding percentage in 174 chances. Georgia Tech (24-11 overall, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) hosts Mercer April 19, plays at Georgia State April 20, and travels to ACC rival, Clemson, April 22-24. SEAN McDERMOTT — Cleveland State CC (Fr., Adairsville HS) . . . had one hit and two RBI as the Cougars split a doubleheader at Tusculum College JV April 13. He also went 5-for-10 with two homeruns and a double with three RBI in a three-game conference series at Columbia State CC April 15-16. McDermott is hitting .400 for the season with 11 homeruns and 35 RBI through 40 games. The Cougars (27-16 overall, 14-7 TCCAA) host Dyersburg State CC in a three-game Tennessee Community College Athletic Association series April 22-23. CHRIS MORTON — Georgia Highlands CC (Fr., Cass HS) . . . pitched 1 and 2/3 innings of relief April 16 in a 9-6 loss to South Georgia State CC. He allowed a pair of hits and a pair of runs, although only one run was earned. Morton recorded one strikeout. He recorded two outs, including one strikeout, in a relief appearance April 15 during an 11-1 loss to SGSCC. He has now made seven relief appearances with 4 and 2/3 innings pitched. He has a 1.93 ERA and five strikeouts. The Chargers (23-21, 8-8) play a four-game series with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College that begins April 19 at LakePoint in Emerson and includes three road games in Tifton April 22-23. HUNTER OSBORN — Reinhardt University (Soph., Cartersville HS) . . . made his 11th start of the season April 16 at home against St. Andrews (NC) in a 5-2 loss. He pitched five innings, allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out three. Osborn has a 6-3 record with 59 innings pitched and a 2.75 ERA. Reinhardt (27-20 overall, 8-13 Appalachian Athletic Conference) was swept in a three-game home series with St. Andrews College (NC) April 16-17. The Eagles play at Georgia Gwinnett College April 19 and will host a three-game conference series with Bluefield College (VA) April 23-24. MASON ROBINSON — Wallace State-Dothan CC (Soph., Woodland HS) . . . went 4-for-13, scored two runs, and drove in two as Wallace State-Dothan split a four-game, conference series with Jefferson Davis CC April 15-16. Robinson has a .298 batting average and a .484 slugging percentage in 38 games for the Governors. He has two homeruns, 19 RBI, and has stolen six bases. WSCC-Dothan (26-15 overall, 12-8 Alabama Community College Conference) plays Central Alabama CC at Ozark, AL April 18 and plays a four-game, conference home-and-home series with Faulkner State CC April 21 and 23. TRISTON SMITH — Young Harris College (Soph., Adairsville HS) . . . had one hit and scored a run in an 11-2 loss at Montevallo April 17. He also made four other starts during the week as the Mountain Lions suffered losses to Tusculum and Lee in non-conference games and were swept at Montevallo. Smith has a .195 batting average with four RBI in 22 games for the Mountain Lions. YHC (12-30 overall, 6-18 Peach Belt Conference) hosts University of West Georgia April 19, Brevard College (NC) April 20 and travels to Georgia College April 22-24 for a three-game conference series. JO JO UNDERWOOD — University of North Carolina-Greensboro (Jr., Cartersville HS) . . . made a pinch hitting appearance and was hit by a pitch during an 18-3 home win over Wake Forest April 13. He also entered to play third base in a 9-7 loss at Wake Forest April 12. Underwood has a .182 batting average with three RBI in 11 at bats and has appeared in 20 games for the Spartans. UNCG (28-10 overall, 7-2 Southern Conference) play a non-conference game at Elon (NC) April 20 and host a three-game conference series with East Tennessee State April 22-24. CHAZ WILSON — Columbus State University (Jr., Cass HS) . . . has worked 16 and one-third innings in 12 relief appearances for the Cougars with 16 strikeouts and a 6.06 ERA. He made an eighth inning relief appearance April 16 at Augusta University with CSU leading 2-1 at the time. He allowed a single to the only batter he faced, but the Cougars rallied to win 7-2 and eventually swept the three-game conference series. Columbus State (33-10 overall, 18-6 Peach Belt Conference) has won 11 straight and currently sits atop the conference standings. The Cougars host Armstrong State for three PBC games April 23-24. Did we miss someone? Please let us know. Use the contact page of this site to provide information we may have missed or email us: bartowsportszone@comcast.net

The Georgia Highlands softball Chargers swept a home doubleheader Saturday with Andrew College to clinch a berth in the post-season. Georgia Highlands won 6-3 and 10-9 in 9 innings to sweep the twinbill. The Chargers, 24-30 overall, 7-7 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, are scheduled to host USC-Salkehatchie in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday and Chattanooga State CC on Monday, April 25 to wrap up regular season play. The NJCAA Region XVII Tournament will be April 28-30 at a site to be determined. NOTE: Game details from Saturday's DH with Andrew College will be posted when made available.

Georgia Highlands lost both games of a conference doubleheader with South Georgia State CC Saturday at LakePoint in Emerson. The Tigers won the first game 9-6 and the second game 2-1 to win three of four in the week-long Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association series. In Saturday’s game one, the Chargers led 4-1 after three innings, but South Georgia used a five-run fourth inning to take a 6-4 lead. Both teams added a run in the sixth and the Tigers added two more in the top of the seventh for a 9-5 lead. GHC threatened in the bottom of the frame, but the Tigers got out of a bases loaded jam for the 9-6 win. Brandon Etheridge had two hits and scored two runs for Georgia Highlands in the loss. Brandon Bell (solo HR), Zach McCrum, Jonathan White (RBI), Mitch Burger (RBI), and Joel Munoz (RBI-double) had the other Chargers’ hits. Bryan Quillens started and pitched into the fourth for GHC. Sam Sowerbrower (2 IP, 3ER, 8H, 0BB, 2K) suffered the pitching loss in middle relief. Chris Morton (1.2 IP, 2R, 1ER, 2H, 1K) also pitched for the Chargers. In the second game, Georgia Highlands led 1-0 going into the sixth inning of a seven-inning game, but South Georgia State scored twice on four hits to take a 2-1 lead that would be enough. The Chargers run in the second inning resulted from a one-out single by White and a single by Trenton Nutter that included an outfield error allowing White to cross the plate. Will Lane pitched a complete game five-hitter to earn the win on the mound for the Tigers. He struck out two with no walks. Casey Collins (5.2 IP, 2ER, 3H, 1BB, 5K) pitched well in the loss. Colby Taylor (1.1 IP, 0R, 2H, 1BB) recorded the final four outs for the Chargers. Bell (double), Etheridge (triple), White, Nutter, and Devin Bilardello had the Chargers’ hits. With the wins on Saturday, South Georgia State kept pace with conference leading Darton College. SGSCC (26-17, 11-5) now trails Darton by one-half game in the conference standings. Georgia Highlands (23-21, 8-8) is currently fourth in the GCAA. The Chargers play Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in next week’s conference series. ABAC comes to LakePoint in Emerson Tuesday for a 5:30pm start. The final three games of the series will be Friday night and Saturday in Tifton.

North Cobb Christian defeated Excel Christian Saturday in five innings, 10-0. North Cobb Christian took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. They added three runs in the third, two in the fourth, and closed out the game with four runs in the fifth. Freshman pitcher, Ryan Suppa, tossed a complete game, two hitter for North Cobb Christian as they improved to 6-16 on the year and 6-9 in Region 6-A. Zach Cornell, James Bitner, and Carter Guarino had two hits each for North Cobb Christian. Joseph Cuomo and Blane Belisario had the only Excel Christian hits. Jordan Wilkie (3.1 IP, 6R, 4ER, 7H, 1BB) took the pitching loss for ECA. Cuomo (1.1 IP, 4R, 1ER, 2H, 2BB) also pitched. Excel Christian (1-16, 0-15) hosts Mount Pisgah Christian Tuesday at 5:30pm at LakePoint in Emerson. The Eagles then travel to Trion Wednesday for a 5:30pm start and host St. Anne-Pacelli on Thursday at 5:55pm back at LakePoint.

Red Bud Middle School won the 2016 Bartow-Gordon Middle School Athletic Association championship Thursday night with an 11-2 win over Calhoun. Calhoun was the top seed from the regular season going into the single-elimination playoff tournament and Red Bud was the tournament’s No. 2 seed. The Phoenix took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but Calhoun scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the margin to one run. Red Bud responded with three runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth to pull away. The Red Bud Phoenix roster includes: Cole Godfrey, Ben Stewart, Micah Vincent, Garrison Mullins, Jacob Cornette, Cole Gray, Wyatt Castoe, Colton Richards, Zakk Ferguson, Tre Williams, Tyler Capps, Colby Hall, Trent Walker, and Logan Mulkey. Red Bud finished the season with a 13-2 mark. Calhoun concluded the season, 14-1.

The Cass and Woodland track and field teams competed Saturday in the first day of the Region 7-AAAAA Track and Field Championship at Dalton High School. Most events were qualifying preliminaries for finals on Thursday, April 21. Four events on Saturday were region finals. (photo contribution by Danny Fairbanks) Top local results: Girls High Jump finals 3rd — Kyler Trouten, Cass, 4-10.00 7th — MiKayla Richards, Woodland, 4-08.00 Girls Discus finals 6th — Skylar Chappell, Woodland, 93-00 Girls 1600M finals 7th — Lindsay Scifers, Woodland, 5:48.94 Girls 100M Hurdles preliminary 3rd — Chaila Reliford, Woodland, 15.76 8th — Hillary McCarver, Cass, 17.89 Boys 100M preliminary 3rd — Jamai Smith, Woodland, 11.25 4th — Lazon West, Cass, 11.51 5th — Terry Berdin, Cass, 11.21 Boys 200M preliminary 3rd — Terry Berdin, Cass, 22.82 4th — Jamai Smith, Woodland, 22.91 Boys 400M preliminary 3rd — Kevin Miller, Woodland, 51.81 Boys 800M preliminary 5th — Julian Rockett, Woodland, 2:00.09 Boys 110M Hurdles preliminary 4th — Ray Varnum, Cass, 15.54 Boys 1600M finals 9th — Jonathan Holloway, Woodland, 4:48.29 Boys 4x100M Relay preliminary 2nd — Cass “A”, Laizon West, Dexter Wilkey, Ray Varnum, Terry Berdin, 43.96 3rd — Woodland “A”, Trevor Knowles, Grant Richards, Jarvis James, Jamai Smith, 43.96 Boys 4x400M Relay preliminary 1st — Woodland “A”, Kevin Miller, Thomas Jolley, Trevor Knowles, Julian Rockett, 3:29.67 Boys Pole Vault finals 1st — Thomas Jolley, Woodland, 13-06.00 5th — Payton Chester, Cass, 12-00.00 6th — Rodney Thompson, Woodland, 12-00.00 Boys Long Jump finals 2nd — Jarvis James, Woodland, 22-03.75 3rd — Ray Varnum, Cass, 22-02.25 Boys Shot Put finals 9th — Jonathan Applin, Woodland, 42-04.75 Team scores through 4 events: Woodland girls 7th, Cass girls 8th Woodland boys 3rd, Cass boys 6th

The second game of the four-game Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association series between Georgia Highlands and South Georgia CC went to the visiting Tigers Friday evening at LakePoint in Emerson, 11-1. The Chargers won the series opener Tuesday in Douglas, 8-6. Georgia Highlands actually scored first on a Nick Fink solo homerun in the second inning, but SGCC struck for two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead. A six-run ninth inning by the Tigers put the game away. Tanner Thomson (5 IP, 2R, 1ER, 4H, 2BB, 6K) was tagged with the GHC pitching loss. The Chargers used six other pitchers including Tristan Roberts, Bradley Hood, Chris Morton, Dalton Isley, Trey Lang, and Blake Metivier. Cayden Hatcher (8 IP, 1ER, 5H, 1BB, 7K) went eight strong innings for South Georgia to pick up the win. Shawn Blue struck out the side tossing a scoreless ninth. Connor Durden and Chase Hinson combined for four hits and six RBI to lead the Tigers at the plate. Mikal Flores added a 3-for-5 performance with an RBI for South Georgia. Brandon Bell, Zach McCrum, Mitch Burger, and Devin Bilardello had the other Chargers’ hits — all singles. South Georgia CC improved to 24-17 overall and 9-5 in the GCAA. Georgia Highlands is now 23-19 overall and 8-6 in conference play. Both teams remain in contention for the regular season conference title with Darton College currently leading. The Cavaliers (9-4 in GCAA) have three games remaining in their series this weekend at Gordon College (7-6 in GCAA). Georgia Highlands and South Georgia conclude the week-long series Saturday with a 1pm doubleheader at LakePoint in Emerson.