August 15, 2024 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Cartersville golfer, Chad Branton, shot a three-day total of 8-under-par (208) on August 12-14 to finish runner-up at the prestigious 73rd Senior Men’s North & South Amateur at Pinehurst Country Club in North Carolina. Stan Humphries, ranked No. 22 in the AmateurGolf.com  Senior Rankings, used rounds of 68-69-68 (11-under-par) to win by three strokes. The Monroe, Louisiana resident was tied with Branton after two rounds but used a hot start — including an ace on the 197-yard sixth hole — to collect the win. Branton finished in solo second place ahead of Bob Royak (Alpharetta, GA) and Miles McConnell (Tampa, FL) who finished tied for third at 7-under. Jeff Frazier (Mechanicsburg, PA) finished in fifth place at 6-under. The 73rd Senior Men’s North & South Amateur was conducted on the No. 5, No. 7, and No. 4 courses at the Pinehurst Resort. Branton’s 54-hole tournament rounds included 15 birdies and seven bogeys to go with 32 pars. The 55-year-old’s 2024 schedule has moved him to 27th in the AmateurGolf.com  Player of the Year race and 72nd in the world. He has Top Ten finishes this year at the Huddleston Cup Senior (T2), Golfweek Senior Amateur (T8), Friendship Cup (4th), Golfweek Senior National Championship (T10), and the Trans-Mississippi Senior (T12).

August 14, 2024 The Lady Colonels trailed visiting Pepperell 6-2 through 2-½ innings Wednesday night before rallying late for a 7-6 non-region win. Cass outhit Pepperell thirteen to four and needed the offensive production to overcome six errors and five unearned runs. Kylie Gentry (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 1K) picked up the pitching win for the Colonels by retiring the final six outs. Chloe Hill (2.2 IP, 6R, 1ER, 3H, 2BB, 3K) made the pitching start and Emma Gibson (2.1 IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 2K) worked in the circle in middle relief. Molli Morrow paced the Cass attack with three hits and one RBI. Darianna Sosa  (RBI) and Braelyn Franklin had two hits. Sydney Satterfield hit a two-run homer in the first inning and finished with three RBI. KK Evans (RBI), Cayce Brown, Bailey York, Gibson, and Hill added one hit. Cass (4-2, 2-1) returns to Region 7-4A play on Thursday when Hiram visits for a 5:30 p.m. start.

August 13, 2024 The Adairsville Lady Tigers volleyball team suffered a pair of losses in Jasper on Tuesday night falling in straight sets to the host Pickens Dragons and the East Jackson Eagles. Pickens defeated Adairsville 25-11 and 25-15. East Jackson won 25-15 and 25-13 against the Tigers. Addie Pearson had four digs, two assists, and one ace against Pickens. Cara Harp contributed six digs and one kill. Ella Steward had four kills and six blocks in the loss to East Jackson. Harp contributed eight digs and Pearson totaled seven assists. Adairsville (1-3) hosts Temple and Cass on Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. EXCEL CHRISTIAN DROPS HOME MATCH TO COVENANT CHRISTIAN The Lady Eagles (1-1) fell in three sets to visiting Covenant Christian on Tuesday night.  Excel visits Cherokee Christian on Thursday at 6 p.m. WOODLAND FALLS TO VILLA RICA Woodland volleyball dropped straight sets decisions on Tuesday night to visiting Villa Rica (13-25, 8-25) and Chattooga (6-25, 18-25). Natalie Guin led the Lady Cats in aces and Emily Guin was the team leader in kills. The Lady Cats (0-7) host Haralson County and Gordon Central on Thursday starting at 5 p.m.

August 14, 2024 Cartersville Volleyball won a pair of non-region matches on Tuesday night in Calhoun. The Lady Canes defeated Bremen in straight sets 25-17 and 25-19 to open their night and later defeated Calhoun in straight sets, 25-18 and 25-21. In the win over Bremen (4-2), Holly Dufrene led the Lady Canes with six kills while Amara Ejieke and Addison Marisko followed with five kills each. Riley Huff had five aces. Adahlyn Womack and Huff contributed five and four blocks, respectively. Riley Jarrett paced the defense with six digs and McKenzie Wilkie totaled five. Aubree Barrett and Emma Wall orchestrated the Hurricanes offense with 11 and 10 assists, respectively. In the win over Calhoun (1-7), Marisko led the charge with nine kills and four blocks. Ejieke followed with six kills. Jarrett and Sydney McNair-Seigler finished with two service aces. Wilkie totaled 14 digs for the Canes' defense and Barrett guided the offense with 11 assists. Cartersville (4-3) travels to Lovett on Thursday for a tri-match with the host Lions and North Atlanta beginning at 5 p.m.

August 13, 2024 The Lady Canes kept their Region 7-4A record perfect on Tuesday night at home with an 8-5 win over Woodland. Kinsey Woodard (double, RBI), Reese Dumas (RBI), LaKaiya Banks (double, RBI), and Allana Williams each had two hits for Cartersville in the victory. Kennedy Crenshaw (double, two RBI) and Zoie Shiflett (RBI) finished with one hit. Layne Callan drove in a run. The Hurricanes scored five times in the bottom of the second inning to take a 5-1 lead. After Woodland narrowed the margin to 5-4 in the top of the third, Cartersville scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding lead. The Lady Cats scored their final run in the top of the seventh inning. Zoie Shiflett went all seven innings in the circle for Cartersville to collect her fourth win of the season. She surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and three walks while fanning seven. Ashlyn Baines had two hits for Woodland including a double. Kamryn Smith had a double with two RBI. Gracie Korb and Lanie Calhoun had one hit each. Jordan Hammonds was credited with two RBI. and Destiny Eckhart drove in a run. Smith (6 IP, 8R, 6ER, 10H, 4BB, 2K) was charged with the Lady Cats’ pitching loss. Cartersville (5-2, 3-0) visits Southeast Whitfield for another Region 7-4A contest on Thursday at 5 p.m. Woodland (0-4, 0-3) plays at Dalton on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CASS 11, SOUTHEAST WHITFIELD 3 The Lady Colonels trailed the host Raiders 3-1 after two innings on Tuesday night in Dalton but scored the game’s final ten runs to put Southeast Whitfield away, 11-3, in six innings in a Region 7-4A matchup. Cass scored twice in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 3-3. The Lady Colonels then posted three runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth to secure the region win. The Lady Colonels outhit the Raiders 12 to five. Lily Powell (4 IP, 3ER, 4H, 1BB, 1K) collected the pitching victory for Cass. Kylie Gentry (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 2K) closed out the final two frames in the circle. Cayce Brown led the Colonels’ offensive attack with three hits including a pair of doubles and three RBI. Darianna Sosa followed with two hits including a triple, a double, and three RBI. Sydney Satterfield also had two hits and one RBI. Molli Morrow (two RBI), Bailey York, Harlee Thomason (double, RBI), Emma Gibson (double), and KK Evans produced one hit in the victory. Cass (3-2, 2-1) hosts Pepperell on Wednesday in a non-region game and entertains Hiram in region action on Thursday. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Cass Athletic Complex. CALHOUN 13, ADAIRSVILLE 5 Calhoun took an early 8-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Tuesday night at Adairsville and completed a 13-5 win over the Lady Tigers in five innings. Ashlyn Carlton (double, RBi), Brie Patterson (RBI), and Lily Roberts (RBI) led the Adairsville offense with two hits. Ashlynn Durden (RBI), Ansley Powell, and Alivia Joslin had one hit. Maddie Baggett (0.2 IP, 7R, 5ER, 4H, 2BB, 1K) suffered the Lady Tigers’ pitching loss. Carlton (4.1 IP, 6R, 4ER, 9H, 1BB, 6K) pitched the final 4-⅓ innings in relief. Adairsville (4-3, 0-2 Region 7-3A) plays at Calhoun (1-2, 1-0) on Thursday.

August 13, 2024 The Excel Christian Academy volleyball team opened the 2024 season with a five-set victory on Monday night over Hearts Academy of Cobb County. The event was the first-ever in the new gymnasium at the Emerson campus. The Lady Eagles lost the first and third sets 20-25 and 22-25, but won the second, fourth, and fifth sets 25-23, 25-17, and 15-12. Excel (1-0) hosts Covenant Christian School on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Cherokee Christian on Thursday for a 6:15 p.m. start.

August 13, 2024 The Adairsville Lady Tigers softball team lost their opening region game with Northwest Whitfield at Westside Park in Rocky Face on Monday, 4-3.   Lily Roberts, Ashlynn Durden, and Riley Mounger had a single and an RBI. Alivia Joslin's triple was Adairsville's only extra-base hit. Taylor Evans, Joslin, and Naxyria Roberts scored the only Lady Tiger runs.   Maddie Baggett pitched the complete game in the loss, surrendering three earned runs on eleven hits and one walk while striking out two.   Adairsville continues regional play at 5:55 on Tuesday at home against Calhoun. ~~ contributed by Mike Garcia

August 10, 2024 Cartersville High Volleyball opened the 2024 season on Saturday by going 2-3 at the You Got Served Tournament at the Tsunami Volleyball Center. The Lady Canes lost straight sets decisions to Morgan County (17-25, 15-25), Sandy Creek (12-25, 21-25), and Trinity Christian (???) Cartersville had wins over Lowndes (25-9, 25-21) and Elite Scholars Academy (25-21, 25-22). In the win over Lowndes, Holly Dufrene led with six kills. McKenzie Wilkie had two aces and nine digs while Aubree Barrett added ten assists. In the victory over Elite Scholars Academy, Addison Marisko and Amara Ejieke had five kills each. Riley Jarrett totaled three aces. Marisko and Dufrene had three blocks. Wilkie contributed 11 digs. Barrett and Emma Wall had nine and eight assists, respectively. Dufrene led with six kills in the loss to Sandy Creek. Wilkie had eight digs and Wall totaled six assists. Ejieke had eight kills and Barrett had eight assists against Morgan County. Huff contributed three blocks, Ejieke led with five kills, and Tatum Mealer tossed in eight digs. Barrett and Wall added four assists against Trinity Christian. The Hurricanes (2-3) play at Calhoun on Tuesday where they will also face Bremen.

August 12, 2024 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com MiLB MASON BARNETT — Midland RockHounds (3rd-yr. pro; Oakland A’s Double-A affiliate; Texas League; Auburn; Cartersville HS) … suffered a pitching loss in his second start for Midland last Friday after being traded from the Kansas City Royals organization. Barnett was lifted after 4-⅓ innings in an eventual 4-0 home loss to the Frisco RoughRiders. He allowed three runs (only one earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out five. The 23-year-old is now 1-1 with his new team and has a 6-7 record this season at both Midland and Northwest Arkansas. He has made 21 appearances (20 starts) and has 120 strikeouts in 101 innings. The RockHounds (64-44 overall) were 4-2 this past week at home against Frisco and are leading the Texas League South Division in the second half with a 24-15 mark. Midland plays six games this week at the Tulsa Drillers. LOGAN MARTIN — Columbia Fireflies (2nd-yr. pro; Kansas City Royals Single-A affiliate; Carolina League; Kentucky; Cartersville HS) … the righty did not make a pitching appearance last week. He has a 2-3 record and a 4.44 ERA in 19 appearances this season covering 75 innings pitched. The Fireflies (56-48 overall) are 21-18 in the Carolina League’s second half and currently trail Charleston by three games in the South Division. The Fireflies host six games this week with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. ANTHONY SEIGLER — Somerset Patriots (7th-yr. pro; NY Yankees Double-A affiliate; Eastern League; Cartersville HS) …  started all five games this past week as the Patriots went 1-4 at home against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Seigler was 2-for-14 at the plate with two walks. He was hit by a pitch, scored three runs, and stole one base in the series. For the season, the second baseman has a .207 batting average with nine homers and 33 RBI in 271 official at-bats. He has 19 stolen bases. The Patriots (53-54 overall) are 21-17 in the Eastern League’s second-half schedule and are currently in fourth place in the Northeast Division. They trail Portland by 4-½ games. Somerset plays six games this week at the Hartford Yard Goats. INDEPENDENT PIONEER LEAGUE BASEBALL KENNY JINKS — Missoula Paddleheads (1st-yr. pro; Independent Pioneer League; Wheeling University; Woodland HS) … was placed on waivers by the Paddleheads on August 5 and cleared irrevocable waivers on August 6. He is now a free agent. GOLF CHRISTINA SURCEY — Florida State University (Fr., Cartersville resident; North Cobb Christian School) … carded rounds of 77 and 84 to miss the cut at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship this past week at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sixty-four players who shot nine-over or better advanced after 36 holes to the match play bracket. Surcey shot a 2-under-par 70 at The Farm in Dalton back in July to qualify for the national tournament. 17-year-old Duke commit, Rianne Malixi (Philippines), won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship by 3 and 2 in the finals over 15-year-old Asterisk Talley (California).

August 10, 2024 Local high school softball teams competed on Saturday in five of the games played at Hamilton Crossing Park as part of the 2024 Colonel Back to School Bash. CASS 7, WHITE COUNTY 0 Bailey York pitched a five-inning, complete-game shutout Saturday morning to lead the Cass Lady Colonels to a 7-0 blanking of the White County Warriors at the Colonel Back to School Bash played at Hamilton Crossing Park. York allowed just four hits and two walks. She struck out three. The Lady Colonel offense scored two runs in the first, three in the second, and two more in the third en route to the victory. Molli Morrow had two hits and one RBI for the Cass attack. Braelyn Franklin, Darrianna Sosa, Cayce Brown (two RBI), Sydney Satterfield (RBI), and KK Evans had one hit. York drove in one run. The loss dropped the Lady Warriors to 2-1 on the season. Cass (2-2) returns to action on Tuesday at Southeast Whitfield at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Colonels return home on Wednesday and Thursday for 5:30 p.m. starts against Pepperell and Hiram. ADAIRSVILLE 13, HAMPTON 3 TEMPLE 7, ADAIRSVILLE 1 The Lady Tigers pounded eleven hits Saturday afternoon and rolled up 13 runs to defeat the Hampton Hornets 13-3. Adairsville also took advantage of seven errors committed by Hampton that led to eight unearned runs. Ashlynn Durden had three hits for the Tigers including a triple, a double, and three RBI. Kylee Hollingsworth (RBI) and Ansley Powell (double, RBI) followed with two hits. Rylee Mounger (double, two RBI), Brie Patterson (RBI), Taylor Evans (double, two RBI), and Kylie Perine (double) added one hit. Ashlyn Carlton (3.1 IP, 1ER, 3H, 2BB, 3K) was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Jordan Clay (1.2 IP, 2ER, 3H, 4BB, 2K). Saturday morning the Lady Tigers trailed 6-0 through 2-½ innings and lost to the Temple Tigers, 7-1. Temple outhit Adairsville twelve to one in the contest. Riley Mounger had the only Tiger base hit. Jordan Clay (0.2 IP, 2ER, 3H, 3BB) suffered the pitching loss. Maddie Baggett (2.1 IP, 4R, 3ER, 6H, 1BB, 3K) and Ashlyn Carlton (2 IP, 1ER, 3H, 0BB, 1K) also pitched. NORTHGATE 4, CARTERSVILLE 3 KELL 2, CARTERSVILLE 1 Following a 4-0 start to the 2024 season, the Cartersville Lady Canes softball team dropped a pair of one-run decisions on Saturday. Northgate edged Cartersville 4-3 and Kell escaped with a 2-1 victory. The Vikings took a 3-0 lead through 2-½ innings in Cartersville’s first game of the day. After the Canes cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the third, Northgate added a run in the fourth inning for a 4-1 advantage. Cartersville scored twice in the fifth inning. Zoie Shiflett (5 IP, 4ER, 7H, 2BB, 5K) took the pitching loss for the Hurricanes. Kinsey Woodland (double, RBI) and LaKaiya Banks (RBI) had two hits. Jordan Bishop (double), Kennedy Crenshaw, Reese Dumas (RBI), Ansleigh Tilley, and Shiflett added one hit. In Saturday’s loss to Kell, Pressley Crabbe (6 IP, 2R, 0ER, 9H, 0BB, 6K) was tagged with the pitching loss despite not yielding an earned run. Bishop had the only Cartersville hit and drove in the Canes' only run with a third-inning single that scored Addi Burns. Burns had reached base on a dropped third strike and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Kell scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning on a pair of singles and an outfield error. Cartersville (4-2) returns to Region 7-4A action Tuesday at home at 5:30 p.m. against Woodland.

August 9, 2024 The Cartersville Lady Canes trailed Lanier 4-2 through three innings on Friday night before pulling out a 7-6 victory over the Longhorns in a five-inning contest. Pressley Crabbe (2 IP, 2R, 1ER, 1H, 0BB, 2K) picked up the pitching victory for the Hurricanes in relief of starter Kennedy Stevens (3 IP, 4ER, 4H, 3BB, 1K). Cartersville led 1-0 in the top of the first inning on a RBI single by Kinsey Woodard. After the Longhorns tied the score, Zoie Shiflett put the Canes back ahead 2-1 with a solo home run to center field in the top of the third. Lanier grabbed a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third inning but the Lady Canes posted a run in the fourth on Allana Williams’ triple and an RBI single by Layne Callan. In the fifth inning, Cartersville scored four more times to lead 7-4. Reese Dumas doubled into centerfield to score Shiflett then LaKaiya Banks and Williams followed with RBI singles. The Longhorns managed two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning before Crabbe ended the threat with a strikeout. Callan (two RBI), Williams (triple, RBI), Shiflett (HR, RBI), and Dumas (double, RBI) led the Canes’ offense with two hits. Jordan Bishop (triple), Woodard (RBI), and Banks (RBI) added one hit. The loss dropped Lanier to 2-4 for the season. Seventh-ranked Cartersville (4-0) plays Northgate at 9 a.m. and Kell at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Hamilton Crossing Park as the Colonel Back to School Bash continues.

August 8, 2024 The Adairsville High School volleyball team started the 2024 season at home Thursday night with a split of two matches. The Lady Tigers defeated North Murray in a three-set match but fell in straight sets to Rome. Adairsville dropped the first set with North Murray 22-25 before winning the final two sets 25-18 and 15-13. Senior captain Addie Pearson led the Lady Tigers with five kills and nine assists. She added three blocks and a pair of digs. Alexis Scott had four kills and two blocks. Myka Colston contributed three kills, three digs, and one block. Ansley Mims had three blocks and Alexa Wynn tossed in eight assists. The Tigers lost a hard-fought match with Rome, 20-25 and 21-25. Pearson led Adairsville with six kills and six assists. Scott added five kills in the loss. “it was a great way to start the season,” said Adairsville coach Kaylie Martin. “We pulled out a 2-1 win over North Murray and put up a strong fight against a solid Rome team.” Adairsville (1-1) will face host Pickens and East Jackson on Tuesday in Jasper. WOODLAND VOLLEYBALL DROPS HOME MATCHES The Woodland volleyball team lost matches Thursday night at home to Temple and East Paulding in straight sets. Temple won 25-18 and 25-11. East Paulding won 25-17 and 25-19. Lady Cats’ coach Caroline Gore credited Rylei Morris as the team’s leading defensive specialist on the night while Bella King led the team in service aces. Woodland (0-5) hosts Chattooga and Villa Rica on Tuesday in a 5 p.m. start.