Woodland repeats as county champs

Woodland softball took a 3-0 lead early in the Bartow County Championship Tournament’s title game and held off Cass down the stretch for an 8-5 win and the county trophy. With their win, the Lady Cats capture the Bartow County Tournament championship for the second year in a row.

Cartersville finished third and Adairsville was fourth.

The “Pink Out” event helped raise money for a local woman fighting breast cancer. In the title game, Cass narrowed the margin to 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning but Woodland scored three in the top of the fifth inning to build a 6-1 lead. The Lady Colonels had an answer again in the bottom of the frame, scoring three times to make the score 6-4. Woodland added single runs in the six and seventh frames while Cass managed only one more run in the sixth for the 8-5 final score.

Woodland pitcher Lainey Baker was a complete-game winner in the circle for the Lady Cats. She struck out ten. Kylee Hembree (7 IP, 8R, 7ER, 12H, 7BB) was the losing pitcher for Cass. Five different Lady Cats hitters finished with two hits apiece. Michiah Hicks (double, three RBI), Allyssa Motes (double, RBI), Morgan Bailey (RBI), Hannah Miller (triple), and Cassie Jones all finished with two hits. Dylynn Motes hit a solo home run in the second inning that gave Woodland a 2-0 lead and Bella Carnes had the other base hit for the Wildcats.

Alexis Woods had a double, a triple, and one RBI for Cass. Rachael Lee also finished with two hits. Eryn Lee (RBI), Ansley Hight (double, RBI), Hembree (RBI), Haley Smith, and Kelly Young had the other Colonels’ base hits.

With their runner-up finish, Cass is now 7-7 overall and 3-5 as they return to region play next week. The Lady Colonels play at Villa Rica Monday, host Rome Tuesday, and entertain Kell on Thursday. All three games are region contests and all three are scheduled for 5:55 p.m.

With the two wins Saturday, Woodland has now won seven consecutive — including five straight in Region 7-AAAAA. The Lady Cats (9-5, 6-2) host East Paulding Monday and travel to Carrollton Tuesday as the three teams at the top of the region standings will go head to head. Both Woodland games are 5:55 p.m. starts.

CARTERSVILLE 9, ADAIRSVILLE 4 (Third place game) The Lady Canes broke open a 3-3 game in the sixth inning with a five-run outburst on their way to winning the Bartow County Championship Tournament’s third place game over host Adairsville, 9-4. The Tigers took a 3-0 lead through three innings before Cartersville tied it 3-3 in the top of the fourth.

A scoreless fifth inning followed before the Hurricanes posted six runs over the final two frames. Adairsville added one run in their final frame.

McKinley Chada (4 IP, 1R, 0ER, 4H, 3K) picked up the pitching victory for the Canes in relief of starter Ava Perkins (3 IP, 3R, 2ER, 4H, 2K).

Taylor Rhoades (5.1 IP, 8R, 5ER, 14H, 0BB, 1K) was tagged with the pitching loss for Adairsville. Victoria O’Neal (1.2 IP, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 3K) retired the final five outs.

Megan Gregory had two hits and one RBI for the Lady Tigers. Alexa Varner also finished with two hits. Olivia Talarico doubled. Chloe Souders drove in a run and had one hit. Sadye Johnson and Alyssa Jarrett contributed one hit apiece.

Lauren McElhaney paced the Lady Canes with three hits including a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and three RBI. AnnaKate McElhaney followed closely with three hits and two RBI. Cio Seigler also had three hits in the win. Hope Short and Kiley Arnold had one hit and one RBI each. Campbell Rogers and Chada added the other Hurricanes’ hits.

Adairsville (6-9, 3-1 Region 6-AAA) returns to region play Tuesday at home against Calhoun at 5:30 p.m. and will host region foe Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. first pitch.

Cartersville (8-9, 4-4 Region 5-AAAA) plays at Darlington Monday at 5 p.m. and hosts Coahulla Creek Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. before returning to region action at home Thursday against Sandy Creek.

CASS 5, ADAIRSVILLE 1 (Semi-finals)

After playing the top three teams in Region 7-AAAAA over the last seven days, the Lady Colonels snapped a three-game skid with a 5-1 win over host Adairsville in the semifinal round of the 2019 Bartow County Championship Tournament.

Playing as the home team, Cass scored three runs in the first inning on an Ansley Hight home run and added single runs in the third and fifth frames to take a 5-0 lead into the final inning.

In the seventh inning, Adairsville got a leadoff double from Victoria O’Neal and two groundouts from Taylor Rhoades and Alyssa Jarrett to advance the runner and plate thei Tigers only run.

Cass pitcher Rachael Lee went the full seven innings in the circle for the victory. She scattered five hits and a walk while fanning five.

O’Neal (6 IP, 5R, 4ER, 7H, 2BB, 10K) suffered the pitching loss for the Tigers.

O’Neal finished with a pair of hits. Sadye Johnson, Megan Gregory, and Olivia Talarico had the other Adairsville base hits.

All seven hits for the Lady Colonels came from their top four spots in the batting order.

Alexis Woods, Eryn Lee, and Rachael lead (RBI) had two hits each. Hight’s three-run blast was the other safety.

Woods stole two bases. Rachael Lee and Eryn Lee also swiped a base for Cass.

WOODLAND 15, CARTERSVILLE 3 (Semi-finals)

The hottest team of the four participants Saturday in the Bartow County Championship Tournament at Adairsville was clearly Woodland. The Lady Cats arrived Saturday riding a five-game region win streak in one of the toughest regions in the state in Class AAAAA. The Woodland bats produced 15 runs on 18 hits in the run-rule shortened, four-inning game and advanced to meet Cass in Saturday’s county championship game with a 15-3 win over Cartersville.

Cartersville got a bases loaded, base clearing double off the bat of AnnaKate McElhaney to pull the Lady Canes to within a run at 4-3 in the first inning, but that would be as close as they would come. Woodland followed with eleven unanswered runs.

Campbell Rogers and Kiley Arnold had the only other Cartersville hits.

Hope Schultz was the winning pitcher for Woodland. Cartersville countered with a trio of pitchers: Chada McKinley (0.1 IP, 4R, 3ER, 4H, 1K), Arnold (2 IP, 8ER, 9H, 2BB), and Ava Perkins (1.2 IP, 3ER, 5H, 2BB, 2K).

Hannah Miller led Woodland’s offense with three hits including a triple and five RBI. Morgan Cooper also had three hits including a double and two RBI. Bella Carnes produced two triples and one RBI. Kendyl Hardin had two hits including a double and two RBI. Ansley Evans contributed two hits including a double and one RBI. Morgan Bailey (RBI) and Cassie Jones both added two hits and one RBI. Allyssa Motes finished with a pair of hits and Michiah Hicks drove in a run.