Golf Lady Flames win eighth in row

PASS CHRISTIAN, Tenn. - John Maupin's Lee University women's golf team went into the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament at The Oaks with five all-conference players, five academic all-conference honorees and the SSAC's player, freshman and coach of the year, and Wednesday the Lady Flames completed their eighth championship in a row this year. Lee, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, won the league event by 37 strokes over No. 7 Shorter as player of the year Courtney Shelton and freshman of the year Madison Alexander finished first and second at 150 and 151 and all-conference teammates Sloane Skinner and Geandra Almeida were third and tied for fourth at 155 and 158. The other all-conference Lee player, Kristin Bourg, rebounded from her opening 92 with an 86 Tuesday. It was Shelton's fourth medal of the season.

Softball

• Lenoir-Rhyne ace Dawon Millwood from Hixson repeated as the South Atlantic Conference softball pitcher of the year, and Carson-Newman first baseman Caitlyn Lance from Ridgeland High School was a second-team all-conference choice for 2012. Millwood was 28-6 in the regular season with SAC bests of 180 strikeouts, 14 shutouts and a .190 opponents' batting average; she threw two no-hitters. Sophomore Lance led the Lady Eagles with a .372 batting average and a .457 on-base percentage and hit six home runs and 15 doubles.

• CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Lee University's No. 11-ranked softball team won 2-1 and lost 4-3 in 12 innings in an SSAC doubleheader against No. 9 Shorter delayed from Tuesday and then for nearly three hours Wednesday. Lee leadoff batter Jennifer Ringle was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run, Kelsey Barnes had the other RBI and Tabitha Farrow was 2-for-3 with the other run behind the two-hit pitching of Brittany Balough in the first game. Barnes, Ana Coscorrosa and pinch-hitter Katie Deems had Lee's second-game RBIs. Shorter center fielder Charlsie Broome from LaFayette, Ga., is the reigning NAIA national player of the week after going 9-for-14 with three home runs, a triple, two doubles eight RBIs and eight runs in four games last week, and the plus-.400 hitter was 1-for-3 with the Lady Hawks' RBI in the first game Wednesday and 2-for-5 in game two, when Emily Clements from LaFayette High and Bre Johnson from Calhoun had RBIs and Maddie Bray from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe went 2-for-4 with an RBI and pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and two runs.

• Chattanooga State's nationally No. 1-ranked softball team beat visiting Walters State 6-0 and 9-6 in a TCCAA doubleheader Wednesday. Marina Wilkerson, Shelby Johnson and Kortney Koroll homered in the first game for the Lady Tigers (51-3, 16-0), when Koroll was 2-for-2 with three RBIs, Johnson was 2-for-3 and pitcher Ashley Czechner (27-2) struck out 11 batters. Wilkerson homered again in game two, when Czechner saved the win for Janna Scheff (21-1) and Chelsea Burgess, MeQuilla Franklin, Wilkerson, Johnson and Koroll each had two hits.

• MARYVILLE, Tenn. -- Covenant College beat Maryville College 9-6 and lost 10-5 in a softball matchup Wednesday of Lady Scots in the Great South Athletic Conference. Beth Harris was 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs in the win for Covenant (20-15, 8-7), when Lauren Johns was 2-for-4 and Morgan Booker 1-for-2 with two RBIs apiece and Jenni Jobe was 2-for-4 and scored three runs. Johns and Courtney Wagoner each was 2-for-3 and Johns scored twice in game two, when Chandler Shepherd was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Leah Kelley drove in two runs in each game for Maryville (11-19, 8-6), with a triple in the loss and a homer in the win.

• Cleveland State's softball Lady Cougars will take a 19-17 record into a TCCAA doubleheader Saturday at Volunteer State after winning 21-3 and 6-3 in nonconference play Monday against the Truett-McConnell junior varsity in Cleveland, Ga. Lady Cougars pitchers Meghan Smith and Kenly Lambert allowed no earned runs, and Smith was backed by a two-out, 15-run, fifth-inning rally that included two hits and four RBIs each from Casey Griffin and Ashlen Mitchell and two RBIs from Maura Ditto. Sydney Howell singled in a run in the first inning of game two and added a three-run triple after Kenzie Fish's tying squeeze bunt in the seventh.

Basketball

• The Tennessee United Basketball under-17 boys' AAU team from Chattanooga went 5-0 in the Alabama Hustlers' Magic City Rumble tournament last weekend in Birmingham. Seven of the Tennessee United players have averaged double-figure points in the eight games so far, and two of them are averaging double-doubles, according to coach Kelvin Boyd. The team will play April 27-29 in the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Suwanee, Ga.

Upcoming Events