Stephens, Tech forced to play OVC second final and other sports news

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Third-seeded Jacksonville State came out of the losers bracket Saturday and beat second seed Tennessee Tech 10-7, forcing a rematch today at noon CDT for the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament at Jackson, Tenn. Senior first baseman Zach Stephens from Soddy-Daisy had one of Tech's three two-run home runs in the seven-run fifth inning that put the Golden Eagles ahead 7-6. JSU (35-25) beat top-seeded Southeast Missouri 6-2 in the losers-bracket final after Tech (40-18) beat SEMO 9-2 on Friday night. Stephens and former Ooltewah and Chattanooga State player Zach Zarzour each scored twice in that game, when Daniel Miles was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Brandon Thomasson was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Thomasson and Jordan Hopkins each had two hits in Saturday's loss.

• The East Ridge Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled what it's calling the Tri-State Baseball Championships June 19-20 and 22-24 at Camp Jordan Park, and it's for recreation all-star teams from Alabama and Georgia as well as Tennessee in the 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-, 11- and 12-year-old age groups -- with no team entry fee. Select travel teams are not allowed. Players must have played in a league before being selected as all-stars. For more information call Shawnna Skiles at 423-580-1166.

Running

• Heritage High School's Mallory Edwards signed scholarship papers this past week to run cross country for Dalton State College. Edwards starred in track as well as the fall running sport for the highly successful Lady Generals. "Mallory is a strong runner who will add some much-needed depth to our women's team," Roadrunners coach Margie Bruner said in a DSC release. "As part of a high school team that won state, she knows what it takes to be part of a winning team. Coach [Andy] Meyer and I are also impressed with her overall. She is a strong student with excellent character." Edwards has run a 5000-meter time as low as 20 minutes, 4 seconds, and she had a 13:12:11 for the 3200 this season. "Mallory is an extremely talented athlete and a wonderful person," said Heritage coach Jeremy Wynne, praising her work ethic and team commitment.

• Tennessee Wesleyan's Roderick Bowman finished fourth in 30:48.76 and Bryan's Anthony Simpson was ninth in 31:56.20 in the men's 10,000-meter run Thursday at the NAIA outdoor track and field national meet at Gulf Shores, Ala., and Wesleyan's Avery Hubbard from Red Bank High School finished seventh in the 100-meter dash Saturday. Joining Bowman as an All-American, Hubbard ran the 100 final in 10.60 seconds; he ran a sixth-place 10.57 in the preliminaries. Bryan's Connor Hatfield was ninth in 9:22.67 in the men's 3000 steeplechase.

General

• Vanderbilt University has resurrected its Commodore Caravan, and Chattanooga is one of the three stops scheduled this month. New football coach Derek Mason, basketball coaches Kevin Stallings and Melanie Bascomb and other representatives will be at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club at 5:30 p.m. on June 17. "We hope it's an opportunity for fans to come out and meet Coach Mason," VU director of marketing Steve Walsh said in a school release, "but it's not just going to be our revenue-sport coaches taking part in this." For more information call Kendal Duncan at 615-343-4067.

Fishing

• The Tennessee high school state fishing tournament will be held Saturday out of the Dayton Boat Dock on Lake Chickamauga, and two-person teams from grades 9-12 throughout the state can register until that morning. The event is presented by The Bass Federation and FLW. Takeoff is scheduled for 6:15 a.m., and the weigh-in is set for 3 p.m. Those parts are open to the public and free for spectators. Anyone interested in more information can call Mark Gintert, the TBF national youth director, at 580-716-4251 or 330-993-0014.

Golf

• The annual golf tournament hosted by the Chattanooga-area chapter of the Alabama Alumni & Friends club is set for June 9 at Lookout Mountain, beginning with a shotgun start after the 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. lunch. It costs $125 per player in the four-person teams, and replies are requested by June 1 to the club at P.O. Box 328, Chattanooga, TN 37401. For more information, email ronaldmckelvy@yahoo.com.

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