Softball Mocs edge Lipscomb
The UTC softball team edged Lipscomb 6-5 in eight innings Wednesday at Frost Stadium. Alyssa Coppinger scored the winning run on an error, and Jordan Fortel pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts and was 2- for- 3 with a third- inning home run. Alyssa Taylor also was 2-for-3. After a hit batter and two walks in the fourth inning, Sam Taylor doubled in three runs and scored on Anyssa Robles’ sacrifice fly for UTC (13-9), which plays this weekend in the Holy City Showdown in Charleston, S.C.
› Carson-Newman catcher Katie Pritchett from Heritage High School was 6-for-7 with four doubles and six RBIs as the Lady Eagles won 8-5 and lost 10-6 to Concord in softball games Wednesday at Athens, W.Va. She was 4-for-4 with three doubles in the loss.
› Olivia Gore was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Mariam Wood homered, singled and scored twice as Bryan College won 6-4 in AAC softball Wednesday at Milligan. Milligan won the second game 3-2, but Lacye Walker was 2-for-3 and Wood 2-4 for Bryan, and Katelyn Bowen scored after a double and had an RBI walk.
› Rayanna Janke, a North Whitfield Middle School eighth-grader, was a “direct select” pick at the recent Atlanta camp for the USSSA Futures All-American Games to be held Aug. 1-6 in Kissimmee, Fla. She’s in the ProStar Fastpitch program. “This is a huge honor for RJ and a proud moment for our program,” ProStar director Steve Chattin said.
BASKETBALL
› UTC senior point guard Alicia Payne was the Southern Conference student-athlete of the week after helping the Mocs win the league tournament in Asheville, N.C. Payne, a social work major with a 3.89 grade point average, averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists while excelling as usual on defense in UTC’s three tournament victories. She had six steals in the last two games and was chosen the most outstanding player.
› Saint Xavier of Illinois defeated Tennessee Wesleyan 86-58 in the first round of the NAIA Division II women’s basketball tournament Wednesday at Sioux City, Iowa. Saint Xavier is 30-3. Hunter Simpson scored 19 points and Jara Gasper added 17 for Wesleyan, which ended its season 17-10. Melanie Barker had eight rebounds. The winners got 29 points from Kara Krolicki and 19 plus six assists from Mikayla Leyden.
BASEBALL
› Lee University used 18 hits to win 9-8 at Lincoln Memorial in NCAA Division II baseball Wednesday. Ben Holland was 4-for6 with a home run and three RBIs, Luke Toms was 4-for-4 with two walks and two RBIs, Nathan Wierzgac was 4-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored and Kyle Briner had a two-run homer and got the pitching save for Lee (9-11).
› Tennessee Wesleyan, ranked 14th in the NAIA baseball preseason poll, lost 3-0 at No. 3 Faulkner (17-4) on Wednesday, and No. 23 Bryan lost 9-4 at home against No. 7 Lindsey Wilson. Justin Morhardt was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Preston King and Andrew Ubristondo each had two hits also for Bryan.
› Cleveland State won 13-3 and 16-0 in two five-inning baseball games Wednesday against Clark State. Blake Thomas was 4- for- 4 and scored four runs in the first game, when Sean McDermott was 2-for3 with four RBIs, Hagan Kennedy batted in three runs, Lee Gibson was 2-for-3 and scored three and Jordan Ransom doubled twice with two RBIs. Koltyn Plumb tripled and plated four runs, Thomas was 2- for3 with three runs, John Anderson also scored three and Gibson had two hits and two runs for the Cougars (9-8) in game two, when Christian Amos and Matt Roueche pitched a no-hitter with nine strikeouts.
GOLF
› The Sewanee women’s golf team finished fifth out of 16 teams at 648 in the Callaway Gardens Intercollegiate tournament Monday and Tuesday, and Tigers freshman Sophia Morrill was 10th individually at 155. Alison Eleey tied for 14th at 158, and nationally top-ranked Emily Javadi tied for 32nd at 165. Brook Vann led another Sewanee group to 12th place with a 166. The Sewanee men were 14th out of 17 teams with Harry McMurrey tying for 11th individually at 147.