A pair of northwest Georgia pitchers were among the six signees Carson-Newman University softball coach Vickee Kazee-Hollifield announced Wednesday, with right-handers Madison Collier of Gordon Lee and Morgan Crawford of Ridgeland joining the Eagles for the spring 2018 season. Collier is a National Honor Society and Star Roll member who plans to study biochemistry, according to a Carson-Newman release, and Kazee-Hollifield said "She has all the pitches and will be a great addition. She throws so hard." Crawford, who plans to study special education, went 13-3 with three saves, 60 strikeouts and a 1.59 ERA in 101 innings pitched this past season, when she also hit .443 with 11 home runs and five doubles. As with Collier, Kazee-Hollifield noted that Crawford has a variety of pitches and throws hard, also saying "She's just a tremendous competitor." They are part of what the coach said is "probably one of the strongest classes we've brought in collectively." Kazee-Hollifield is in her third decade leading the Division II South Atlantic Conference program in Jefferson City, Tenn., and has won more than 1,000 games.
Basketball
- Sewanee's women lost 85-76 to visiting Washington and Lee on Wednesday night despite double-figure scoring performances by Bella Taylor (23 points), Corey Caulder (19) and Hannah McCormack (16). Caulder had three blocks and two assists, and she and Allison Hitchcock each grabbed a team-best six rebounds for the Tigers (3-6). Emily Perszyk scored 24 points to lead Washington and Lee (4-5), which led 21-19, 40-33 and 64-54 at the quarter breaks.
- Bryan College's women lost 65-60 to host St. Thomas on Wednesday night in their first game at the NAIA Southeastern Challenge in Miami Gardens, Fla. Amber Levi had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead the Lady Lions (4-7), while Kaylee Smith added 12 points. Megan Billingsby also had six rebounds to go with eight points. Samara Auguste had 16 points, six steals and five assists to lead St. Thomas (4-6). The game was tied at 17 after the first quarter and 28 at halftime, but St. Thomas outscored the Lady Lions 20-12 in the third quarter.
Golf
- University of Tennesee at Chattanooga first-year golfer Phillip Hickam will compete in the Patriot All-America Invitational today through Saturday. He's one of 84 participants in the 54-hole tournament that will be played on the Wigwam Resort's Gold Course in Litchfield Park, Ariz., near Phoenix. According to a UTC release, most of the golfers earned PING All-America honors in NCAA, NAIA or NJCCA competition. Hickam, a junior from Olive Branch, Miss., made the NJCAA All-America second team this year after earning first-team honors at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2015. Each golfer will represent a member of the U.S. military who was injured or killed in service, with the serviceman or servicewoman's name and branch of service on the bag. The bags will be auctioned by participating golfers' schools, with the proceeds benefiting the Folds of Honor Foundation that provides scholarships for children and spouses of military members killed or disabled in service. The tournament winner receives an exemption to the Web.com Tour's Air Capital Classic, set for June 15-18 in Wichita, Kan.