Around the Region: Bryan seeded second in AAC softball tournament

Assorted Sports Equipment on Black
Assorted Sports Equipment on Black

Bryan College is seeded second as the Appalachian Athletic Conference softball tournament starts today in Kingsport, Tenn., after sharing the regular-season championship with Reinhardt, and Tennessee Wesleyan is seeded fourth and opens the event at 11 a.m. against fifth seed Point. Bryan is set to face seventh seed Milligan at 3 p.m. Bryan's Kim Borowski, Olivia Gore, Sydney West and Becca Zimmerman, Reinhardt pitcher Maci Mills from Calhoun, Ga., and TWU's Mackenzie Jackson, Rachel Mathews and Baylee Sutton made the All-AAC team. Bryan's Courtney Petty, TWU's Courtney Black and Point's Rachel Pendley from Chatsworth are second-teamers. Bryan's Petty and Heidi Smith made the all-freshmen team, along with Truett-McConnell's Jaden Morrison from Trion, and Smith, Zimmerman and Pendley were among the all-defensive honorees. Bryan's Kaleigh Riley and Wesleyan's Destiny Watson were Champions of Character selections.

Baseball

» Nathan Wierzgac's two-out single, Drew Johnson's double and a throwing error in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday night gave Lee University's baseball team a 6-5 lead at Tusculum, and Kit Larson pitched a one-two-three bottom half to keep that the final margin. Larson got the win with five outs, four on strikes, and Wierzgac was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored for the Flames (26-21). Tyler Payne batted leadoff and was 3-for-5 with two runs, and Jordan Howard and Spencer Mossburg each was 2-for-4, Howard with an RBI and a run.

» Roberto Prado was 4-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs as 20th-ranked Cumberlands won 6-2 in NAIA baseball Tuesday at No. 6 Tennessee Wesleyan. Nehwon Norkeh was 2-for-4 with a homer for TWU (34-15). Bulldogs junior left fielder Albert Cruz was the AAC player of the week after batting .545 with three home runs, two doubles and 11 RBIs in the three-game sweep of Point. He had a 1.545 slugging percentage.

» Bryan won 10-4 and lost 3-2 in an AACdoubleheader Tuesday at Bluefield. Trevor Behrent was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Justin Morhardt was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two scores for Bryan (33-14, 15-8), while Hudson Clare, Brookes Jones and Fernanda Garcia each was 2-for-3 and scored three, two and one run. Behrent and Wade Weinburger each was 2-for-3, Behrent with two doubles, in game two, when the 21st-ranked Lions took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh but gave up two runs in the bottom half. Travis Moore allowed six hits and one run in his six innings.

Track & Field

» Tennessee Wesleyan's Leah Chance was the most outstanding track performer in the AAC women's meet last weekend at Montreat College. TWU finished second to Union (210.5 points to 171.5), and Chance won the 10,000-meter (39:40.34) and the 3000 steeplechase (12:22.08) - with teammates Hannah Rhodes and Rachel Gallison second and third - and was part of the second-place 4x800 relay with Mysteree Bottoroff, Rhodes and Karlie Yinger. TWU's Alexis Lankford was named rookie of the year after winning the 100 and 200 dashes (12.32 and 25.58) and helping win the 4x400 and 4x100 (meet-record 48.18). Alexandria Johnson was third in both sprints and helped on the winning relays, along with Els Hooijdonk and Jymeelah Kirk, who were fourth and fifth in the 100, and Hooijdonk was second in triple jump with Gracie Smith third in high jump. Top-three finishers earned All-AAC honors. For the Wesleyan men, who were third as a team behind champion Reinhardt and Milligan, Josh Parson won the 200 (21.26) and was third with Cadarius Harris fourth in the 100, and Bryce Choate, Darren Payton, Christos Zachariou and T.J. Tupps won the 4x800 (7:51.84). Tre Tiller was second in high jump, Payton and Choate were second and third in the 800, Chaz Hawkins was second in the 110 hurdles and Nic Palmer, Parson, Harris and Sheldon Wilson were second in the 4x100. Bryan's Tyler Boone was second in the men's 5000.

Soccer

» The Chattanooga Football Club is having its 2017 Jersey Reveal Party on Thursday, 4:30-6:30 p.m., at the First Tennessee Pavilion next to Finley Stadium. Players will model the soccer team's uniforms and interact with fans, and Chick-fil-A and Coca-Cola will provide food and drinks. The first 400 in the pavilion will receive limited-edition CFC-branded Coke bottles.

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