Around the Region: Tennessee Wesleyan in both AAC tennis finals

The third-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan tennis teams both won 5-0 in their quarterfinal matches Friday - over the Columbia (S.C.) women and the Union (Ky.) men - and defeated the No. 2 seeds Saturday in the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournaments at Chattanooga's Champions Club. The Lady Bulldogs edged Reinhardt 5-3 and will face SCAD Atlanta for the title today at 10 a.m. The Wesleyan men beat SCAD Atlanta 5-2 and take on top seed Reinhardt at 2 p.m. Wesleyan's Jaime Llardo and Borja Perez made the men's all-conference team with Bernet Parses Montelleo on the all-freshmen list, and Haruka Hirata was All-AAC for the Lady Bulldogs. Llardo and Noemi Principal were TWU's Champions of Character picks.

Baseball

* Lee University baseball coach Mark Brew announced Friday the spring signings of two 5-foot-11 in-state high school standouts: left-handed pitcher Andrew Franklin from Wilson County and infielder Justen Freeman from Farragut. Franklin is Wilson County's valedictorian and was 5-1 with a 1.17 earned run average and 45 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings this season through last Tuesday. He was all-district last year, and Lee recruiting coordinator Justin Dedman called him "an impressively dynamic young man." Freeman also has been all-district and was batting .342 with 16 walks, 20 RBIs and 21 runs scored this year through Tuesday. "Justen is a high-caliber individual with a high motor and strong work ethic. He has a consistent line-drive swing," Dedman said. Said Brew: "Andrew and Justen are nice additions to our fall recruiting class. Both are strong-character kids and excellent students."

* Lee lost 13-5 and 6-3 in its Gulf South Conference doubleheader Saturday at West Florida. Nathan Wierzgac was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Drew Johnson was 3-for-5 in game one for the Flames (26-23, 12-20), while Tyler Payne was 2-for-4 with two runs and Zack Zyburt was 2-for-3 with one run. Wierzgac and Johnson homered in the second loss.

* Third-place Bryan College lost 10-7 on Friday and won 6-4 and lost 15-5 on Saturday in its AAC baseball home series against last-place Montreat. Bryan, ranked 21st in the NAIA, is 35-16 overall and 17-10 in the AAC.

* Tennessee Wesleyan is 35-18, 20-7 in the AAC, after losing 7-5 in the series finale Saturday at Bluefield. Pedro Barrios was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Collin Ridout was 2-for-5 with a run and Alex Balter scored twice for TWU.

* Cleveland State lost 4-3 and won 1-0 in its TCCAA doubleheader with Jackson State. Jake Rogers (9-1) pitched a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts in the win for the Cougars (33-16, 13-14), and John Hennen was 2-for-3 with the RBI single after John Sharpe's first-inning double and a single by Sean McDermott. Brandon Mason had a triple in that game and swatted a two-run homer in game one, when McDermott was 2-for-3 with a double in defeat. The Generals (32-18, 16-11) scored all four of their runs in their first at-bat of the day.

* Sewanee's baseball season ended with a 9-5 loss to Berry in the Southern Athletic Association tournament Saturday night in Birmingham, but the Tigers (19-23) preceded that with a 13-3 whipping of Centre as Jackson Cooper was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Chris McNulty was 4-for-5 with an RBI, Trey Akins was 3-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs and four runs scored, Tony Dykes was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Derek Hullings was 1-for-2 with three walks and three runs. Against Berry (23-20), Cooper was 3-for-4 with two doubles and Akins was 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs, while Hullings was 2-for-4 and scored twice and Jack Bartlewski and Chris McNulty each had two hits and an RBI.

Golf

* Cres Dodd of Calhoun and partner Kyle Hosick of Cartersville are tied for second by a stroke at 13-under-par 129 after two rounds of the Georgia Four-Ball Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, and Dalton's David Noll Jr. and Calhoun's Mike Nance are fourth at 130. Athens residents Keith Guest Jr. and Kyle Stiles lead.

* Sonoraville senior Lane Strickland recently became the first recruit for the Georgia Northwestern golf program being restarted under new coach Eddie Jackson. "I'm very excited. I've always wanted to play college golf, and I've been practicing and working for the opportunity," Strickland said in a GNTC release. He has a 78 average for 18-hole rounds and a 39.3 average for nine-hole matches, and Jackson - longtime teaching pro at LaFayette Golf Course - said he "is very consistent on the course. I was looking for players with solid games, and Lane has one." Sonoraville coach Mike Farley praised his player's "even-keeled" temperament.

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