Around the Region: Bryan's Justin Morhardt drafted by Braves

Staff Photo by Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Gloves lie in a pile in the Lady Trojan Invitational softball tournament Friday, March 29, 2013, in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
Staff Photo by Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Gloves lie in a pile in the Lady Trojan Invitational softball tournament Friday, March 29, 2013, in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.

Bryan College's NAIA All-America catcher, Justin Morhardt, was drafted this week by the Atlanta Braves. Morhardt, the Appalachian Athletic Conference player of the year, went in the 22nd round of the MLB draft as the 650th overall pick. He is the first Lion ever to be drafted. "After a long list of deserving players from Bryan, it feels amazing to be the first player to have the privilege of breaking the professional ice," Morhardt said in a school release. "My only wish is that I can represent the school with the utmost honor and humility, always putting Christ in the forefront." Bryan baseball coach and athletic director Taylor Hasty naturally expressed pride in the draftee and praised "his hard work the past three seasons. He invested time on and off the field, and this commitment has been rewarded in a big way!"

Track & Field

- Bryan senior Tyler Boone followed his 11th-place finish in the 5000-meter run at the NAIA outdoor track and field meet - the best in program history - by being named a Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete for 2017. And he repeated on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 College Division team. This was his fourth NAIA Scholar-Athlete award in track and cross country. It requires at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Boone was joined in the indoor and outdoor track listing this year by Bryan women's runner Xia Greenwood, who also was a cross country honoree, along with Boone and Hannah Schroeder.

Softball

- The Pic-O-Dixie slowpitch tournament runs tonight through Sunday at the Summit of Softball as a continuing tribute to the Southeastern showcase of the same name annually hosted by Chattanooga in the 1950s through 1970s. The current "Pic" includes 65 teams from through the Southeast, and the champion and highest finishing D and E class teams get paid berths to the World Sports League World Series in Florida. There are 23 women's teams included. Local teams playing tonight include Southside Softball and Tri-State VooDoo in 7:30 games, Rock Fitness and Athletic Shop/King's Men in 8:40 games and CTS at 11.

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