The nationally third-ranked Lee University softball team will end its NAIA affiliation next week in the 10-team national championship tournament after defeating 14th-ranked Olivet Nazarene 16-8 Wednesday afternoon for the championship of the Opening Round series hosted by Lee at Butler Field. The Lady Flames and the nine other Opening Round winners advance to Columbus, Ga., for the May 24-30 double-elimination national finals. Lady Flames first baseman Ana Coscorrosa hit two home runs and had a double as Lee pounded out 23 hits in the win. Dominique Hannah capped a seven-run seventh inning with a three-run home run. Coscorrosa, Hannah, Meghan Macias and Laurel Allen each had three hits for the Lady Flames. Caroline MacAusland earned the pitching win with 5 1/3 innings of work.
Baseball
• The Covenant College baseball team lost 8-5 to third-seeded Arizona Christian as pool play opened Wednesday in the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio. Covenant (29-14) plays Campbellsville and Emmanuel today. The Scots led 5-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth when Arizona Christian tied the game on an RBI single by Phil Creecy and won the game on a walk-off, three-run home run by Trevor Santor. Covenant was led by Perry Rigby, who went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs, and Sterling Witt who also knocked in two runs. Will Cleland and David Lockwood each had two hits in the loss for Covenant. The Scots' Micah Mabe was announced Tuesday night as an NCCAA second-team All-American. The sophomore left-hander was 7-2 with a 2.25 earned run average and 66 strikeouts in 68 innings coming into the tournament, with 13 strikeouts in one nine-inning game.
Golf
• Lee University is in 13th place with an aggregate 604 Wednesday in the second round of the NAIA men's golf tournament at the Creekside course in Salem, Ore., as freshman Peyton Sliger shot a 1-over-par 73 to lead the Flames. Hunter Vest shot a 74 in the second round, while Matt Emery finished with a 76 and JB Eksteen had a 77.
• Sewanee freshman Emily Javadi from Chattanooga improved on her first-round 82 with an 80 Wednesday in the NCAA Division III women's golf tournament at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Fla. The Southern Athletic Association champion is in a tie for 34th place with two rounds to go.
Lacrosse
• Freshman lacrosse defender Alexis Crittenden, senior attacker Olivia Vietor and sophomore midfielder Sally Anne Greenwood represented Sewanee on the IWLCA All-West Region first team for 2013, and senior defender Anna Morrow, sophomore midfielder Ellie Murphy and freshman keeper Sammy Strasburger were second-team selections. The Tigers won the SAA, went to the NCAA tournament and finished 13-7 this season.
Volleyball
• Sonoraville High School junior Kristi Vaughn recently was named to the Junior Volleyball Association's 2013 "watch list" for JVA club players nationwide, and only two other Georgia girls received that honor. Age divisions 15-18 this club season are included. The JVA Watch List includes 120 girls from 44 clubs. Vaughn has been part of the North Georgia Rage volleyball club for three years and helped lead Sonoraville to the GHSA "super six" last fall.
Football
• Junior Prep Nation plans to hold eighth- and seventh-grade all-star football games pitting Tennessee standouts against Georgians on June 29 at Red Bank High School, and tryouts for those games are set for this Friday and Saturday at Red Bank. Players can come either day, according to organizer Kraig Campbell, who says Junior Prep Nation's main intent is to give athletes an early start on full preparation for college opportunities. See www.juniorprepnation.com for more information about the organization and the football tryouts.