Top-seeded and nationally seventh-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning and beat third seed Bryan College 7-4 for the Appalachian Athletic Conference baseball tournament championship Thursday in Kingsport, Tenn. TWC's Bulldogs (43-10), also the regular-season champions, and the Lions (42-16) both will represent the AAC in the NAIA national championship opening round. Ridge Hoopi-Haslam, the league's player of the year, also was the tournament MVP. He hit a go-ahead three-run double in the ninth and scored the final run on a Jordan Garrett single. Logan Longwith pitched the bottom of the ninth for the save. Joey Underwood was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer for Bryan and joined teammate Preston King on the all-tournament team. Wardy Polanco, Cody Albright and Cody Stroud joined Hoopi-Haslam from the Bulldogs.
Tennis
* The nationally 12th-ranked Sewanee women's tennis team opened NCAA Division III play with a win for the third year in a row Thursday, 5-0 over Agnes Scott, and will face No. 11 Washington University from St. Louis today. The Tigers won all three doubles matches by 8-2 scores and clinched the victory when Clementina Davila and Annie Veron completed 6-1, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-0 singles wins. Meanwhile, Nos. 1 and 2 singles players Bronte Goodhue and Lindsey Liles and assistant coach Currie Martin received Atlantic South Regional awards. Martin was the region's assistant coach of the year, Chattanoogan Goodhue was the most improved player (senior) of the year and Liles got the ITA Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership honor. She follows Goodhue and two previous Tigers with that honor.
Basketball
* Central High School all-state forward Tre Tiller has signed scholarship papers to continue his basketball career at Tennessee Wesleyan. Tiller averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots a game in helping lead the Purple Pounders to the Class AA state tournament. "To me he has more athletic ability than any basketball player that I've seen in this town in probably a decade," Central coach Rick Rogers said. "Naturally God-given athleticism is what he has. He could do things on the court that people we faced didn't have an answer for, sometimes. I've never measured his vertical jump, but it's got to be close to 40 inches. They got really lucky to get him at Tennessee Wesleyan, I think. I can see him making an impact right away and dominating that league by the time he's a junior."
* Tyner's Porchia Turner is headed to Indiana Tech to play basketball and volleyball, and she plans to sign scholarship papers from the Fort Wayne school today. She averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds a game in her final basketball season at Tyner, according to Lady Rams coach Katrich Williams, and considered Chattanooga State and Cleveland State. "Porchia was the motor that kept our team running," Williams said. "I couldn't have asked for a more dedicated and hard-working athlete. She gave her all every time she touched the floor. I know she will do well at the next level."
Lacrosse
* Six Girls Preparatory School lacrosse players -- the most in program history -- have been named to the TGLA East all-region team for 2015 and were invited to play in the TGLA All-Star Game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Pope John Paul II School in Nashville. The honored Bruisers are Alex George, Savannah Williams, Lindsay Rufolo, Carly Bourne, Grace Sanford and Anna Claire Pierce.
Auto Racing
* The United Sprint Car Series' 19th annual Outlaw Thunder Tour will visit North Georgia Speedway near Chatsworth on Saturday night. This will be the fifth USCS stop in a 45-event 2015 series for the high-speed winged sprint cars and serve also as a Southern Thunder Tour regional points race. Drivers from at least five states are expected. Also featured will be mini/micro versions in the USCS 600 Sprint Car Series with at least four states represented. Four of the speedway's regular divisions, including Crate Late Model, also will race. See www.northgeorgiaspeedway.net for more details.
Golf
* Randy Bowman of Summerville, Ga., was the 11th seed after stroke-play qualifying in the Georgia Senior Match Play golf tournament, and he lost 5 and 4 Thursday against sixth-seeded Frank Remmes of Lilburn in the round of 16 at Statesboro's Forest Heights Country Club. Rochelle Weaver of Resaca finished second Wednesday at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton in the Senior Women's Match Play Super Senior (65-over) first flight. She lost 4 and 2 to Carrollton's Barbara Brown in the final.