Led by medalist Ben Rebne, the Dalton State College men’s golf team finished second by one shot in the weekend Purgatory Intercollegiate tournament in Upland, Indiana. Bad weather caused it to be cut from three rounds to one, and the NAIA’s third-ranked Roadrunners combined for a 3-under-par 285. No. 18 Taylor, the host, shot 284. No. 16 Missouri Valley was third at 288. Rebne shot 67 and fellow Heritage High School alumnus Sport Allmond tied for third with a 69 for DSC. Teammates Matthew Cleary and Zach Womack shot 74 and 75.
* Tennessee Wesleyan senior Ryann McCuistion from Chattanooga was selected the Appalachian Athletic Conference women’s golfer of the week for finishing second at 153 in the TWU Spring Invitational at the Tennessee National course. The AAC Spring Championships wrap up Tuesday in Waleska, Georgia.
Baseball
* Andrew Carpenter was 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and five runs batted in as Cleveland State’s baseball team won Monday for the 10th time in 12 games, 13-3 over the Piedmont junior varsity. Jonathan Hickman and Marcial Hernandez each was 2-for-3, Hickman doubling twice, scoring three runs and matching Rhett Baldwin with two RBIs. Three pitchers held Piedmont to one hit.
* Jacksonville State senior catcher and third baseman Nic Gaddis from Trenton, Georgia, was chosen the Ohio Valley Conference baseball player of the week for his part in the team’s 3-1 week. The former Dade County standout was 9-for-18 with two home runs, four doubles, eight runs batted in, six scored, a .526 on-base percentage and a 1.056 slugging percentage. In the last two wins over two-time defending OVC champion Tennessee Tech, Gaddis was 6-for-10 with five RBIs, three doubles and a ninth-inning, tying homer. After batting .324 with team highs of 10 homers and 55 RBIs for JSU last year, he’s hitting .355 this season.
Volleyball
* Former Sale Creek standout Ariana Smith has become the first Cleveland State volleyball player to sign to continue in the sport at a four-year college. After a signing ceremony Monday, she officially is headed to Johnson University in Knoxville. Smith was voted All-TCCAA this past season after totaling 196 kills and 287 digs for the 12-13 Lady Cougars. “Ariana has been a powerhouse on our team these past two years,” coach Alizabeth Atnip said in a mid-March post on the Cleveland State website. “Her leadership skills have developed as well as her understanding of the game. Ariana not only was a force on the front row but was an intelligent passer.”
Softball
* The Bryan and Tennessee Wesleyan softball teams go into their 4 p.m. AAC doubleheader Tuesday in Athens off a weekend in which each defeated Columbia International twice and went 1-1 against Point. Second-place TWU (20-4, 17-3) beat CIU 9-0 and 9-3 and topped Point 8-1 before losing 4-3 in 10 innings. Courtney Calkins pitched in all four games, two with complete-game wins, and allowed only two earned runs in 19 innings, while Olivia Housewright and Courtney Black each totaled six RBIs in the three victories. For Bryan (13-22, 10-11), which won 1-0 and lost 10-0 against Point and edged CIU 2-1 and 5-3, Madison Owens pitched a four-hit shutout and the 5-3 win saved by Olivia Johnson, who also got a save for Gabriella Merced’s five innings of one-hit pitching. A Hannah O’Shields double and Sydney West’s pinch-hit single brought in the deciding runs in the 1-0 and 2-1 wins, and Maryah Sober was 2-for-3 with an RBI in the third triumph.
* Hendrix College completed a home SAA softball series sweep with a 17-2 win over Sewanee on Monday. Peri Prestwood and Charlsey Shirey each had a hit and an RBI for Sewanee (3-22, 0-11), Prestwood adding two stolen bases.
Lacrosse
* Sewanee senior Thomas Lynde was the SAA men’s lacrosse offensive player of the week after contributing four goals and six assists in the Tigers’ 15-14 overtime victory Sunday against Birmingham-Southern. He also had a goal against Transylvania.