This week's continued rain has disrupted the early season for area college baseball and softball teams, forcing coaches to make schedule adjustments when they would prefer to watch their players make adjustments on the field. Chattanooga State's nationally 14th-ranked softball team arrived in Dothan, Alabama, on Thursday night with the expectation of playing five games today through Sunday, but back in this area Lee University had to cancel its three-day invitational tournament and five games for the Lady Flames. They had teams coming in from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Columbus, Georgia. The Chattanooga State baseball Tigers still hope to play three games the next two days against Lincoln Trail - but not on their home field. That series has been moved to the LakePoint Complex at Emerson, Georgia, near Cartersville. Cleveland State simply moved its two softball doubleheaders against Wabash Valley from today and Saturday back a day and its Saturday-Sunday baseball series against Vincennes to Sunday-Monday, and NAIA No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan now is hosting Indiana Southeast in one game Saturday and two Sunday. Bryan was supposed to host another Northern team, Madonna, for four baseball games today and Saturday but has canceled those and - at least temporarily - moved Monday's scheduled home game against Johnson (of Knoxville) to Saturday and made it a doubleheader. And Covenant's scheduled baseball start of three games today and Saturday at home against Alice Lloyd has been changed to a March 14 doubleheader - canceling a Berea series - but the Scots have added two games Saturday at Sewanee. Lee has moved its women's lacrosse season and home opener from Saturday to Sunday.
Basketball
* The first-place Lee University basketball teams swept their Gulf South Conference home doubleheader Thursday against Montevallo, 92-61 in the women's game and 66-58 in the men's. Abby Bertram and Taylor Boggess scored 27 and 24 points and Lindsey Roddy and Haley Schubert each added 15 for the sixth-ranked Lady Flames (21-1, 13-1), Bertram adding eight assists and five steals, while Nicky Widenski led in rebounds with seven. Boggess was 5-for-6 on 3-point shots, and Schubert was 3-for-3 and Roddy 3-for-4. For the Flames (17-4, 12-2), Parker Suedekum, Beyuan Hendricks, Kentrell Evans and Quay Kennedy scored 13, 12, 11 and 10 points, and Suedekum and Evans had five assists apiece.
* The Chattanooga State women won for the 16th time in 17 games Wednesday, 89-59 over visiting Motlow State, but Motlow's men prevailed 82-79 in overtime in the TCCAA doubleheader. Coach Stacey Franklin's Lady Tigers are 19-5 overall and 10-3 in the league, tied with Cleveland State in second place behind Walters State at 12-2. Dyersburg State, also 19-5 overall, is fourth at 9-4. In the men's game, Motlow's Darius Harding was only 1-of-8 on 3s but made 10 of 11 free throws and totaled 25 points and seven rebounds. Also for the Bucks (12-14, 6-8), KeyShun Bradley had 14 points and five steals, Jace Wallace 13 points and nine rebounds and Justin Hill 10 rebounds and four steals. The Tigers (8-14, 5-8) got 20 points and four assists from Taye Calloway, 14 points and four scoring passes from Lorenzo Ferrell, 11 points and three blocked shots from Everette Wilson and nine rebounds from Richard Nunez.
* With 35 points, five assists and three steals from Bryant Bernard, the Tennessee Wesleyan men pulled off an 82-77 Appalachian Athletic Conference upset win Wednesday at Union College in Kentucky. That was the fifth straight victory for TWU (11-11, 9-10); Union is 17-9, 14-6. Ty Patterson contributed 17 points and three steals, and Jamesio Rhine had 11 points and nine rebounds. Union won the women's game 74-68 in overtime and is 18-6, 15-4 in AAC games. Jordan Wright hit six 3s and scored 23 points for Wesleyan (8-14, 8-11); Hannah Cherry scored 12. Union's J'Lyn Martin was 8-of-11 on 3s and totaled 28 points, while Brooke Hammonds had 17 points, 13 rebounds and four steals. TWU led 64-58 with just over a minute to go in the fourth quarter, but Hammonds followed with two assists, the tying basket with four seconds to go and a rebound to force overtime.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.