With a balanced lineup making success possible all over the field, the Soddy-Daisy boys' soccer team is off to a strong start this spring.
The hosts kicked off their 14-team Trojan Invitational on a sunny Friday with a shutout of Temple Christian, 4-0. Senior stars Jose Enriquez and Chandler Hartman continued their stellar play to begin the season as they scored goals, along with David Gomez and Bradley Sills.
Enriquez and Hartman have a combined 12 goals this season for coach Jeremy Steele's Trojans, who have outscored their opposition 21-2 and at 4-0-1 are off to the program's best start since 2010.
Senior Jonah Gipson provided solid defense and assisted a goal, as did Jensen Harbaugh and Jackson Voiles for Soddy-Daisy, which will take on Cumberland at 5 p.m. Saturday. Trojans freshman Evan Aslinger was another key player in Friday's victory, along with the midfielders who controlled tempo and distributed the ball well.
Baylor 2, Jefferson County 1: North Carolina signee David Danquah scored in the 44th minute off a pass from Gui Gragnano, and David Mitchell's long shot three minutes later proved to be the winning goal for the Red Raiders (3-2). Baylor outshot Jefferson County 11-3, but the Red Raiders struggled in the attacking third of the field.
BASEBALL
Marion County 5, Lookout Valley 0: Alec Barton, Nicholas Hoback and Will Pryor had RBI hits for the Warriors (4-1), and Brayden Abney and Alec Barton combined for five scoreless innings on the mound.
Marion County 10, Lookout Valley 0: Aiden Jolly drove in four RBIs and Bryce Weeks had four of the Warriors' 14 hits. Winning pitcher Tyler Minton threw five scoreless innings.
IMG Academy 2, Baylor 1: Jon Larrea's single for Baylor in the top of the seventh drove in the tying run in a battle of nationally ranked powerhouses, but Nate Selmont homered to lead off the bottom half of the inning as eighth-ranked IMG Academy of Bradenton, Florida, walked off with the win. Wake Forest signee Nick Kurtz went 2-for-2 for the No. 20 Red Raiders, who received six quality innings from Middle Tennessee State commitment Patrick Johnson against a potent lineup.
Baylor 4, Bob Jones 1: Luke Courdin pitched a gem, allowing one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings, and Henry Godbout recorded a one-out save. The Red Raiders only had three hits, but John Emendorfer provided the difference by driving in two runs.
McCallie 14, Bradley Central 4: The Blue Tornado scored eight runs in the bottom of the second, and Austin Breedlove drove in three runs. McCallie's Grayson Smith struck out eight batters in three innings and was backed by 12 hits. Breedlove, Kyle Berry and Hogan Jones each had two hits, along with Bradley Central's Dakota Peace.
Meigs County 14, Bledsoe County 1: Payton Armour was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and was the winning pitcher, allowing five hits and striking out five batters in five innings. Ethan Meadows drove in three runs, and Will Meadows was 2-for-3 and scored three times.
Hixson 16, Chattanooga Christian 5: Leadoff hitter Manny Velazquez went 3-for-5 with four RBIs while finishing a home run shy of the cycle for the Wildcats. Hixson scored a combined 13 runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Other Hixson standouts included Cameron Butler (four RBIs), AJ Wild (four runs, two stolen bases) and Kane Johnson, who picked up the win and was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs.
Bessemer Academy 5, Ooltewah 2: Fisher Perry continued his hot start to the season with two hits and a pair of stolen bases, and Isaac Hughes and Garrett Smith had RBI hits in the fourth inning to make it 2-all. The Alabama program plated three runs in the final two innings for the road victory.
Ringgold 5, LaFayette 2: The Tigers (10-5) improved to 5-0 in GHSA Region 6-AAA as Colin Mountjoy went six innings and allowed three hits and no earned runs while striking out six. Robbie Bates pitched a perfect seventh to earn the save, and Mason Parker had a three-run double in the second inning. For the Ramblers, Davis Richardson had a pair of hits.
North Murray 4, Sonoraville 2: The Mountaineers (5-10, 2-3 6-AAA) scored three runs in the fifth on RBIs from Ty Kendrick and Logan Malchesky and an error. Daniel Skojac had two hits and an RBI, with Spencer Chasteen adding two hits for the winners. Kannon England had two hits and scored twice for Sonoraville.
TENNIS
* McCallie rolled 6-1 at Georgia powerhouse Johns Creek. No. 1 Andreas Sillaste, No. 3 Gabe Getz and No. 4 Collin Tuttle won in both singles and doubles for the Blue Tornado (4-0).
* Baylor defeated GPS 6-1 as freshmen Ensley Collins Helen Guerry won 8-1 at No. 1 doubles and Agda Laakso cruised, 6-0, 6-1.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon. Contact Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.