Sports roundup: Jaguars finish baseball season in PBC tournament

Staff report

Despite an early two-run home by Aidan Cannady, the AU baseball team was eliminated by top-seeded North Georgia from the Peach Belt Conference Tournament on May 4 in Dahlonega.

In the elimination contest, North used a nine-run fourth inning en route to 12-4 victory.

Cannaday, the junior from Fuqua Varina, N.C., belted his home run after Nolan Turner had started the game with a single.

Coach Chris Howell’s Jaguars ended their season swith a 13-40 record.

The Jags opened the tournament with an upset of the Nighthawks, but then AU lost the next two games to see its season come to a conclusion.

Columbus State would then upset North in the next game, and now the Cougars will play Lander in the championship series this coming weekend in Greenwood, S.C.

Pinillos opens play in Norman Regional

Zoe Pinillos, the Southland Conference medalist, began play in the Norman Regional of the NCAA Division I golf tournament with an opening-round 74 and a second-round 71 on the par-71 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course.

Pinillos was a 3 over par and tied for 32nd place in the regional.

The final round was played on May 6.

Blanchard, AU men rack up SLC awards

Bo Blanchard II was named both golfer of the year and newcomer of the year by the Southland Conference.

Blanchard, Stefan Jacobs and Chapman Barnett all made the all-conference first team Pieter Rossouw Jr. was named to the second team.

AU Coach Steven Paine earned coach-of-the-year honors.

Augusta will be the 12th seed at the Tallahassee Regional on May 12-14.

Thees named assistant VB coach at Randolph-Macon

Former AU setter Ally Thees has been named an assistant coach at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va..

Last season, Thees, who grew up in Utah but played her high school ball in Fort Mill, S.C., coached at Louisiana Monroe. There she worked with the setters and liberos.

Over three season with the Jaguars, she totaled 488 assists and 536 digs. Thees helped the Jaguars reach the Elite Eight for the first time in program history in 2021, and her play was critical to AU’s run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2023. She also played at Georgia State before transferring to AU.

Emily McBride led AU to a third-place finish in the Peach Belt Conference outdoor track and field championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Here she is with AU cross-country MVP plaque at the the school’s annual athletics banquet on April 30 at the Augusta Marriott. McBride shared AU female athlete of the year honors with volleyball’s Sophia Kruczko. At the top of the page, at left, Jaguar golfer Bo Blanchard II is with his coach, Steven Paine. Blanchard, the Southland Conference player and rookie of the year, will lead the Jaguars into the NCAA Division I Tallahassee Regional next week. (photos by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)

AU setter-defensive specialist Ally Thees goes for a dig during a 2022 Jaguar match. Thees has been named an assistant coach at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. (Bell Ringer file photo)