SPORTS BRIEFS: Darton baseball sweeps West Georgia Tech

Darton baseball sweeps past West Georgia Tech

Luis Salas hit his second homer in as many days and the Darton State College baseball team took a pair of victories over West Georgia Tech Saturday afternoon.

Salas, who homered in Friday night’s win, hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh in the first game to propel the Cavaliers to a 3-2 victory. He finished 2 for 3 to lead the offense and helped starting pitcher Jeremy Beasley earn a complete-game victory to improve his season record to 5-2. Beasley allowed just an earned run on five hits.

Then Darton took a 12-3 victory in the second game. Sterling Sharp earned the victory, working six innings and allowing two runs on five hits.

John Cable led the offense, going 3 for 3 with three RBIs. Chandler Cross finished 1 for 2 with a pair of RBIs. Max Thomas, Mike Huggins and William Golden each had two hits in the game.

The Cavs improved to 25-11 overall, 12-4 in conference play. They will play host to Georgia Highlands on Tuesday.

Texas parts ways with Barnes

Rick Barnes, the winningest coach in school history, was fired as coach of the Texas Longhorns after 17 seasons, according to reports Saturday.

Texas athletic director Steve Patterson informed Barnes that his tenure is over, a source told ESPN.com.

The American-Statesman reported that school officials reached their final decision Saturday and plan to make an announcement either Sunday or Monday.

Hired in 1998, the 60-year-old Barnes went 402-180, won three Big 12 regular-season championships and reached the NCAA Tournament in 16 of his 17 seasons in charge of the Longhorns.

Texas reached the Final Four in 2003 and made two other Elite Eight appearances. Barnes escaped the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament just five times in 17 seasons, and his last Sweet 16 came in 2008.

According to reports, two candidates Texas will seriously consider are Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall and VCU’s Shaka Smart.

Patterson reportedly demanded that Barnes revamp his coaching staff, but Barnes did not agree with the decision.

Russell Springman has been a Texas assistant since 2001, Rob Lanier returned in 2011 after coaching under Barnes in 1999-2001, and former Texas player Chris Ogden joined Barnes’ staff in 2008.

After failing to make the tournament during the 2012-13 season, the Longhorns rebounded to make it back in the past two years. Barnes received a two-year contract extension after 2014 that ran through the 2018-19 season.

This season, the Longhorns disappointed with a No. 11 seed and opening-game loss to Butler 56-48 in the NCAA Tournament. Texas finished 20-14 overall and 8-10 in the Big 12.

Top-ranked UConn rolls Texas

Top-ranked Connecticut advanced to another Elite Eight in the NCAA women’s tournament and moved closer to a third straight national championship with a 105-54 rout of fifth-seeded Texas on Saturday in a regional semifinal in Albany, N.Y.

The 51-point blowout represented the largest margin of victory at this stage of the tournament and beyond in history.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma became the second women’s or men’s coach to reach 100 NCAA Tournament wins, joining former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who posted 112 during her career.

Forward Breanna Stewart led the Huskies (35-1) with 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists before leaving the game with more than nine minutes remaining. Guard Moriah Jefferson scored 25 points, making 10 of 12 shots from the field.

UConn shot 56 percent from the field and at one point went on a 44-9 run, leading 52-24 at halftime and then starting the second half with 18 points in the first 3:30.

The Huskies advanced to a regional final for the 10th straight year and have a record streak of seven consecutive Final Fours. They’ll face Dayton next.

Texas (24-11), playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2004, was led by guard Ariel Atkins with 11 points.