Sports Roundup; ASU to celebrate SIAC golf championship

ASU celebrating first golf tittle

ALBANY — Albany State University will celebrate its first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship at noon today at the ASU Amphitheater on the East Campus.

The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The Golden Rams earned the SIAC Conference Championship on April 19, finishing 52 strokes ahead of second-place Miles College. Kentucky State finished third in the competition.

SWGA runners place first, second in Peach Pace

ALBANY — Two Southwest Georgia runners finished first and second in their respective age classes Saturday in the 2017 Peach Pace 5K/10K race at Lane Southern Orchards at Fort Valley.

In the 10K race (6.2 miles), David Slauenwhite, of Cordele, finished in 59:07, first for men ages 55-59. He was second in the 5K (3.1-mile) race.

Brenda Gail Wall, of Leesburg, finished second in both race lengths for women ages 65-69. Her time in the 5K was 53:11, and 1:44:30 in the 10K.

Falcons exercise option on Matthews

FLOWERY BRANCH (TNS) — The Falcons exercised the fifth-year option on left tackle Jake Matthews on Tuesday.

Matthews, who was selected sixth overall in the first round of the 2014 draft, has played in and started 47 regular-season games. He missed one game his rookie season.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said that the team planned to exercise the option after the pre-draft press conference last Thursday.

Matthews originally signed a four-year contract worth $16.5 million.

Matthews was rushed into attack at left tackle as a rookie after Sam Baker went down with a knee injury in the third exhibition game. He received his promotion on “Hard Knocks” when then-offensive line coach Mike Tice told him that he was moving from right tackle to left tackle.

Matthews has been steady, while playing below the Pro Bowl level.

Matthews, who played 978 snaps last season, had a rating of 77.6 overall which was 34th among the tackles last season, according to profootballfocus.com. He had a 81 grade in pass blocking, but just a 59 in the run game. Under profootballfocus.com’s scoring system, 75 is considered average.

Matthews is the son of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews.

Danna Durante out as Georgia gymnastics coach

ATHENS — University of Georgia gymnastics coach Danna Durante will not be retained according to an announcement Tuesday by UGA J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity.

“We will move forward with a national search as quickly as possible to fill the head coaching position for our gymnastics team,” McGarity said.

Durante recently finished her fifth season as head coach at Georgia, capped by a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

In 2017, Georgia finished 15-15 overall with a 4-3 mark in conference competition. In Durante’s five years, Georgia qualified for the Super Six three times, once over the last three seasons.

UGA’s Emanuel 16th in NPF Draft

ATHENS — Georgia softball senior Sydni Emanuel was selected as the 16th pick of the National Pro Fastpitch Draft on Monday night by the Akron Racers.

Georgia has had 17 Bulldogs play professionally, as five former players were on active rosters last season, including Alisa Goler, Alex Hugo, Kristyn Sandberg, Taylor Schlopy and Megan Wiggins, as well as assistant coach Rachele Fico.

​Emanuel has had a stellar career since arriving in Athens in 2015 after transferring from Texas Tech. Playing and starting in 161 games at Georgia, S. Emanuel is a two-time All-SEC honoree and NFCA All-Region selection while she also earned All-Region accolades her freshman season in Lubbock.

The outfielder is on her way to holding the best batting average of a Georgia player with a .435 mark, hitting a career-best .446 so far this season. Her 232 hits at Georgia ranks in the career top 10 while her 301 hits in her collegiate career is the second-most among active players in the NCAA. At Georgia, her speed has helped her total 146 runs while going 51-of-56 in stolen bases.

Emanuel and the Bulldogs host South Carolina for its final weekend at home. First game is at 6 p.m. Friday on SEC Network. Saturday is also the team’s Pink Out game.

Sandoval back to the disabled list

BOSTON — Pablo Sandoval is headed back to the disabled list.

The Boston Red Sox third baseman was placed on the 10-day DL with a right knee sprain on Tuesday and infielder Josh Rutledge was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket before Tuesday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.

Sandoval, 30, sustained the injury while fielding a ground ball in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 6-2 win against the Orioles in Baltimore.

The three-time World Series champion and former World Series MVP with the San Francisco Giants played just three games last season before landing on the DL with a shoulder strain and later undergoing season-ending surgery.

Sandoval missed 195 of a possible 324 games over his first two seasons of a five-year, $95 million deal with the Red Sox.

In 2017, Sandoval is batting .213 (13-for-61) with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 17 games. He owns a .238 average with 13 homers and 57 RBIs in 146 games over three seasons in Boston.

Rutledge, 28, began the season on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain.

— From staff, wire reports