SOUTHERN LEAGUE HONORS PITCHER

CHATTANOOGA -- Former Wilson Central and Tennessee pitching standout James Adkins did his part to keep the Lookouts in the hunt for the second half North Division title, turning in two stellar outings that both resulted in Chattanooga victories.

For his efforts, he was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week.

The 23- year-old lefty pitched 11 scoreless innings in all, surrendering just eight singles.

On August 24 against Mississippi, Adkins struck out five in six scoreless frames, leading the Lookouts to an 8-0 win.

In his next start at Jacksonville on August 30, Adkins gave up four base hits, struck out four and walked one in five innings.

He held the South Division-leading Suns scoreless despite two errors behind him and helped the Lookouts hold on for a 2-1 win.

The Mt. Juliet native is the son of Jimmy and Kristi Adkins.

Adkins was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round (39th overall) in the 2007 MLB Draft.

He was a 1st team Freshman All-American at Tennessee in 2006 and was MVP of the Knoxville Regional at the College World Series. Adkins is Tennessee’s all time leader in strikeouts with 350 career strikeouts.

MAYFIELD, KY -- Cumberland continued its strong start to the 2009 season with a 3-0 win over homestanding Mid-Continent Wednesday in the TranSouth Conference opener for the Bulldogs.

The three-set victory (25-13, 25-19, 25-19) marked the fifth time in six matches that the Bulldogs (6-0, 1-0) have not dropped a game. Mid-Continent, which did not win a match in 2008, fell to 0-2 with both losses coming in conference play.

"It was really good for these girls to go on the road and pick up their first conference win," CU coach Dwayne Deering said.

"Mid-Continent is much improved. They’ve got a feisty, scrappy team and they’re well coached. I was really pleased with our team."

CU was led by Jordan Pescatore, who recorded an ace on six of her 22 serves.

The redshirt senior from Birmingham, Ala. served the team to eight straight points during the second game.

The 8-0 run brought the Volleydawgs out of a four-point hole and was the beginning of an 11-2 span to close out the set.

Kaysi Arnold of Greenbrier, posted kills on seven of her 16 attacks, committing no errors.

Arnold’s twin sister Kayla, Cookeville High product Taylor Denney and Tracy Smallwood of Portland each had five kills.

As a team, Cumberland had 13 kills on 30 attempts and only one error during the second match, resulting in a .400 attack percentage.

CU held the Cougars to a negative percentage in the first game and .065 in the final set. Pescatore added a match-high 19 digs, while Denney had 13 assists.

Cumberland steps out of conference play Tuesday, Sept. 8 when the Bulldogs travel to Tennessee Temple.