Starting 5: Former Louisville standout has career showing on one of golf's biggest stages

Former University of Louisville golfer Lauren Hartlage recorded a career-best finish at the 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.

She finished tied for fifth overall at 3 under par.

"I had so much fun," said Hartlage in a news release following her first top-five finish in an LPGA Tour event. "Being in the last group in a major is something I've dreamed of, and even though I didn't play as well as I would've hoped to today, it was a great learning experience and I just had so much fun out there."

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Around the city: Louisville-area team wins title at AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships

A Louisville-area volleyball team, Adidas KIVA 15 Black, recently won a title at the AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida.

The under-15 team — which includes Sofia Aspillaga, Kali Dearborn, Audrey Gilmore, Claire Colson, Mallory Fint, Lillian Krutsinger, Olivia Duncan, Allison Newman, Bryce Berry and Madilyn Hider — went 12-2 in its matches during the tournament. More than 4,600 girls' teams from across the country are competing in the event.

Around the state: Louisville Cardinals, Kentucky Wildcats finish among top 50 in 2023-24 Learfield Directors' Cup standings

Louisville and Kentucky finished among the top 50 in the 2023-24 Learfield Directors' Cup standings, which were released this week.

Kentucky finished 32nd while Louisville placed 49th in the standings, which track the success of athletics departments across the country.

For each school, 19 sports are counted in the final Division I standings, four of which must be women’s volleyball and basketball and men’s basketball and baseball. The best 15 team finishes among other sports at each school are also used to rank the programs.

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UK's ranking was ninth in the SEC, behind Tennessee (third), Florida (fourth), Texas A&M (sixth), Alabama (ninth), LSU (13th), Georgia (16th), Arkansas (18th) and South Carolina (30th).

U of L finished ninth among ACC programs, trailing Virginia (fifth), North Carolina (seventh), Notre Dame (10th), Florida State (12th), Duke (17th), N.C. State (21st), Clemson (31st) and Syracuse (44th).

High school recruiting: Ballard baseball standout staying close to home

Ballard pitcher Zeke House has committed to play baseball at Indiana University Southeast.

During his junior season, House was 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA in 39.5 innings. He recorded 63 strikeouts.

KHSAA football:From St. X-Trinity to Male-Manual, these are the top games to see in 2024

Mark your calendars

• Racing Louisville FC will face the NC Courage on the road at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
• Louisville City FC plays at Oakland Roots SC at 10 p.m. Saturday.
• The Louisville Bats will host the Indianapolis Indians at 6:35 p.m. Monday. The series continues with games at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday and 7:05 p.m. Wednesday. The team will travel to Indianapolis to play the final three games of the series. The Bats play at 6:35 p.m. Thursday and 7:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Know of a story you think should be included in our weekly Starting 5 notebook? Send your idea to sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com for consideration. You can follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.