GRPA State Tourney update: Cartersville Purple 8U wins third straight
Cartersville Purple 8U won two games Wednesday at the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) state tournament in Calhoun to make it three straight wins in the event. Cartersville Purple 8U defeated Walton County 20-11 Wednesday afternoon and took down Jasper County 18-6 Wednesday evening. The tournament is being played at the Sonoraville Recreation Complex. In the win over Walton County, Cartersville Purple led 4-0 after two innings before Walton tied the score in the top of the third. Cartersville scored ten runs in the bottom of the third to take a 14-4 advantage and held off Walton County over the final two frames for a nine-run win.
Will Groce paced Cartersville with four hits and had two RBI. Price Startup followed with three hits including a double and five RBI. Chris Parker also had a three-hit game with three RBI. Kolston Privett (RBI), Bowen Hardy, and Walker Phillips contributed three hits as well. Blake Forstie had a five-RBI game with two hits that included a double. Cade McFarland (RBI) and Easton Stephens tossed in a pair of hits each. Noah Leffew (2 RBI), Colt Priest (RBI), and Parker Huth added one hit apiece. In the evening game, Jasper County took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first before Cartersville scored 15 runs over their first three offensive frames. Jasper added a run in the fourth and Cartersville Purple ended the contest with a three-run fourth inning of their own and an 18-6 win.
Startup had three hits including a pair of doubles and four RBI. Hardy finished with three hits including a double and two RBI and Phillips also managed three hits and one RBI. Groce had two hits including a double and two RBI. Huth and Forstie contributed two hits and one RBI each while Priest (RBI), McFarland (RBI), Privett (RBI) and Stephens added one hit apiece. Cartersville Purple 8U, now 3-0 in the double-elimination tournament, can finish no worse than third place and can win the state title with two more consecutive wins. Next for Cartersville Purple 8U is a 3 p.m. game Thursday against Wednesday night’s Calhoun/Gainesville winner. The winner of the Thursday 3 p.m. contest is locked into Friday’s championship round. The loser plays an elimination game at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
BARTOW WHITE 8U ELIMINATES CARTERSVILLE GOLD 8U
Bartow County White 8U defeated Cartersville Gold 8U 21-9 Wednesday afternoon in an elimination game at the GRPA state tournament at Sonoraville Recreation Complex in Calhoun. Bartow White grabbed a 6-3 lead after two innings, but Cartersville Gold narrowed the margin to 6-5 in the top of the third. Bartow White then took control with an 11-run third inning on their way to the 12-run victory. Five Bartow White players had three hits each including Brock Morris (included two doubles), Knox Gunter (triple), Corbin Dotson (double), Maddox Koontz (double), and Triston Brawner. Javon Harris had two hits including a home run for Bartow White. George Murchison and Brady Young both had two hits including a triple each while Xavier Harris had a pair of hits including a double. Jasper Pruitt added a double and Zion Weems had the other Bartow White 8U hit.
Camden Jones and Jake Thompson led Cartersville Gold 8U with three hits each. Hunter Campbell had a double and a triple. Braxton Mealer contributed two hits including a triple, while Owen Morneault finished with a pair of hits that included a double.
Landon Hamilton, Jack Finnemore, Jack Mroczko, and Easton Raines rounded out the Cartersville Gold attack with one hit each.
The loss eliminated Cartersville Gold 8U due to a 23-0 loss to Gainesville earlier in the day. Morneault had the only Cartersville base hit in that defeat.
Wednesday morning, Bartow White 8U defeated Rockmart in an elimination game 22-9. Seven Bartow White 8U players had three hits each in the win including home runs for Pruitt and Javon Harris. Xavier Harris, Triston Brawner, Jace Reynolds, Gunter, and Murchison were the other Bartow players with three hits apiece.
Brady Young, Dotson, and Koontz followed with two Bartow White hits each. Morris and Weems added one hit each.
Bartow White 8U heads back to the diamond Thursday morning for an elimination game at 9 a.m. against Bartow Blue 8U. The winner plays again at 12 noon.
BARTOW BLUE 8U SPLITS TWO GAMES AT STATE TOURNEY
Bartow Blue 8U dropped its opening game at the GRPA state tournament Wednesday morning, but bounced back with a 17-2 win over Rome-Floyd County in the afternoon to stay alive in the elimination bracket. Bartow Blue led Calhoun 4-3 in the third inning, but a seven-run bottom of the third ultimately made the difference for Calhoun in their 11-7 win. Houston Walden had three hits including a double for Bartow Blue against Calhoun. Cade McCorkle and Brodie Gardner also had three hits in the loss. Noah Rogers had two doubles as six Bartow Blue players contributed two hits each. Jaxton Huskins, Abel Gentry, Austin O’Neal, Karsin Darby, and Logan Smith also had two hits. Joseph Frederick added a triple and Jackson Watts tossed in a double.
In their elimination game win over Rome-Floyd, Bartow Blue 8U scored six runs in the first inning, nine in the second, and two more in the third inning on their way to a 15-run victory.
McCorkle, Rogers, O’Neal, Gardner, Watts, and Will Whitman paced Bartow with two hits apiece. Logan Smith, Walden, Huskins, Gentry, Frederick, and Darby added one hit each.
BARTOW 8U SOFTBALL STAYS ALIVE AT STATE TOURNEY
The Bartow County 8U softball team routed Calhoun 30-9 Wednesday evening at the Sonoraville Recreation Complex to earn a split through their first two games in the GRPA state tournament.
Bartow fell in their state tournament opener to Rockmart Tuesday night, 15-7. Bartow plays Dalton Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. in the first of potentially three elimination games on the day. The Bartow/Dalton winner plays Lafayette at 1:30 p.m. and the Bartow/Dalton/Lafayette survivor plays again at 4:30 p.m.
Through the first two games, Shyla Woods has paced the Bartow County offense with six hits including a pair of home runs. Samantha Porter follows with five hits including a homer and Addi Lu Black also has five hits.
Isabelle Tummins and Lillian Hollis have four hits including two home runs each in Bartow’s first two state tournament games. Kaidee Pirkle and Kylee Poston have contributed four hits including a double each, while Sloan Callan also has four hits. Carly Adams has three hits including a home run. Carder Brock has a double and a triple while Paislee Rooks and Maci Walker have both added two hits apiece.
CARTERSVILLE GOLD 12U FALLS TWICE AT GRPA STATE TOURNAMENT
Cartersville 12U Gold, the GRPA District 5 champions, were ousted Wednesday at the double-elimination state GRPA tournament in Augusta with a second straight loss.
Cartersville Gold 12U dropped its first round game Tuesday evening to Glynn County 5-1 and fell to Moultrie Wednesday morning in an elimination game 7-0.
Cartersville Gold 12U led 1-0 Tuesday night, but Glynn County scored five times in the fifth to win the contest. Peyton Bowen had two hits including a double in the loss to Glynn. Talan Nix had a hit in the first inning and scored Cartersville’s run. Will Camp added a base hit in the sixth inning.
Little League results are provided to Bartow Sports Zone by Bartow County Little League and Cartersville Little League. The game data is shared by the leagues via GameChanger reports from the respective teams and/or leagues. GRPA tournament team results are also provided by the Cartersville Parks and Recreation Department and the Bartow County Parks and Recreation Department or the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association. Results and capsules are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports and CiCi's - Beyond Pizza, both located in the Cartersville Main Street - Cherokee Place Shopping Center.
