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April 26, 2025 Georgia Highlands College softball swept a home doubleheader with South Georgia State on Saturday, winning 10-1 and 6-5. The two wins gave the Chargers a five-game winning streak heading into the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament. Hayden Joyner pitched all five innings in the opener and allowed just one earned run on two hits and one walk while striking out three. Grace Kendrick (2.1 IP, 4ER, 5R, 6H, 1BB) and Hannah Mounce (4.2 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 1K) shared the pitching duties in the second game. Abbi Hall (double, sac fly, five RBI), Cayden Warren (double, three RBI), and Chloe Fowler (double) led the Chargers with three hits in the two games. Joyner (triple, two RBI), Emma Darrow (double, RBI), and Maci Andrews (double, RBI) had two hits. Haylee Dishmon (RBI), Ahmani Green (RBI), Raegan Ford, Abbey Yates, Hailey Love, and Mary Catherine Kimball added one hit for GHC. Emmalee Freeman contributed one RBI. Georgia Highlands (34-14, 13-5) will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament that begins Wednesday at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove.

April 25, 2025 The Adairsville Tigers lost their opening-round playoff series with the visiting Mary Persons Bulldogs, falling 7-0 and 10-0 in the best-of-three Class AAA playoff. Mary Persons won the first game behind the strong pitching performances of Cole Carr and Shivan Patel. The Bulldogs' pitching duo limited the Tigers to four hits and did not allow a run. Mary Persons led 1-0 through four innings and added single runs in the fifth and sixth to go up 3-0. The visitors put the game away in the seventh inning with four additional runs. Gavin Barr hit two home runs for Mary Persons, including a solo shot in the sixth inning and a three-run homer in the seventh. He finished with four RBI. Carr added three hits and one RBI. Brady Christman (double), Nic Arnold (RBI), and Andrew Snow contributed two hits. Jack Nelson made the pitching start for Adairsville and worked six innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on ten hits and two walks. Nelson struck out six. McCayden Hufstetler retired three outs in the seventh inning, allowing four earned runs on four hits. Harrison Cole had two hits for the Tigers, including one double. Isaac Burnett and Westin Barfield added one hit. Game 2 began on Friday night with Mary Persons racing to an early 8-0 lead through three innings. Weather concerns and unplayable field conditions delayed the contest's completion until Saturday and forced the game to be shifted to Northwest Whitfield in Tunnel Hill.  The Bulldogs, playing as the home team in the second game, scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on Friday night and added four in the second and two in the third. The game was paused in the top of the fifth inning with the Tigers batting with one out. When the game resumed on Saturday, Adairsville managed to load the bases with a walk and two singles in the fifth, but a double play ended the Tigers' scoring opportunity. The hosts loaded the bases again with one out in the sixth inning, but failed to score. Mary Persons closed the contest with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on three hits and an Adairsville error. Andrew Snow collected the Game 2 pitching win for the Bulldogs with a 4-1/3 inning start. He struck out three and allowed only two hits. Patel retired the final five outs and had one strikeout. Jarrett Scott (1 IP, 4ER, 3H, 3BB, 1K) started on the bump for Adairsville in Game 2 and was charged with the pitching loss. Kaiden Coker (2 IP, 4R, 1ER, 5H, 1BB) and Hudson Parr (2.1 IP, 2R, 1ER, 4H, 0BB, 4K) pitched in relief for the Tigers. Ethan Long had two hits in the final game. Peyton Bowen, Braxton Ryan, Brody Varner, Scott, and Cole added one hit. Mary Persons improved to 17-14 and will host Upson-Lee in the second round. The Tigers' season ended with a 17-10 record. The game was paused in the top of the fifth inning with one out. A win by Mary Persons would clinch the series. Adairsville needs a come-from-behind win in Game 2 and an additional win in Game 3.

April 26, 2025 Emerie Elrod, a junior gymnast at Cartersville High School, made school history on Friday with a fifth-place finish on the vault at the 2025 GHSA Gymnastics State Championships in Buford. Elrod qualified for the state finals by placing in the Top 8 at the State preliminary competition, where she earned a score of 9.050. Elrod, a second-year member of the Lady Canes team, scored 9.350, securing fifth place in the event. “Emerie has been a rock for us this season,” noted CHS Head Coach Kimberly Mosteller. “Fifth-place in the state and competing at this level is truly special. It has been an honor to watch her grow and lead through this sport.”

April 25, 2025 Clifton Pucket, GHC Athletics Georgia Highlands College softball delivered a dominant doubleheader sweep over East Georgia State on Friday, winning 12-1 and 7-0 to stay in the hunt for the No. 2 seed in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) standings. The sweep improves the Chargers' positioning ahead of Saturday’s regular season finale against South Georgia State. While Georgia Military College has clinched the regular season title and top seed, GHC and Gordon State remain deadlocked for second place. With Gordon State holding the tiebreaker, the Chargers will need help to secure the two-seed for next week's GCAA tournament in Locust Grove. In game one, the Chargers exploded for five runs in both the second and third innings to blow the game open. Mary Catherine Kimball (Haralson Co. HS) led the offensive barrage, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Ahmani Green (Worth Co. HS) and Hayden Joyner (Bryan Co. HS) each drove in two runs, as GHC piled up the runs early. Joyner also impressed in the circle, tossing three no-hit innings before Athens Hudson (Calhoun HS) took over to finish the game. Hudson allowed one hit and one unearned run over the final two frames to secure the run-rule victory. Game two saw the Chargers strike early again, plating two runs in the first two innings before adding insurance in the fourth and fifth. Green continued her hot day at the plate with four RBI on two hits, while Raeghan Thomson (Jackson Co. HS) added another RBI. Hannah Mounce (Smiths Station HS) took care of business on the mound, tossing a two-hit shutout over five innings in a lightning-shortened contest. The Chargers (32-14, 11-5) will close out the regular season Saturday at home, needing a strong showing and a little help from Gordon State’s opponents to climb into the second seed.

April 24, 2025 Alivia Joslin The Adairsville Lady Tigers soccer team defeated visiting Pickens 4-2 Thursday night to advance in the GHSA Class AAA state playoffs. Adairsville started quickly, and Alexa Damer scored in the 2nd minute off an assist from Addi Jerauld. After the Dragons found an equalizer in the 18th minute off a penalty kick, Ella Edwards gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the 24th minute. Damer assisted, and Adairsville carried their one-goal advantage into the intermission. The high-paced and physical first half carried over into the second 40 minutes. The Edwards-Damer duo struck again in the 49th minute to put the Tigers up 3-1, but Pickens narrowed the margin to 3-2 in the 69th minute. Alexa Damer Damer finished off the scoring for Adairsville in the 78th minute off an assist from Braylynn Martin. “Alivia Joslin received our game ball tonight,” noted Tigers’ assistant coach Amanda Jones. “Liv had a great game and is extremely versatile. Victoria Loudon and Sam Gough also exhibited great leadership.” Adairsville goalkeeper Chikondi Banda was credited with six saves of shots on goal in the victory. The season ended for the Dragons with an 8-6 record. The Lady Tigers (14-3) advance to the second round of the state playoffs to face the Islands/Luella winner on Thursday, May 1. Adairsville would host Islands, but would be the visiting team if the opponent is Luella.

April 24, 2025 Andrew Purdy recorded eight strikeouts in five innings on the mound and was 4-for-4 with four doubles at the plate as the Hurricanes completed a first-round playoff sweep of the visiting Cambridge Bears. The Purple Hurricanes posted two runs early on Thursday, and pitchers Andrew Purdy and Logan Shrewsbury were strong on the mound, lifting Cartersville to a 3-0 win and a first-round playoff sweep of visiting Cambridge. The Hurricanes won the series opener on Wednesday night, 5-0. Purdy scattered three hits and three walks in the first five innings on the bump to earn the pitching victory. He struck out eight.  Shrewsbury completed the shutout. He gave up one hit and no walks while recording one strikeout in the final two frames.  Playing as the visiting team and batting first in Game 2 at Richard Bell Field, the Canes got on the scoreboard in the first inning. Purdy led off the game with a line drive double into left field, and his courtesy runner, Gavin Renegar, scored on a single by Tristan McKibben. Later in the inning, Julez Pratt singled home McKibben for an early 2-0 advantage. Cartersville added an insurance run at the top of the fifth inning. Purdy doubled again to begin the inning, and courtesy runner Renegar scored one out later on a double by Cole Crawford. Purdy had four hits —all doubles — in his four plate appearances. McKibben (RBI), Crawford (double, RBI), Pratt (RBI), Brayden Logan, and Nolan Elrod produced one hit each.  Cambridge finished the season with a 17-14-1 mark. Cartersville (25-7) advances to the second round for the 28th time in the past 29 seasons. The Canes will begin a best-of-three series at Starrs Mill (21-6) with a doubleheader on Tuesday in Fayetteville at 4:30 p.m. If a third game is necessary, it will be played on Wednesday at Starrs Mill at 5:30 p.m.

April 24, 2025 Junior and veteran leader of the CHS Varsity Gymnastics Team, Emerie Elrod, competed against 38 of the top vaulters in Georgia at the 2025 GHSA Gymnastics State Preliminaries and delivered a standout vault, scoring a 9.050 to finish in the Top 8 in the state! Now in her second year on the varsity team, Emerie has been a consistent competitor and a true example of leadership and dedication throughout the season. Her outstanding effort has earned her a spot at the 2025 GHSA Gymnastics State Championships in Buford this Friday, April 25th.

April 24, 2025 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com Nate Russell tossed six shutout innings to help lead the Canes to a 5-0 win in Game 1 of their first-round state playoff series with the Cambridge Bears. Cartersville starting pitcher Nate Russell struck out 11 batters in six innings Wednesday at Richard Bell Field, and the Purple Hurricanes shut out the Cambridge Bears 5-0 in Game 1 of the two teams’ first-round GHSA Class AAAA state playoff series. The game started at 4:30 p.m., and the best-of-three series was scheduled to play a doubleheader on Wednesday, but Mother Nature had different plans. Following a scoreless first inning, lightning in the area and eventual light showers delayed the game for 4-½ hours. Play resumed after 9 p.m., and the Canes responded with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Cartersville would add three more insurance runs in the fifth inning to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Russell scattered two hits over the first six innings and did not walk a batter. He hit one Bears batter, but faced only three more than the minimum while collecting the pitching victory. Maddox Frazier recorded a rare fourth strikeout in his one inning of relief in the seventh. He had one batter reach base on a dropped third strike. David Vargas had two hits and one RBI in Game 1 of the Canes' playoff series with Cambridge. The Hurricanes grabbed their second-inning lead with three singles and a sacrifice fly. Julez Pratt started the offense with a one-out single. Brayden Logan followed with a single, sending Pratt’s courtesy runner Gavin Renegar to third base. Nolan Elrod was retired on a fly ball to left field, allowing Renegar to tag up and score as Logan moved to second base. David Vargas added an RBI single, giving the Canes a 2-0 lead. Vargas also ignited Cartersville’s three-run fifth inning with a leadoff single. Thomas Peters walked, and Tristan McKibben drove in Vargas with a single lined into centerfield. Cole Crawford’s single scored Peters and walks to Pratt and Logan forced in the Canes’ fifth run. Calloway Holmes and Ethan Herrington had the only hits for the Bears. Charlie Paulus (5 IP, 5ER, 7H, 3BB, 3K) made the pitching start for Cambridge (17-13-1) and was saddled with the loss. Brendan O’Dowd (1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1K) pitched an inning of relief. McKibben and Vargas finished with two hits and one RBI for Cartersville (24-7). Andrew Purdy, Pratt, Crawford (RBI), and Logan (RBI) added one hit. Elrod contributed one RBI. The series will continue on Thursday with a scheduled doubleheader at 3 p.m. The Cartersville/Cambridge series winner will travel to Starrs Mill for a second-round series next Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, in other playoff action involving Region 7-AAAA teams, Kell eliminated Dalton, Blessed Trinity discarded Cedartown, and Allatoona won two straight over Westminster.

April 24, 2025 Melvin Velasquez The Cass Colonels boys’ soccer team had its season end Wednesday night with a 4-0 loss at Blessed Trinity in the first round of the GHSA Class AAAA state playoffs. The host Titans improved to 11-5 on the season and advanced to face the Midtown / Harris County first-round winner on April 30. The Cass boys had their season end with a 7-9 record.

April 23, 2025 Georgia Highlands baseball went back-and-forth with the Andrew College Tigers Tuesday before escaping with a walk-off 13-12 win in the bottom of the twelfth inning. The lead changed hands or the score was tied nine times as the teams combined to rattle off 26 hits, including four home runs. Wyatt Gatlin hit two home runs, including a walk-off homer in the 12th inning. Georgia Highlands trailed 1-0, led 4-1, trailed 6-4, led 9-6, trailed 10-9, tied the score at 10-all, trailed 12-10, knotted the score again at 12-all, and walked off with a 13-12 win on Wyatt Gatlin’s line drive homer to right field to lead off the bottom of the 12th inning. The Chargers used six pitchers, and Heath Whitlock picked up the win by working a spotless top of the 12th inning. Gavin Webster (3 IP, 6R, 5ER, 2H, 5BB, 1K) started on the mound for GHC. Nickolaus Kane (5 IP, 0R, 5H, 1BB, 8K), Hunter Ward (1 IP, 4R, 2ER, 3H, 2BB, 1K), Garrett Goblish (1 IP, 2ER, 2H), and Jackson Greer (0R, 1H, 0BB, 1K) worked in relief. Ali Banks paced the Chargers’ offense with four hits, including two doubles and two RBI. T Phillips contributed three hits, including one home run and five RBI. Gatlin hit two home runs and had three RBI. Grayson Godbee (double, two RBI), Andrew Bishop (double, RBI), Whitlock, and Caden Marcos added one hit. The loss dropped the Tigers to 28-20 overall and 10-13 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association standings.  Georgia Highlands (38-10, 17-7) has its magic number for clinching the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament down to two. The Chargers lead Gordon College by three games in the conference standings. Any combination of GHC wins and Gordon College losses totaling two gives the Chargers the top spot in the tournament. The Chargers host East Georgia State on Thursday at 3 p.m., entertain South Georgia State for a doubleheader on Tuesday, and wrap up the regular season on Thursday, May 1, at home against Gordon College.

April 22, 2025 The Cartersville High School boys’ golf team hosted and captured the Class AAAA Area 3 Tournament title Tuesday at Cartersville Country Club with a 295 total. Allatoona was second with 315, followed by Dalton (319), Midtown, and Pace Academy rounding out the top five. Bodie Brumlow led the Hurricanes with a 1-under-par 71. Andrew Lutjens carded a 74. Reid Henson, Carsen Stanfield, and Noah Pogue followed with 75s. With Tuesday's victory, Cartersville is exempt from the State Sectional Tournament and advances to the GHSA Class AAAA State Finals Tournament, which will be held May 19-20 at Governors Towne Club in Acworth.

April 22, 2025 Annabelle Williams in a match earlier this season vs. Allatoona. The Cartersville girls’ soccer team had its season end Tuesday night with a first-round playoff loss at Blessed Trinity, 4-0. Lady Canes’ coach MaryBeth Popham commended the team’s efforts. “The girls played an incredible game, but came up short.” The Lady Titans improved to 15-1 and advanced to host Harris County in the second round. The season ends for the Cartersville girls with a 6-10 mark.