Canes finish region sweep of Lions

Class AAAA second-ranked Cartersville broke open a scoreless game in the third inning Tuesday night by sending eleven men to the plate and scoring eight runs on their way to a five-inning, 12-1 region win at home over Central-Carroll.

Two walks, four singles, a double, and a solo home run by J.P. Martin plated the Canes’ eight runs in the third.

They then added four more runs in the fourth inning on three more walks, two hits, and an error. The visiting Lions (7-11, 0-4 5-AAAA) scored their only run in the top of the fourth inning on a walk, a Canes’ infield error, and an RBI single by Ross Helton. Cohen Wilbanks (5 IP, 1R, 0ER, 4H, 1BB, 2K) pitched all five innings for the Hurricanes to earn the win.

Jordan Wilkie and Preston Welchel led the offense with two hits and three RBI each. One of the Welchel hits was a double. Mason Barnett doubled and had two RBI. Josh Davis added a hit and one RBI. Kolby Adams contributed a hit and Ian Inaba tossed in one RBI.

Next, Cartersville (15-3, 4-0) plays a home-and-home region series with Troup County that starts Wednesday in LaGrange at 5:55 p.m. and concludes Friday at Richard Bell Field with a 5:55 p.m. first pitch.