Bartow County 12U softball team wins GRPA District 5 title; Owen tosses perfect game in finals

June 11, 2026

Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

The Bartow County 12U softball team completed an undefeated run through the GRPA District 5 Tournament on Thursday night at Edwards Park in Dalton with a 4-0 championship game win over Murray County.

Caroline Owen tossed a perfect game in the circle for Bartow and struck out 14 of the 18 batters she faced. The other four outs came on three groundouts and one pop-up.

On offense, Bartow scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and added an insurance run in the second inning.

Ellie Hardman led the offense with two hits and one RBI. Cayden Sexton (RBI), McKynlee Gunter, and Owen each added one hit. Annaleigh Altizer contributed one RBI in the title game victory.

Bartow County finished 4-0 in the seven-team, double-elimination tournament. The locals had previously beaten Rome (16-3), Whitfield County (10-1), and Trion (11-9).

Bartow 12U Softball advanced to the GRPA Class A/B State Tournament scheduled for June 23-27 at Edwards Park in Dalton.

The Bartow 12U roster includes: Annaleigh Altizer, Armauni Palacios, Caroline Owen, Cayden Sexton, Ellie Hardman, Emma Corbin, Emma Kuykendall, Gracie Moon, Harper Fox, McKynlee Gunter, Saydie Ray, and Emilyn Sexton.

BARTOW BLUE 10U EARNS GRPA DISTRICT 5 RUNNER-UP FINISH

The Bartow County 10U Blue baseball team finished runner-up on Thursday night at the GRPA District 5 Tournament at Alto Park in Rome.

Bartow 10U Blue finished the tournament with a 6-2 record, including surviving five straight elimination games, but lost in the championship round to Rockmart Gold, 13-1.

Bartow 10U Blue’s tournament run also included wins over Dalton (13-3), Whitfield County (11-2), Calhoun (12-5), Summerville (9-0), Trion (6-2), and Cedartown (6-5). The team’s other loss was to Cedartown (4-3) in the second round.

Across Bartow’s final four tournament games on Wednesday and Thursday, Everett Neighbors (two RBI), Rhett Adams (RBI), and Asher Hooper (RBI) had six hits. Grayson Neighbors followed with four hits and two RBI. Jett Thompson produced three hits and one RBI. Benton Owen (four RBI) and Mason Brookshire (three RBI) contributed two hits. Maddox Whittle, Chapman Perry, and Wyatt Huskins each added one hit.

The Bartow 10U Blue roster includes: Rhett Adams, Mason Brookshire, Grayson Davis, Asher Hooper, Wyatt Huskins, Gamble Mealer, Everett Neighbors, Grayson Neighbors, Benton Owen, Chapman Perry, Jetson Thompson, and Maddox Whittle. Manager: Jordan Thompson. Coaches: David Brookshire and Tucker Neighbors.