Brock delivers again as Lady Canes walk-off North Oconee

October 29, 2026

Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Carder Brock homered, doubled, and drove in three runs as the Lady Canes improved to 2-0 at the Class 5A State Finals Tournament in Columbus.

For the second straight day, the Lady Canes won on the final swing of the game and have now advanced to the final three teams in the Class 5A State Softball Championship Tournament at the Columbus Softball Complex.

After rallying on Wednesday to edge Marist 4-3 in the eighth inning of their first round of the double-elimination tournament, Cartersville did it again in the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday, defeating North Oconee 5-4.

Allie Waldrop gave the Lady Titans a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a solo home run, but Cartersville answered in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of three walks and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kennedy Crenshaw.

Izzy Tummins and LaKiaya Banks produced back-to-back, one-out hits in the fourth, and Zoie Shiflett gave Cartersville a 2-1 lead with a sacrifice fly. 

North Oconee knotted the score at 2-2 in the top of the fifth. Mary Peyton Malone doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Abigail Keith. Malone scored on a bunt play and a Canes’ error.

Carder Brock homered for a second consecutive game to give Cartersville a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth, but North Oconee regained the lead at 4-3 in the top of the seventh on two singles, a groundout, and a two-run infield throwing error.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Canes delivered three straight hits to walk off with victory.  Sophia Harper singled, Sam Porter doubled, and Brock hit a hard ground ball back up the middle to drive home the game-winning runs.

Presley Crabbe started for Cartersville in the circle and worked into the sixth inning, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk. She struck out two. Shiflett earned the win with two innings of relief, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and no walks. She struck out two.

Brock (home run, double, three RBI) and Porter (double) led the Lady Canes offense with two hits each. Sophia Harper, Tummins, and Banks (double) each had one hit. 

Ansley Breedlove, Kourtney Wells, and Malone combined for six of the Titans’ nine hits.

Whitney Smith (6.1 IP, 5ER, 7H, 10BB, 4K) took the loss for North Oconee.

Lady Canes’ head coach Glen Woodard spoke Thursday night about the two walk-off wins.

“Man, it’s been a joyful ride so far. We’ve talked to the girls all year about our ability to come back from behind—from one through nine in the lineup. Our girls have bought into it, and that’s really been evident the last two nights. Both nights, we’ve been down in the seventh and come back to walk it off.  To beat it all, it’s been our nine-hole hitter that has delivered.”

“Our pitching is keeping us in every single game,” Woodard continued. “We’re enjoying this ride and playing deeper in the tournament than any Cartersville team in history. We just want to keep the momentum and keep going forward.”

North Oconee (29-5) slipped to the elimination bracket to play Thursday night’s Starr’s Mill/Central-Carroll winner. 

Cartersville (32-2) advanced to play Jefferson (29-7) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The Lady Canes and Lady Dragons are the only two unbeaten teams remaining in the tournament.

Jefferson (29-7) beat Central-Carroll 14-0 on Wednesday and Harris County 6-5 on Thursday.