Cartersville Little League 12U wins fourth straight District 1 championship

June 30, 2026

Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Cartersville Little League 12U won the Georgia District 1 championship on Tuesday night at Hamilton Crossing Park, defeating Bartow County Little League 12U, 3-2. The Cartersville roster includes: Evan Blankenberger, Hudson Bonner, Parker Candela, Sam Evans, Grayson Moss, Nolan Murphy, Owen Stephens, Everett Sutton, Jaxon Tardy, Josh Villarreal, James Williams, and Gray Womack. Manager: Patrick Murphy. Coaches: Bryan Villarreal and Stephen Womack.

Cartersville Little League 12U completed an undefeated run through the Georgia District 1 Tournament on Tuesday night at Hamilton Crossing Park, defeating Bartow County Little League 12U 3-2 in the championship round.

Cartersville, which went 3-0 in the tournament, also beat Cedartown (15-0) and Bartow County (13-3) to reach the championship round. Bartow eliminated Cedartown on Monday night, 18-0.

Cartersville 12U took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on Tuesday, but Bartow 12U battled back to tie the game 2-2 with single runs in the fourth and sixth.  In the bottom of the sixth, Cartersville’s Jaxon Tardy reached on a one-out single and, following a strikeout, stole second base. An error on the play allowed Tardy to score for a walk-off 3-2 victory and the District 1 title.

Josh Villarreal picked up the pitching win for Cartersville 12U by recording five strikeouts over the final 2-2/3 innings. Tardy made the pitching start, allowing one unearned run in the first 3-1/3 innings. Tardy walked five and fanned five.

Gatlin Townsend suffered the pitching loss for Bartow 12U, allowing one unearned run in the fifth and sixth innings on one hit and one walk. He struck out two. Luke Holden made the pitching start for Bartow, allowing two unearned runs on four hits and three walks. Holden fanned six in his 4-2/3 innings of work on the mound.

Tardy led the Cartersville 12U offense with two hits and one RBI. James Williams (RBI), Gray Womack, and Villarreal added one hit each.

Kellan Rpgers (RBI), Camden Forsyth (RBI), and McClain Cook had base hits for Bartow 12U.

Cartersville 12U, the defending state champions, advanced to the 2026 Georgia Little League State Tournament for the fourth straight year. The state tournament will begin on Saturday, July 18, in Watkinsville.