Resilient Canes storm back for series victory, advance to third-straight Final Four

May 9, 2026

Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Gianni Gandy and his Cartersville teammates celebrate following his walkoff hit to win the Canes' state quarterfinal series versus St. Pius X Catholic.

The Cartersville Hurricanes won the deciding game of their Class 4A quarterfinal series Saturday afternoon in dramatic fashion, earning a come-from-behind 4-3 walk-off victory over St. Pius X Catholic at Richard Bell Field.

Cartersville trailed 3-0 through the first four innings, but rallied down the stretch to win Game 3 and capture the series, two games to one. 

Gianni Gandy / Photo: Russell Andrews, Sports Furnace Photography

Two bases loaded walks in the bottom of the fifth cut the Golden Lions’ lead to 3-2. Nolan Elrod’s RBI single in the sixth inning tied, and Gianni Gandy drove home the walk-off run with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh.

Elrod picked up the pitching victory by working a spotless top of the seventh. Logan Buchanan (4 IP, 3R, 2ER, 5H, 3BB, 4K) started and covered the first four innings. Cole Crawford struck out three and did not allow a hit in two scoreless innings.

Crawford had three hits for the Canes’ offense. Harris Turner (RBI) and David Vargas each contributed two hits. Clint Hosea (double, RBI), Parker Lively (RBI), Elrod (RBI), and Gandy (RBI) had the other Cartersville base hits.

Cartersville head coach Kyle Tucker commented Saturday night on his team’s tenacity in the series.

“These last two games have had unbelievable endings for our team. We were down to our final out Friday night and got back-to-back hits to eventually tie it and take the lead. That was a credit to our team's competitive spirit. Today, down 3-0 in the fifth, and we battled to tie it, and the eventual walk-off has literally left me speechless. I have no explanation other than the young men keep competing and enjoy playing the game together. The best part is they’ll get to do it at least one more week.”

The Golden Lions had their season end with a 22-15 record.

The Canes (29-9) advance to the Class 4A semifinals for a third-straight season and will host the Kell Longhorns (23-15). The best-of-three series will begin with a doubleheader on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at Richard Bell Field.