Cartersville Wins Again over Central Carrollton

Cartersville wins again with a 7 - 0 victory in 7 innings over Central Friday night. A good crowd from Cartersville followed their team to Carrolton and saw a good hitting and pitching performance.

From the Times-Georgian Newspaper

Experience prevails in 7-0 Purple Hurricane win By Jennifer Iannone

Although Central knew Cartersville’s tradition and history, Lions coach David Gibbs said his team didn’t allow that to intimidate them. But even if Cartersville’s reputation didn’t make them nervous, the Purple Hurricane’s experience prevailed in a 7-0 Region 6-AAA ballgame Friday night. Cartersville coach Stuart Chester said he expects a tough competition each time he travels to Central, especially after the tough loss his Purple Hurricanes suffered to the Lions in 2003. “This is a place that we come to that it’s hard for us to play,” Chester said. It goes back to 2003 when we got beat. It was a war and that’s what we expect every time we come here.” That was the year that Central reached the Elite Eight under Coach Rodney Kay.

But in most recent years, Chester has put together solid teams. His Purple Hurricanes (21-2, 9-0 Region 6-AAA) are back-to-back Region 6-AAA champions and last year reached the quarterfinals of the Class AAA state playoffs before Columbus ended their run. “They’re one of the top teams in the state,” Gibbs said. “You know that runs are going to be hard to come by and your pitching and defense has got to be as good as it’s ever been to compete with.” On Friday, the runs were certainly hard to come by for the Lions. Although Central (4-15, 2-7 Region 6-AAA) mustered only two hits throughout the game, it still managed to get runners on base with walks and hits batsmen.

Canes break into the Top 25 in the Nation

Baseball American Standings as of 4/16/2007


The Cartersville Hurricanes continue to impress around the nation. For the 1st time the #1 AAA team in the nation is now included in the Top 25 in the Nation overall by rising to #24 from #28.

The Canes face Sandy Creek tonight at Home in another region game.

Canes steal one from Cass

The Canes stole one late in the 7th inning after being down 2-0. Despite Cass having only 1 hit on the Canes through 6, Cartersville trailed before eventually taking the lead after a pitching change. Cass was unable to move any runs across the plate in the bottom of the 7th.

Cartersville will face Harralson County in a make up game this Thursday 4/12 at Richard Bell Field at 5:30pm.

Canes beat Gordon Central for Coach Chester's 300th !!!

The Canes be AAAAA Gordon Central Saturday, Easter Weekend for Coach Chester's 300th Win.

From the Daily Tribune Below:

By Chris Stephens
Associate Sports Editor
Published April 07, 2007 10:42 PM CDT

Cartersville head baseball coach Stuart Chester earned his 300th career victory Saturday against Gordon Central, as the Canes won 15-5, in Calhoun.

Chester, who is in his 10th year as the head coach of the Canes, was surprised at a celebration the team had for him when they got back to the Cartersville baseball complex.

"All it means is that I'm getting old," Chester said jokingly.

"Coach Chester provides stability and consistency with this program," said Cartersville principal Jay Floyd. "He knows he has the community's support."

Chester said he's nothing special and that any coach could reach the same milestone in the Canes' program.

"With the type of players we've had in this program and the support we've received in the community, it's easy to get a lot of wins," Chester said.

As the celebration went on, assistant coach Kyle Tucker and senior outfielder/pitcher Lyle Allen snuck up behind Chester with a 10-gallon cooler of water and drenched him.

"I didn't know what hit me," Chester said. "I thought a plane crashed.

"Now, I'm keeping Lyle, but I'm looking for a new assistant coach," Chester said jokingly.

For people outside of the Cartersville program, some might say Chester is mean, whereas his players say he places high expectations on them, and for good reason.

"He expects a lot out of his players," said former Canes' third baseman Tyler Gilreath. "He expects us to do our best and doesn't accept anything less."

"The kids know he has high expectations," Floyd said. "They respond to it as well."

Chester agrees he's hard on his players.

"I'm hard on them, there's no doubt," Chester said. "But I do that for two reasons -- I love these guys and I want them to get better. I want them to use what they learned here later in life."

The relationship Chester has with his players is something they say not many people know about.

"He's a good friend," Allen said. "When we're on the field, it's all about baseball. But off the field, if you need to talk to him, he'll listen. Not a lot of people see that. He shows us that he cares."

Chester said the relationship with the players is the best thing about the job.

"I'd be lying and saying that winning isn't great," Chester said. "But the relationships you develop with these players is the biggest joy of the job."

But Chester hesitates to take credit for the success of the program.

"It's not about me," he said. "It's about these players. They are the focus."

Included in Chester's accomplishments are three state championships, seven region championships, three players playing pro baseball and countless players playing in college.

This year, the Canes have also attained their highest national ranking ever, as they are currently ranked No. 28 in the nation and No. 1 in Georgia's Class AAA.

Canes rankings getting even better

The Canes moved up to #28 in the Nation today overall and #1 in AAA team in the nation according to Baseball America. Also, the Canes are ranked #2 in the State of Georgia overall only behind #1 AAAAA Kennesaw Mountain High School.

The acolades just keep rolling in. What a program guys. Keep working hard.

Baseball American Current Rankings