Forsyth Central rallies for 9-6 win at Cartersville, gets first victory
Forsyth Central erupted for five runs in the fourth and four in the fifth to beat host Cartersville 9-6, handing the Bulldogs their first win of the season and leaving the Canes with a five-game skid.
A five-run fourth-inning rally and a four-run fifth propelled Forsyth Central to a 9-6 victory at Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, giving the Bulldogs their first win of the season and moving them to 1-6. Cartersville fell to 2-5 and extended a losing streak to five games.
"Forsyth Central scored five runs in the top of the fourth and added four in the fifth en route to a 9-6 win at Cartersville on Tuesday," according to the game recap. Both squads produced 11 hits apiece in a contest that swung decisively in those middle innings.
Defense proved costly for the Hurricanes. "Defensive miscues by the Canes contributed to three unearned runs in the middle innings," a recap noted, and those miscues helped turn a close game into a multi-run deficit for Cartersville during Forsyth Central’s big fourth and fifth innings. Despite matching the Bulldogs in hits, Cartersville could not erase the gap created by those unearned runs.
Cartersville starting pitcher Nate Russell took the loss after allowing five runs in 3.1 innings, finishing with a line of 3.1 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB and 7 K. Reliever Logan Buchanan worked 1.2 innings and was charged with four runs (1 ER) on three hits and one walk while recording one strikeout. Wyatt Earwood finished with two scoreless innings, yielding one hit.
Offensively for the Canes, Cooper Reynolds produced two RBI and David Vargas smacked a triple; both Reynolds and Vargas had two hits. At the top of Forsyth Central’s order, Nathan Smith and Apollon Constatanides combined for five hits and two RBI, a tandem that keyed the Bulldogs’ rally and season-high scoring output. The recap additionally listed Nolan Elrod (two RBI), Brant Rutledge (double, RBI), J.B. Nichols, James Manring, Asa Mitcham, Tyler Hickman (double) and Cole Crawford as contributors who each recorded one hit.
MaxPreps characterized the nine-run output as a season-high for Forsyth Central and framed the result as redemption: "This was payback for the Bulldogs, who suffered a 9-7 defeat the last time these two teams met." The win interrupted Forsyth Central’s skid and should provide momentum heading into a quick turnaround.
Forsyth Central travels to face East Forsyth at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday. Cartersville will try to end its slide in a two-game set Saturday at Carrollton High School, beginning at 1 p.m., and the Hurricanes begin Region 7-AAAA play next week with a home-and-home series against Allatoona.
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