CARTERSVILLE BASEBALL
C
STATE
CHAMPIONS
2001
2002
2003
2008
2009
STATE
RUNNER UP
2004
REGION
CHAMPIONS
1963
1971
1973
1982
1983
1986
1989
1993
1996
1997
1998
2000
2002
2003
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Head COACH
STUART
CHESTER
SUPERINTENDANT
Dr. HOWARD HINESLEY
PRINCIPAL
JAY FLOYD
ATHLETIC
DIRECTOR
Dr. Katherine Bradley
Coach Kyle Tucker, Coach Brian Adams, Coach Drew Startup, Coach David Cagle and Head Coach Stuart Chester
Chester joins 400 club with Canes' 10-run win
Chike Nwakamma
If Cartersville had any nerves prior to Monday night's baseball game with Gilmer, the Purple Hurricanes did not let on as they utilized a big first inning to deliver their head coach a milestone victory, doing so in front of the home fans at Richard Bell Field. With a 15-5 victory, Cartersville gave coach Stuart Chester his 400th win, a mark that only 37 other Georgia coaches have accomplished. Afterward, Chester diffused praise while addressing those who hung around for the postgame ceremony. "Great players make you a great coach," he said. "I'm just fortunate to be in this position. ... I haven't swung the first bat or thrown the first pitch. ... I'm just very, very fortunate, and I appreciate [all of] you very much." Canes shortstop Connor Justus said players were determined to win the game. "He [Chester] talked to us before the game and just said go get it today. I mean, really, we all made a pact that were going to win this game, and we just put our minds to it and got through it," Justus said. "That's all we could do." Cartersville did so much more, particularly in the first inning when Ben Venters' 3-run homer to right-center field put the Canes on the board, scoring Justus, who singled to left to lead off the inning, and Luke Daniel, who followed Justus with a walk. Colin Bennett then singled to center, starting pitcher Cory Collum was hit by a pitch and Taylor Wilson singled to left to load the bases. The Bobcats managed to record their first out, but Harris Battle got hit by a pitch to bring in another Cartersville run. With the bases still juiced, Gilmer's Brooks Hale struck out the next batter to bring Justus to the plate with two outs. It did not take long for Justus to clear the bases as he drilled Hale's second pitch to the parking lot just over the left field wall. "I thought, offensively, we carried over from last Thursday the approach at the plate, and the pitch selection was good," Chester said in reference to the Canes' 17-0 win against Cedartown. "[We were] being patient [in] getting a pitch we [could] drive. It was a very good approach at the plate." "We always come out with our approach. In practice we always work middle away, and that really helps so we've just been scoring it up lately [and we'll try to] keep it going," Justus added. The Bobcats cut into Cartersville's eight-run lead with a Colt Henderson home run in the second, which made the score 8-2. Zach Ross' bases-loaded walk in the bottom half of the inning gave the Canes a 9-2 lead before Gilmer struck again with another long ball. Bobcats catcher Forrest Bramlett hit a home run to left in the third, pulling Gilmer within 9-5, the closest margin of the game. Cartersville responded with Venters' RBI single in the bottom of the third and put up four runs in the fourth as Bobcats reliever Philip Henri walked the first five batters he faced, including Tyler Will and Justus, whose RBI-producing walks gave the Canes an 12-5 lead.
Daniel hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Battle, and Venters pushed through yet another run with his RBI single, which went through to right field. In the bottom of the fifth, with a 14-5 lead and needing one more run to bring the game to an end via the mercy rule, Michael Goss singled to lead off the inning for Cartersville. A couple of batters later, Ross took first base on an error off his deep fly to center field then Battle walked to load the bases with one out, and Kendall Hawkins hit a run-scoring groundout to shortstop to seal the win. Collum earned the win for the Canes, but had to leave the game early after throwing just 18 pitches. "He's fine. He strained a muscle in his arm," Chester said. "[With] it being so early in the season, instead of pushing it and hurting anything, we just decided to get some work in from some of our other guys." Collum lasted one inning, giving up one hit and striking out two, before being relieved by Ben Dittmer. Dittmer gave up two runs on one hit and three walks and added a strikeout in one inning pitched. Teigh Dooley (two innings, three earned runs, two hits, a walk, and a strikeout) and Drew Flatford (one inning, a walk, two strikeouts) also took the hill for Cartersville. The Canes had 13 players reach base Monday, among them Justus (2 for 2, grand slam, two walks, five RBIs), Daniel (walk, RBI), Venters (3 for 4, home run, five RBIs), Bennett (1 for 3, hit by a pitch), Collum (hit by a pitch), Asa Williams (hit), Michael Willard (walk), Goss (hit), Wilson (1 for 3, walk), Ross (two walks, RBI), Battle (two walks, hit by a pitch), Will (two walks, RBI) and Hawkins (fielder's choice, RBI). When asked if he would allow himself to savor the moment, Chester replied, "Nope. We'll have study hall tomorrow and at 4:15, we're gonna get after it." The longtime Cartersville coach did acknowledge that the win meant plenty for him. "Of course, making a career in coaching, it is gratifying to have some success. But my success, the No. 1 reason [for it] is Cartersville," Chester said. "I'm very blessed and fortunate to be the head coach here. It just is a blessing to be here and in this position." The Canes (5-2, 5-0 Region 7-AAA) host Heritage-Catoosa, another region opponent, on Thursday. The game begins at 5:55 p.m.
Importance of Canes' program goes beyond game for Chester
Chike Nwakamma
Almost 30 seconds elapsed from the time Cartersville athletic director Dr. Katherine Bradley introduced Purple Hurricanes coach Stuart Chester and when he began speaking Friday at a ceremony in the media center to celebrate his 400th win, which came Monday over Gilmer. As Chester fought through a small frog in his throat, the importance of the entire Cartersville institution on his life became evident, as it transcends baseball. "When Dr. Bradley told me a couple of days ago, that we [were] gonna have something, I figured I'd have to get up here and say something, and I was trying to relate how I feel about this place and not in terms of baseball because it's just a sport," he said. "Somehow we try to relate that to life and try to teach the kids that because you're not always gonna have a 90-mile per hour fastball and you're not always gonna run a 6.4[-second] 60[-yard dash], and it's a sport. "I've had different opportunities come along over the past 10 or 12 years, and I'm bonded to this place and I love this place," Chester continued. "Without relating it to baseball, the one thing that I thought about that just hit me was two years ago when I lost my nephew. The day after we buried him, I could not get in my truck and get here fast enough. I left my sister and my brother-in-law, my mom and dad, my nephew, my own kids, and could not get here fast enough because it was my refuge. I could not wait to get to that coaching staff and those players -- selfishly, probably for me, for my comfort -- because that's where I wanted to be. "Without 400 wins and without home runs and without strikeouts, that's how I feel about this place and this program and this [school] system. I'm very, very fortunate." Those who have been able to watch Chester reach this milestone, no matter the amount of time, seem to have a special feeling and respect for the longtime Cartersville coach. Bradley, the school's first-year AD, said she was impressed by the manner in which the Canes players carried themselves. Cartersville assistant coach Drew Startup, one of Chester's former players, spoke to that as well. "I think it starts at practice. He has expectations for people at practice. For instance ... [on Wednesday], they went out to practice and we weren't even ready to go out there yet, and the kids had already started practicing themselves," Startup said. "That's something that not every program can do. He has these guys so well prepared to carry it on to the next level that they can do it. That's the one thing that I believe, is that from practice it comes over to games and then the wins take care of themselves." Chester's ability to inspire players has been key for the Canes during his tenure, which has produced five state championships, most recently back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009. "The way that he motivates players is like nobody else," Startup said. "Our junior year, we weren't the best team, by any means, but we ended up getting to the playoffs and we bonded together as a group. You play hard for him because you love him and he loves you, and he lets you know that. "Our senior year we came out and started out 21-0 and went to the Final Four, but I think that I was playing more than anything for him because I respect how he is as a person and a coach, and I would do anything for him." Kyle Tucker, a fifth-year Canes assistant, lauded his former coach's ability to get players to perform during the season's key moments. "The thing that I've been able to see, and I hope it continues this year, is he's like the master at getting the team to play its best at the end of the year, when you want to be playing your best," Tucker said. "He doesn't want the team peaking too early and he really does a good job of challenging them through the year and making them get better and better as the year goes on and doesn't really have a team that plateaus. Hopefully, that can continue this year, but I know in 2008 and 2009, when we were able to win it, we were playing our best at the end of the season. ... He just motivates [players] real well and just really does a good job of getting the guys to perform at their highest level." Chester mentioned that his mentality has changed a bit since he first took over, something his father suggested would happen. "My dad's words echo in my mind every day -- when I was younger and thought I knew everything -- and everything he [said] is coming true," the Canes coach said. "You start out as a coach and you want to walk out on the field and be feared. That was my goal as a coach. I wanted to walk out and somebody say, 'Hey, you don't want to play them now, they're gonna tear you up,' ... and that's the way it started out. But just looking over the years how things have changed, the older you get, I want to walk out on the field and be respected. "It's changed from fear to respect because the longer we go, the more revealing life is. For young [men] to ... have a relationship with each other is very special, and [former Atlanta Brave and current Kansas City Royal] Jeff Francoeur echoes that every time you hear him speak. Baseball's about relationships, and that's what it's about." The Canes certainly have garnered respect throughout the years, being named the Georgia Dugout Club's Team of the Decade a couple of months ago. "We've come a long way. It's a program that is respected and the scoreboard's not always going to be in our favor, but when you think of Cartersville baseball, I just want people to think of respect and character," Chester added. "We're all in it for the kids, that's the end result. And I do appreciate the 400 wins, but I promise you we've had a lot of good baseball talent come through here -- two of 'em sitting in here with me today. "Coach Startup was responsible for about 40 of those wins, and coach Tucker a couple," Chester continued to roaring laughter. "Coach Startup would have had 41, but Kyle missed that fly ball that he told John to get. 'Get it, John, get it, John, didn't work,' but I poke at Kyle because he knows I love him. From [Cartersville Schools Superintendent] Dr. [Howard] Hinesley all the way down to the dugout club, I appreciate y'all very much. I love you. "I don't know that we'll see 400 more [wins], but I'd like to see a few more anyway, maybe one more today [Friday at Murray County] and take 'em one at a time. Mr. [Jay] Floyd [Cartersville High principal], I appreciate it. Being an old coach, you know how sometimes coaching gets overrated. Like I told Dr. Hinesley, you haven't seen a donkey win the Kentucky Derby, so we've been blessed. I appreciate it." While the Canes have seen their share of thoroughbred players, the milestone -- which is now at 402 -- suggests something about the one constant in the program throughout the years. "He doesn't want us to say it, but he kind of is Cartersville baseball," Tucker said. "Not disrespecting any of the players that came before or coaches, because I know we had some success before he came. But, he took what was a really good program and then it took off from there. He took it to another level. I think five state championships in one decade speaks for itself, and he obviously was the head coach of all that. "And he's right, the players win games, and he always says he doesn't throw a strike or hit a ball, and that's true. But I think most people would agree that have seen the program from [then] -- literally, Drew and I were a part of his first day, I mean, we literally were -- to now in 2011, we've been associated with it since then, and without him it wouldn't be where it is today. There's no doubt."
