Cartersville’s Nate Russell accomplished an incredible feat last week when the junior pitcher tossed the first no-hitter in Cartersville baseball history in 23 years.
“You cannot throw a no hitter without a great defense behind you,” said Russell. “They had two or three hard hit balls but my guys behind me made some great plays and could not have had that title without them.”
In his no-hitter against Hiram, Russell’s impressive stat line included a staggering 15 strikeouts, three walks to go along with zero hits and zero earned runs in seven innings pitched in the Purple Hurricanes 14-0 victory.
The Purple Hurricanes swept the Hornets, shutting them out in all three games with scorers of 15-0, 4-0 and 14-0.
“As a player and now coach I’ve been around Cartersville Baseball 23 seasons,” said Cartersville baseball head coach Kyle Tucker via his X account. “We’ve had some run-rule shortened no-hitters, but I’ve never seen one thrown by an individual until yesterday. Hard-worker that earns it through his preparation!”
On the season Russell has continued to impress, accumulating for 46 strikeouts, a 0.92 ERA and a 4-1 record on the mound.
The Purple Hurricanes baseball team has accumulated a record of 12-7 and a 8-2 record in Region 7-4A, sitting at second place in the region.
While he has made huge contributions to the Cartersville baseball team this spring, Russell was instrumental to the success of the Purple Hurricanes football program last fall, serving as the team’s starting quarterback a season ago.
Last year under center for the Purple Hurricanes, Russell accounted for 2,497 yards through the air and 28 passing touchdowns on a 65% completion percentage. Russell also proved to be an effective rusher for the Purple Hurricanes a season ago, rushing for 320 yards (third on the team) to go along with six touchdowns on the ground as well (second on the team).
Russell and his receivers, Brady Marchese and Jamauri Brice were lethal combinations in the passing game for Cartersville as the two combined for over 1,800 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns.
With his performance last fall on the football field and this spring on the baseball diamond, Russell has solidified himself as one of the most productive two-sport athletes in the state.
The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes baseball team will be back in action on Friday, March 28 in a doubleheader at Woodland-Cartersville.
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