Knights Go into Spring Break with Exciting 1 Run Victory over the East Marietta Spikes

The Marietta Knights celebrate a big 11-10 Victory over their rival the East Marietta Spikes 

The underdog Marietta Knights carried a tenuous 1 run lead into the top of the final inning Thursday night in another see saw battle with the East Marietta Spikes. The tension was thick as the Spikes put the tying run at 3rd and the go ahead run at 2nd with no outs and the meat of their order due up. Austin Hansell, always cool when he takes on the closer role, continued to pound the strike zone with fastballs. The Spikes #2 hitter grounded to Hunter Williamson at 2B who looked the lead runner back and then took the out at first. Next was a high fly ball to Mason Doyle at short and there were 2 away. After a walk, the bases were loaded and the Spikes big bomber who is hitting .600 against the Knights, came to the plate. The Knights put a heavy shift on to the left and let Austin continue to throw heat. The batter launched a rocket high above the Larry Bell infield. Hunter loudly called everyone else off and hauled in the pop fly to secure the big rivalry win.

Austin and Hunter hate hitting doubles.

It was a huge victory for the Knights that came at a great time to build positive momentum going into the Spring Break. As they discussed after the game, the boys were far from perfect, but they played hard from the first pitch to the last and were rewarded with an exciting win.

Austin Schubert got the start and was great in 3 innings on the mound. Schubie threw hard and threw for strikes finishing with a superb 70% strikes and 2 strikeouts. After struggling to find offense all weekend, the Knights exploded against the Spikes for 11 runs on 12 hits and for the first time in Coach Rob's memory, every Knights' player crossed the plate. Austin Hansell was perfect in relief throwing 2 shutout innings to pick up the win.

Will "The Thrill" Nelson led a long list of offensive heroes on the night going 3 for 3 with 2 RBI's and 2 runs. With 2 outs and the score tied at 10 in the Knights' last at bat Big Game Hunter hit a bomb to RCF for a double. Will followed with a clutch line drive single to CF that scored Hunter who did his best Sid Bream imitation while running on a badly twisted ankle and sliding into home just ahead of the throw for what would end up being the game winner. Hunter was 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs. Mason was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI's and Austin Hansell had a double and 2 RBI's.

There were 2 defensive plays of the game and neither resulted in an out. After a previous loss, Coach Rob was very disappointed at how clean the boys' uniforms were. Thursday night they were filthy. On a hard line shot through the left side, Luke Martin moved with the sound of the bat and dove towards the ball landing completely outstretched in the dirt. Later a Spike hit a looping foul ball towards the Spikes dugout. Presley Field took off hard and dove head first into an explosion of dust at the fence. Neither guy quite made it to the ball, but the great effort each player made was representative of the teams' effort which was clearly the difference in the great win. The Knights outfield was also great against the big hitting Spikes. George Krivsky tracked down a hard line drive in left to turn what looked like an extra base hit into a loud out in the 4th. Gil Hastings had to move over to CF from his usual RF position and was perfect bringing in all 3 fly balls that were hit his way.

The Knights will happily carry this win into Spring Break and return to action April 12th in a USSSA event at Hunter Park in Douglasville, Georgia. Check back for updates as the Knights may pick up a home game at Larry Bell during the week of April 7th.

Knights Talk with Harry Doyle!

This edition brought to you by special guest blogger Harry Doyle

We're not sure where Luke played last
year but I'm sure he did a heck of a job. 

   




















Hello all you Marietta Maniacs and welcome to another edition of Knights Talk. This weekend the Crusaders of the Chattahoochee traveled West to Carrollton, Georgia for the USSSA Champs Wear the Rings tournament. In case you haven't noticed, and judging by attendance you haven't, the Knights are in a bit of slide. The boys in blue opened up the weekend by coming up just a little short against the Centerfield Baseball Academy, 11-5. Luke Martin led the offense with 2 hits and a run scored and Hunter Williamson added 2 RBI's. In the nightcap the Knights dropped a heart breaker to Spartan Baseball, 10-2. Gil Hastings had an RBI and scored a run in the pitcher's duel.

Mason's a juvenile delinquent
in the off-season

The Lancelots of Larry Bell came back on Sunday for a shot at redemption with a rematch against Team Full Armor of Lagrange. Full Armor's pitcher threw a heck of game and had just enough to edge the Knights, 6-0. Marietta ended up with no runs on, let's see, 1 hit...that's all we got? 1 gosh darn hit? (You can't say that on the blog) It doesn't matter, nobody's reading anyway. The Knights offensive highlight came in the first when Jackson Tysinger took a fastball in the arm. Austin Schubert finished the game on the hill for the Knights with a shutout inning.

Schubie threw at his Dad in the annual Father/Son Game

The Marietta Knights will return to their Castle in Cobb next Thursday for another game in their series with the East Marietta Spikes. And remember, Thursday is Die Hard Night with half priced admission for anyone who was actually alive the last time East Marietta won the Little League World Series.

Big Win over Team Full Armor puts Knights in Gold Bracket in Carrollton

Coaches Wells, Williamson, Hansell & Doyle were all smiles
after the tournament opening victory over Team Full Armor.

The Marietta Knights jumped all over Team Full Armor of LaGrange and cruised to a 10-0 victory in the first round of the 16 team USSSA Champs Wear the Rings Tournament at the East Carrollton Sports Complex on Saturday. The Knights were aggressive at the plate and put the pressure on early with singles by Jackson Tysinger and Mason Doyle. After a walk to Austin Hansell loaded the bases, Austin Schubert hit a deep sacrifice fly that scored Jackson. Mason and Austin Hansell each stole home on throws down to 2B and Hunter Williamson drove a line drive RBI single into LCF that scored Garrett Wells from second and the Knights led 4-0 after the top of the first.

That would be more than enough for Austin Hansell who was dominant on the mound. Austin threw
3 shutout innings with 2 strikeouts and 65% strikes. Luke Martin led off the second with a single and Jackson followed up with his second single of the game. Mason, Austin and Schubie then hit back to back to back RBI singles and the Knights had pushed the lead to 7-0 after 2. The Knights added 1 run in the 3rd and 2 in the 4th to make it 10-0. George Krivsky took the mound and after Team Armor put runners on second and third with 1 out, George picked up a huge strikeout and a pop fly to Jackson at 2B to preserve the shutout and close out the game. The combined shutout by Austin and George was the Defensive Effort of the Game. The Knights also completed the game with no errors.

The Knights offense exploded for 14 hits for the second game in a row. Mason was 3 for 3 with 3 runs and an RBI. Austin Hansell was 2 for 2 with a double, 2 runs and 2 RBI's. George and Luke were each 2 for 2 with a run scored, Jackson was 2 for 3 with 2 runs and an RBI and Schubie had 2 RBI's.

Jackson Tysinger was solid on the mound and at the plate all
weekend for the Knights.

Game 2 of the tournament was a pitcher's duel through 3 innings with the Eastside Heat. Jackson was awesome on the hill as he stretched the team streak of shutout innings to 7 and his own to streak to 5. Jackson struck out 3 while only allowing 2 hits and no walks. Meanwhile Eastside's starter was just as sharp. The Knights only had 2 hits including a bomb double by Gil Hastings, but the score remained 0-0. Coach Rob cannot recall ever coaching in a youth game that was scoreless after 3 innings. Unfortunately, the Knights' bullpen was not able to hold on and the Heat started getting guys on base on pushing them across the plate until finally pulling out to an 8-0 win.

Schubie was an RBI Machine for the Knights

Marietta's 1-1 record and low average of 4 runs allowed per game was good enough to qualify the Knights to play for the Championship in the Gold Bracket. That meant they would have to play the top seeded East Cobb Buckeyes on Sunday morning. Knights' pitchers struggled to find the strike zone and their great defense finally faltered with a couple of errors. The Buckeyes did not need much help as they blasted 8 hits and cruised to an 11-1 win. The Knights did have 2 Defensive Plays of the Game. In the 2nd, Mason Doyle went up the ladder to grab a line drive for one out and threw on to Presley Field at 1st for a double play. In the 3rd, a Buckeye hit a sky high flyball behind the plate. The ball was moving around in the wind and just a foot from the backstop, but Luke Martin did a great job of hauling it in for a big out. All in all, it turned out to be a tough draw for the Knights. They played 3 teams in a 16 team tournament and 2 of those teams ended up meeting in the championship game as the Heat topped the Buckeyes 5-3. But you never get an easy game at this level. The Knights learned a lot from the tough competition and will build on their great 10-0 victory. They return home to face the East Marietta Spikes on Tuesday night at Larry Bell Park.

Keeping things light is never a problem for the Marietta Knights Baseball Club.

  

Huge late inning comeback gets Knights a tie with Spikes

Trouble finding the strike zone got the Knights in another big hole in game 2 of a double header with the East Marietta Spikes on Saturday. But the boys never gave up and battled back from a 12-5 deficit to earn a 12-12 tie at Larry Bell Park.

Coach Rob gently encourages the Knights to remember
to always do their best.  

Trailing by 7 in the 4th, the Knights started the comeback with back to back base hits by Jackson Tysinger and Gil Hastings who each went 3 for 3 with a walk in the game. Austin Schubert and Austin Hansell then followed with RBI singles to cut the lead to 12-7. The Spikes threatened again in the bottom of the inning with runners at 2nd and 3rd and only one out. Jackson got a huge strikeout of the Spikes leadoff hitter and then coaxed a grounder to 2B that Garrett easily handled to end the threat.

The score remained the same with 2 outs in the final inning with Garrett Wells on 1st and Hunter Williamson on 2nd. Jackson singled to LCF to score Hunter and push Garrett to 3B. After Gil walked, Mason Doyle drilled a double into left center to bring home Jackson and suddenly it was 12-10 with the tying runner in scoring position. The large crowd of Knights' faithful was going wild. Schubie ripped a single to RF plating Gil and Mason and the score was knotted at 12-12.

The home Spikes went to their final at bat needing just a run for the win. But Jackson remained sharp on the mound and needed just 4 pitches to shut the door on the Spikes. He drew another routine grounder to Garrett at 2B for the first out and a grounder to Presley at 1B for an unassisted out number 2. The final out came on the defensive play of the game. With 2 down, Jackson delivered a low fast ball that the Spikes #5 hitter roped into RF. Schubie charged from his RF position and scooped the ball on two hops. Schubie never hesitated as his teammates excitedly yelled "ONE! ONE! ONE!" and threw a long laser to a heads up Presley who covered 1B and took the throw with a big stretch just ahead of the Spikes hitter for an exciting final out of the game.

Big Game Hunter struck out 1 in 2 innings and scored twice.

Although the boys were disappointed not to get to go to extras to try for the win, they were all smiles after the 12-12 tie, the 7 run comeback and the great defense. Pitching control was still a problem as the Knights walked 9 Spikes allowing them to score their 12 runs on 7 hits. The defense was great once again as the Knights only committed 1 error in the second game and Jackson's two shut out innings on the mound were outstanding. The offense was also strong as the team exploded for 14 hits. In addition to their 3 hits, Jackson and Gil each scored 3 times, Hunter and Mason each scored twice and Schubie delivered 4 RBI's.

The Knights head to Carrollton next week for their first tournament in the USSSA Champs Wear the Rings NIT. The game schedule will be announced later this week.

Knights Comeback falls just short in Opener vs. East Marietta Spikes

Austin struck out 2 in 1 1/3 and had
an RBI single

The Marietta Knights opened 2014 with a 9-5 loss to the East Marietta Spikes in game 1 of a doubleheader at Larry Bell Park. The Knights dug a hole early as their pitchers struggled with the strike zone allowing the game tested Spikes to jump out to a 9-1 lead. Things looked bleak until singles by Jackson Tysinger and George Krivsky along with a walk to Presley Field loaded the bases. With one out, Hunter Williamson drove a single into left field that scored Jackson. Mason Doyle hit into a fielder's choice that brought home 2 more runs. Mason stole 2nd and 3rd and took home on a passed ball to make it 9-5. The Knights were in comeback mode and liked their chances in the final inning but the umpires called time limit about 5 minutes early ending the Knights opportunity.



Luke was solid at 3B and behind the plate
for the Knights

The Knights definitely showed some of the rust and jitters to be expected in their first game. This showed mostly in control as they walked 7 batters and threw 3 wild pitches, while Spikes' pitchers only walked 2. This allowed the Spikes to score their 9 runs on only 6 hits. On the positive side Austin Hansell struck out 2 in an 1 1/3 innings and George Krivsky struck out 3 in 2 2/3. When the ball was put into play, the Knights defense was superb and only committed 2 errors.
Luke Martin was the defensive player of the game. You often hear that the first play of the season will set the tone for the year. On the first pitch of the 2014 season, the Spikes leadoff man delivered a nearly perfect bunt down the 3rd base line. Luke charged from 3B, scooped and fired to Presley at 1B just ahead of the speedy runner. Later in the inning, Luke fielded a hot grounder at 3rd with a runner on 1st. He heard his teammates calling 2 and turned and threw to Hunter at 2B to get the lead runner. Luke moved behind the plate for 3rd and after a strikeout on a low fastball the ball skidded all the way to the backstop. Luke got to it quickly and made the long throw over the batter to a stretching Presley to preserve the out.

Coach Rob was pleased the team's effort and he was excited that they fought back after being down early. There were plenty of teachable moments as expected but the coaching staff is certain that they have a very good baseball team.