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