Knights Advance to Semifinals of Hickory Flats Wood Bat Bash with 3-2 Win over the Georgia Octane.

Jackson Tysinger was the winning pitcher and knocked in the winning run

It was a perfect day for baseball at Thomas Field, one of the best and certainly most unique parks in all of travel baseball. Knights fans were set up along the hill on the 1B side under large shade trees while horses roamed up to within just a few feet of the 3B fence from the vast rolling pasture next door. Coach Rob felt like he was at a college game as the Knights warmed up with music playing over the PA system and Austin jogged out to the outfield in his shin guards to warm up a pitcher. A perfect day.

The Knights were the home team thanks to their #2 seed and for the third straight game they got outstanding pitching and great defense. Jackson Tysinger got the start and only allowed 2 hits in 5 innings and struck out 4. The Knights defense played error free baseball behind him. Garrett Wells showed tremendous range in CF grabbing 2 deep flyballs and Presley Field was perfect at 1B scooping throws. Both of the Octane's runs came from walked batters. One came home on a sac fly and one scored when the Knights' catcher threw down to first on a dropped third strike.

Meanwhile, the Knights' bats that were so loud on Saturday had gone quiet again Sunday and the Octane led 2-0 going into the bottom of the 4th. In the 4th Austin Hansell, George Krivsky and Luke Martin loaded the bases with 3 straight singles. Austin Schubert made it 4 and got the Knights on the board with an RBI single to left. After a strikeout, Hunter Williamson walked to bring the tying run in and keep the bases loaded. With 2 outs, Jackson helped himself with a single just past a diving second baseman into RF that gave the Knights the lead at 3-2. The Knights don't play in very many pitcher's duels and this one run affair was tense.

Hunter came on in the 6th and got 2 quick outs on grounders to Austin at 3B and Mason at SS. But the next Octane batter blasted a double. Hunter hit the next batter and both runners advanced a base on a passed ball on suddenly the tying run was on the third and the go ahead runner was on second. The next batter hit a high pop in the infield that Hunter camped under between home on the mound to pick up the save. Jackson was the winning pitcher and knocked in the winning run and the Knights advanced to the semi finals.



The Knights pile into Coach Steven's truck between games

The Knights had about 4 hours to kill before their semifinal matchup. Several of the guys ended up at the outlet mall in Woodstock where they helped the Nike Store to a strong sales quarter. When they arrived back at the park they found out their opponent would be the Sequoyah Jr. Chiefs, a very strong AAA team. The Chiefs' big pitcher threw harder than any pitcher the Knights have faced and held the Knights to just 3 hits. He threw nothing but very fast fastballs for a couple of innings and then dropped a perfect curve for a strikeout. It was a very impressive performance. Schubie also had a great outing on the mound for the Knights. He opened with a 3 up/3 down 1st with 2 strikeouts. He added another strikeout in the 2nd before rain and lightning moved in and delayed the game for about 45 minutes. After the delay, the Chiefs pulled away and advanced to the championship game with a 6-0 win. The Knights once again committed no errors in a very solid defensive performance. The Chiefs would go on to win the tournament against the FCA Patriots.

Presley Field hit well all weekend and was perfect at 1B
routinely making great scoops and hauling in flyballs.

It was a great weekend for baseball and a great weekend to be a Knight. The boys got consistently strong pitching and had the best defensive tournament in franchise history. Although their bats struggled at times, they faced some very strong pitching, they got timely hits when they needed them to top the Octane and they had an offensive explosion in the win over the Coal Mountain Raiders. The team is making great strides and looks forward to more big wins to come.

A Train and H Bomb Power 12-2 Wrecking of the Raiders at Hickory Flats Wood Bat Bash

Big Game Hunter shows off his HR ball and the old school wood bat he used to drive it out of the park.

It was a perfect day and a great setting for baseball at Hickory Flats that was only made better by the beautiful sound of the crack of wood bats. The Knights made the most of it with a dominant 12-2 win over the Coal Mountain Raiders. The outstanding performance started with an Austin Hansell strikeout and ended with a towering homerun by Big Game Hunter Williamson.



Austin Hansell struck out 4 and went the distance for the Win.

Austin was brilliant on the mound going the distance with 4 strikeouts for the win. Austin was overpowering with his fastball and his defense was solid behind him. Hunter had 2 assists and caught a line drive at second and Austin helped himself with 2 assists from the mound. In the defensive play of the game, it appeared that Coal Mountain picked up a rare hit off of Austin with a hard drive into RF but Gil Hastings scooped it on the move and made a great throw to Presley Field at 1B for a 9-3 putout. Presley was perfect as usual converting all 6 of his put out opportunities.
While Austin was shutting down the Raiders, the Knights offense exploded. Already leading 2-1 going into the bottom of the 2nd, Marietta got hits from Hunter, Jackson Tysinger, Mason Doyle and Austin and walks to Presley and Gil to push 2 more across and load the bases for George Krivsky. George rocketed a ball to straight away center that hit just a foot below the top rail and shook the fence as Mason and Gil scored to put the Knights in control at 6-1.

The most comical moment of the game also happened in the 2nd after Presley led off with a walk. The Coal Mountain dugout seemed extremely concerned that Presley would swipe second and had their pitcher throw over 7 times. Each time Presley dove back creating a huge cloud of red clay dust. When the dust cleared, Presley could be seen grinning and shaking his head wondering why he was being put through all of that. The Knights dugout was heard shouting "We got soap!" There is no word yet on whether the Raiders' Advance Scout has been fired.

A horse drops by to watch Schubie work behind the plate at
the always unique Thomas Field at Hickory Flats

The Knights put it away in the 4th. Gil singled, stole 2nd and 3rd and scored on a single by Austin. George followed that with a single. After a line drive out, the Knights led 7-2 with 2 outs. Austin Schubert singled in Austin and moved George to 3rd. After Schubie stole 2nd, Presley blasted a double into the RCF gap that scored George and Schubie and the Knights lead was 10-2. The Knights crowd spread along the hill under the shade trees down the 1B line was already loud and proud when Big Game Hunter came to the plate. Hunter got a high, inside fastball and unloaded on it just in front of the plate. The left fielder went back to the track and appeared to be set up under the ball, but simply turned and watched it sail high over his head and land on top of the batting cage beyond the left field fence. Hunter touched them all and jumped into the arms of his celebrating teammates at home plate as the Raiders walked off the field. The 2 run shot gave the Knights a run rule win at 12-2. By chance, Hunter's former All Star coach Jerry Harris of the FCA Patriots was throwing BP in the cage during the homerun and made sure that Coach Rob got the ball.

The win was another great team performance and earned the Knights the #2 seed coming out of their pool. The Knights offense was awesome with 12 hits and 4 players (Austin, George, Presley and Hunter) had 2 RBI's each. Austin's pitching and team defense never allowed the Raiders a chance to stay in it.

Knights Play Tough Against FCA Patriots before Falling 6-1

The Marietta Knights arrived at the Hickory Flats Wood Bat Bash Friday night knowing they were in for a battle with the heavily favored FCA Patriots. But the boys fought tough and kept things close with great defense and pitching before falling 6-1 in the tournament opener.

Hunter Williamson got the start on the mound and turned in a fantastic outing against a very strong AAA ball club. Hunter pitched 5 innings, struck out 3, walked none and at one point set down 9 straight Patriots. The defense was also solid. Garrett Wells contributed 3 putouts and 2 assists and Austin Hansell and Mason Doyle each had 2 assists. In the defensive play of the game, Mason ended a Patriots threat when he ranged back from his SS position to haul in a flyball in shallow center and doubled off a baserunner at 2B.

Mt. Paran North Reunion - Old friends Drew Antoniades, Garrett Wells,
Grant Pulley, Hunter Williamson and Alden Harris pose after the game.

Unfortunately, the Knights offense was not able to get any momentum. Their 7 hits were scattered over 7 innings and strikeouts killed potential rallies too often. On the bright side, Jackson Tysinger was 2 for 3 and scored a run. Gil Hastings had a double and an RBI and Austin Schubert added a double.

It was a reunion for Hunter and Garrett. The FCA Patriots are based out of the Mt Paran North park
where Hunter and Garrett started their careers and FCA coaches Jerry Harris and Tony Antoniades coached Hunter and Garrett in All Stars many years ago. It's always a good time when we meet up with these great friends.  

A Salute to Baseball Coaching Legends

Tommy Lasorda

Let's take a moment to tip our caps to some baseball coaching greats and Coach Rob's favorite managers.

Charlie Manuel

Billy Martin

Don Zimmer

Lou Piniella

Earl Weaver

Danny Hall

Ron Gardenhire



Joe Maddon

And Hall of Fame Legend Bobby Cox

Knights Return to Gold Bracket with Walk Off Win over PTB Generals

The Marietta Knights competed in the USSSA tournament at Hunter Park in Douglasville Saturday

Austin Hansell Blasted a 2B and scored the
Game winner against the Generals

and came away with 1 win against 2 losses. After coming out flat in a game 1 loss to the eventual champion Newnan Jayhawks the Knights only had a few minutes to regroup and refocus on the PTB Five Star Generals from Peachtree City.

The Knights looked like a new team under the lights as they took control of the game in the first inning. Jackson Tysinger got the Generals out 3 up and 3 down in the top of the first with a strike out and fly outs to Gil Hastings and George Krivsky. In the bottom of the first Gil Hammer Hastings hit a massive 2 run triple to CF and came home to score on a ground out to give Marietta a 3-0 lead. After the Generals cut into the lead with 2 runs of their own, the Knights pushed the lead to 5-2 thanks to a single from George Krivsky a double by Will Nelson and an RBI single from Presley Field.

The Generals refused to retreat and came back to tie the game at 5-5. The Knights charged again with 4 straight hits from Austin Hansell, Garrett Wells, Hunter Williamson and George Krivsky. With 2 outs Presley and Jackson added another single each and the Knights had exploded for 7 runs and a comfortable 12-5 lead. But the Generals fought back once again and the Knights starting playing tight. With a big lead, they just needed to get outs but walks, errors and bad throws mounted and the Generals closed in on the lead a run at a time until suddenly the Knights commanding lead evaporated as quickly as it had been built.

Jackson pitched well and was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI's and a run
scored in the win against the PTB Generals

The score was tied 12-12 and the visiting Generals had the go ahead run on 2nd with 1 out. Hunter came on and threw hard strikes. He got the Generals' clean-up hitter to ground out to Austin at 3rd for the second out. This brought up their huge #5 hitter who had already hit one to the LF fence in the 2nd. After battling to a full count, the big hitter fouled off 3 straight 3-2 pitches. Hunter reared back and fired the hardest fastball that Coach Rob has ever seen him throw straight into Will's mitt. Will held the mitt in place behind the outside edge of the plate just long enough for the umpire to give a big strike three call and the Knights were out of the inning.

Austin came to the plate prepared to end it with one swing. On the first pitch, he launched a shot about 265 feet into the LCF gap and cruised into second for a double. He reminded his teammates that he "hates" doubles with the customary "balling" sign and then got his lead off of second. The big bomb forced the Generals to rethink their approach. After a strikeout, Hunter walked and the Generals intentionally walked George to load the bases. Will wanted a big hit, but instead he reluctantly took four straight balls to bring Austin home with the game winner and a 13-12 victory.

It was a fun and entertaining win for the Knights and their large contingent of fans. The offense was


Schubie had a huge put out at the plate
on a Flyout / Throwout Double Play.

great with 13 hits. Jackson, Gil, Austin, George and Presley each had 2 hits. There were two defensive plays of the game. One was Hunter's big strikeout to end the Generals' threat. The other one ended a threat in the 2nd inning. With a runner on a 3B, Garrett caught a flyball in CF and threw a strike to Jackson who was just left of the mound. While his teammates yelled "4" Jackson spun and made a perfect relay throw to Schubie at the plate just as the baserunner slid into home. Schubie had a great look on his face that seemed to say "not today kid, this plate is mine" as the runner slid hard into shin guards, a mitt and the ball. Schubie showed the ump the ball for a big out call to end the inning and put a charge in the Knights.
The win put the Knights into the Gold Bracket where they matched up against the West Georgia Rebels on Sunday. The Knights managed 10 hits spread all over the 7 innings and took a 2-2 tie into the bottom of the 5th after a huge 2 RBI single by Mason Doyle. But they were not able to get any other rallies going and the Rebels pulled away 8-2. Gil Hastings continued his hot hitting going 3 for 3. All in all, a good weekend with an exciting win to build on.       

GEORGE SLAM! Krivsky's Grand Slam helps Knights stretch win streak to 3

George Krivsky celebrates his big inside the park Grand Slam with his teammates after the Knights 12-0 win.

The Marietta Knights picked up their 3rd straight win with a dominating 12-0 performance against the East Marietta Rattlers Thursday night at Larry Bell Park. George Krivsky, Hunter Williamson, Will Nelson and Jackson Tysinger combined for the shutout, pitching 1 inning each. They struck out 6 against only 3 hits and 2 walks. Gil Hastings helped out with 4 putouts at 1B and Austin Hansell threw out a Rattler trying to steal 3B.


Gil Hastings recorded 4
putouts in the win.

The Knights jumped on the Rattlers early with 5 runs in the first thanks to singles by Jackson, Austin, Luke Martin, Hunter and Will. They pushed the lead to 7-0 in the 2nd with hits from George, Austin Schubert and Mason Doyle. Luke was hit by a pitch in the 3rd and scored after Garrett Wells singled and Hunter and Will walked. The bases remained loaded and the stage was set for George Krivsky. George unloaded on a 2-2 fastball and sent a rocket screaming into the RCF gap. The bases seemed to empty before the ball hit the ground just a few steps from the deep Larry Bell fence. George converted adrenaline to afterburner and came flying around second as the Rattlers' CF fired the ball towards the IF. Just after he rounded third the Rattlers executed a very nice relay with the throw pulling their C just a little up the 3B line as George slid into home for the rare inside the park Grand Slam and a 12-0 Knights lead. The Knights' dugout emptied as the team joined the baserunners in mobbing George for the bomb. With help from Google Earth, Coach Rob estimates the tale of the tape to be 270'.

The 3rd win in a row was another very well played game by the Knights. In addition to the great pitching and big hitting, the Knights did not commit an error. The Knights will take their win streak to Hunter Park in Douglasville on Saturday with back to back games against the Newnan Jayhawks and the PTB 5 Star Generals.

Knights Make it 2 in a Row with 8-6 win over Spikes

The Marietta Knights returned from Spring Break and turned in their most complete game of the season with an 8-6 win over the East Marietta Spikes Tuesday night at Larry Bell Park. Coaches from both teams remarked after the game about how much fun this multi-game series has been because every game has been so competitive. Tuesday night, the Knights got the best of it with great pitching, defense and hitting.


Schubie struck out 2 in 2 innings for the win.

The Knights manufactured their first 2 runs. In the first, Mason Doyle took a pitch right in the 2 on the back of his jersey then promptly stole 2nd and 3rd. He scored when the Spikes catcher threw to first after a dropped 3rd strike. Hunter Williamson led off the 2nd with a single, then advanced to 2nd and 3rd on consecutive groundouts to the P and scored when the P dropped a return throw from the C and it rolled off the mound. With only 1 hit, the Knights held a 2-1 lead after 2.

Meanwhile, Austin Schubert was nearly perfect in his start on the mound. Schubie needed just 30 pitches, 20 of them strikes, to pick up the win. Schubie was hitting all of his spots with fastballs, change ups and a filthy curve. Schubie struck out 2 and also fielded the position well with 2 assists from the mound and he did not walk a batter. Luke Martin took the hill in the bottom of the 3rd and threw 3 very strong innings with 3 strikeouts and allowed only 1 earned run.


For the second game in a row, Austin Hansell came up with a huge 2 RBI hit, a shot to RF that scored Schubie and Gil Hastings. Austin came home on a throwing error after Luke singled to put the Knights in control with a 5-1 lead in the 3rd. In the 5th, Luke brought Gil home with an RBI single and Austin scored on a PB and Mason Doyle knocked in George Krivsky in the 6th to complete the Knights scoring at 8.



Luke Martin had a great game with a solid inning behind the
plate, 2 hits at the plate, and 3 K's from the mound. 

Austin Hansell came on to try close it out in the 6th. In the Defensive Play of the Game, Mason ranged deep and to his left to grab a ball headed for CF. It appeared that there was no way he could get the batter, but Mason used a super quick release and fired a throw that was never more than 60" above the ground that hit a stretched out Presley right in his mitt just ahead of the runner for the 2nd out of the 6th with the Knights holding an 8-6 lead. Then Austin channeled Craig Kimbrel and struck out the next batter on 3 straight pitches to pick up the save.

It was a great feeling watching the Knights shoulder bump and high five as they gathered at 3rd to start the traditional handshake line towards the mound. Austin, Luke and George each had 2 hits and Austin and Gil each scored twice. Knights pitchers struck out 6 batters and only walked 2.

The Knights will stay at the Bell for a Thursday matchup with the East Marietta Rattlers before heading to Hunter Park in Douglasville for this week's USSSA event.