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.