Knights Earn Split with Hopewell Hawks in Iron-Out Bowl at Sewell Park



Nathan Brooks hit a 3 run
Double in the win over Hopewell.  

It was another rainy week in Georgia and the Knights Saturday games against Ocee had already been washed out. As more rain fell it looked like Sunday would also be rained out and it would be hard to blame Marietta for giving in to the weather instead of welcoming in the extremely talented and accomplished Hopewell Hawks. But these boys love to play baseball so the Knights coaching staff assembled at 10am Sunday morning at their home Sewell Park to make sure the field was playable for a 2pm first pitch. The result was a playing surface Ed Mangan would be proud of and certainly the finest the Knights have played on in years.



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you by Iron Out. Did your coach have
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though your son hasn't stolen a base in a
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Jackson Tysinger delivered another great start on the mound for Marietta and his defense was strong behind him. Hopewell managed just 1 run in the first when their lead off runner tagged from 3rd after Garrett Wells made a running catch on a flyball in deep RCF. Jackson did not allow any more runs in his 3 innings of work and got out of 2 jams. Down 1-0 with 2 outs and a runner on 3B Jackson stuck out a Hawk on 4 pitches to end the 2nd. And with 2 outs and the bases loaded in a 1-1 duel, Jackson coaxed an easy ground ball to 2B that Hunter Williamson handled and tossed to Gil Hastings at 1B to end the 3rd.

The Knights trailed 1-0 in the 2nd with Gil on 3B. Hopewell's catcher caught Gil a little too far off the bag and made a snap throw down. Gil broke for home and then kept the run down alive just long enough for the Hawks to make a mistake so he could score and tie the game at 1-1. Coach Rob congratulated Gil on the great hustle and reminded him never to let it happen again.

It turned into a beautiful Spring like day and the Knights were locked in a 1-1 tie when their offense took over. Luke Martin provided the spark when he reached first after legging out a dropped third strike. He advanced to 3B on a single by Jack Vargo and gave Marietta the lead on Jackson's RBI single. After Hunter walked and Gil reached on a fielder's choice the Knights had the bases loaded with 2 outs and a 2-1 lead for RBI machine Austin Hansell. Austin roped a 2 run single into CF that scored Jackson and Hunter and pushed Gil to 3B. It was now 4-1. George Krivsky drew a walk and the bases were loaded again. Nathan Brooks blasted a 3-1 pitch to straight away CF towards Roswell. Hopewell's CF covered a lot of ground but couldn't catch up as the ball hit the fence. Gil scored. Austin scored. And George scored all the way from first on the 2 out, 3 run double. After 5 2 out RBI's the Knights held a commanding 7-1 lead. In addition to the big hits, the Knights owed thanks to Nathan's Dad Tony who has been working with Knights base runners. As each of these Knights accelerated through each bag on their way to the plate it was clear the work was paying off and will help them win games.

Austin Hansell had 2 RBI's and pitched
2 shutout innings.

The Hawks got their bats going in the final inning but the Knights stayed cool and kept making outs. Single. Ground out to Luke for 1. Single. Ground out to Hunter for 2. 2 more hits and an error closed the gap to 3. Ground ball to Luke and he touches 3B to close it out. A great 7-4 home win over a great team for the Knights.

In game 2, a big first inning by the Hawks doomed the Knights. An error, a walk, a hit batsman and a few big hits and Hopewell was off to a 5-0 start. The Knights settled down and only allowed 1 more run the rest of the way but couldn't overcome the early deficit and fell 6-2. The Knights offense came from a big 2 out, 2 run double off the bat of Luke Martin. The Knights defense was once again pretty strong. The first Defensive Play of the Day happened with the bases loaded in the first. Austin fielded a hard grounder at 3B and fired to Luke at the plate. Luke made the catch just as the runner's spikes smashed against his shin guards for a run saving out. The other came in the 2nd with a runner on 2B. Nathan fielded a low line drive on one hop in LF and threw to Austin at 3B to get the runner trying to advance. Austin was also solid on the mound throwing 2 shut out innings.

The Knights were disappointed that 1 tough inning prevented the sweep but a split against a quality opponent like the Hopewell Hawks is great for the program. And kudos to the Hawks. The Knights' coaches were very impressed that while on deck in front of the Knights' dugout, several Hawks made a point of thanking the Knights coaches for working so hard to prepare the field for the game. They are a great group of kids and always a fun opponent to play. 


Luke Martin had a 2 run Double.

Coach Steven Hansell and Coach Brook Martin work overtime to get the field at Sewell Park ready for play.

Knights Take Two from Livsey Baseball Academy in Sunday Double Header at Legion Field

The Marietta Knights got a break from the recent Winter weather with a beautiful sunny day for a double header with the Livsey Baseball Academy at Legion Field in Austell.

Jack Vargo scores on a bang bang play at the plate after a passed ball.

Game 1 was a peculiar affair with an exciting finish. Livsey took an early lead with big hits and aggressive base running and protected it with great defensive plays. But the Knights kept battling even as time expired while they trailed 10-4 with 2 outs. The lead was cut to 10-6 when Alex Beaullieu scorched a ball that the SS couldn't handle. The guys stayed the course, were patient at the plate and were smart on the bases. They kept chipping away until suddenly they closed the gap to 10-9.






Alex Beaullieu kept game 1 alive with a hot shot to
SS and made a huge diving catch in CF in game 2.

Livsey brought in their big armed CF to try to save the game. Jack saw that the pitcher was throwing hard but wild. After the game he told Coach Rob that he knew there was a good chance there might be a fastball coming right at his head. Sure enough, down a run with the bases loaded the fastball was headed right at him but thankfully a little lower. Jack turned and took the heater off his backside for a painful but happy game tying RBI. Gil then took 4 straight balls to push Nathan Brooks across the plate for a wild comeback 11-10 win. Austin Hansell struck out 3 in 2 innings on the mound. Jack Vargo came in and threw a great final inning to get the win.

The Knights Brain Trust of Hunter, Gil and Austin Analyze the Action.
 

Luke Martin had an RBI and 2 runs scored in Gm 2

Game 2 was definitely the better baseball game as both teams played very well. Gil Hastings got the start on the mound and was great from the start holding Livsey scoreless in the first thanks in part to Nathan Brooks hauling in 2 flyballs at 1B. The visiting Knights got on the board in the 2nd when Luke Martin drove a single into CF to score Austin. Luke scored to make it 2-0 on a fielder's choice by Nicholas Brooks, Nathan's little brother, who picked up the big RBI while filling in for the short handed Knights.

Gil remained sharp but Livsey hung tough and scratched across 2 runs on just 2 more hits and it was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 4th. Gil struck out the 1st batter. The second batter hit a flair into shallow CF that Alex caught with a Sportscenter quality diving catch and Gil struck out the third batter to send it to the 5th still tied.

With 1 out, Gil helped himself with a rocket into the LCF gap for a stand up triple. Hunter Williamson gave the Knights back the lead when he ripped a 2-2 pitch into CF for an RBI single. After a walk and an error scored Hunter another walk loaded the bases with 2 outs.



Gil Hastings got the win with 5 K's in a complete game and scored the game
winner after blasting a  triple to fence.

That brought Jeff Dismukes to the plate. Jeff grew up playing with many of the Knights at Oregon Park. He took a break from his soccer career to help out the Knights on Sunday. He was a huge help on defense filling in at SS and LF and unfortunately he had already been plunked twice on the day. This time was different as Jeff launched a line drive into left for an RBI single to extend the Knights lead. With the bases still loaded, Nicholas got plunked to bring Luke home and the Knights went to the bottom of the final inning leading 6-2.

That would be all Gil needed. He closed out the complete game win by bracketing a Livsey single with 2 strikeouts and coaxing a pop fly to Jeff at SS for the final out and the double header sweep. Gil struck out 4 in 5 innings and only allowed 1 earned run. It finally felt like Spring on Sunday in Austell and it's always a great day when you can win 2. Great job Knights.




Nicholas Brooks helped out his big brother's Knights
with great defensive play and 2 RBI's.

On their day off Knights head into Atlanta for Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame Matchup

Luke, Jack, Nathan, Austin, Hunter and Alex watch the Jackets and the Irish from the front row at Russ Chandler Stadium.

When the Marietta Knights aren't playing baseball they're watching it. That was the case on a rare Saturday off when the Knights headed to Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta to watch a key ACC matchup between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was a beautiful day for baseball and a great experience for the boys. The guys had a great view of the action from their seats on the front row. They saw some really great baseball from both teams and ultimately saw Tech pull away for an 11-7 win on the strength of A.J. Murray and Matt Gonzalez's HR's and Kel Johnson's 3 run triple. The players, who are typically very coachable, were not very receptive to Coach Rob and Coach Steven's nuggets of wisdom after the college players made great plays. However, the coaches did hear them pointing out heads up plays to each other. The team closed out the day perfectly by getting autographs from the home team and heading to the Varsity for a post game meal.  



Tech's Matt Gonzalez, from Harrison High in Cobb
County blasted a HR on then signed autographs for
several  of the Knights. 

Knights Advance to GSA Championship Game in Season Opening Tourney

The 2015 Marietta Knights show off their hardware after making it to the championship game of the GSA tournament.

In their first tournament of the year, the Marietta Knights often looked like they were in mid season form as they rode great pitching, timely hitting and big league defense to 2 big wins and a 2nd place finish in the GSA Championship at Legion Field in Austell, Georgia.

 

Marietta would be down two players for the their first two games of the tourney while Gil and George were busy with the Marietta HS JV squad pounding Sprayberry. Coach Rob convinced former players Will "the Thrill" Nelson and "the King" Presley Field to put back on the Columbia blue and fill in. Fortunately, Will's Blessed Trinity lacrosse team and Presley's Hillgrove Hawks 8th grade baseball team were off for the day. The team was thrilled to have these old friends back in the dugout and they were a huge help in the tourney.

 

The Knights opened as the visiting team against the South Paulding Spartans and their hot bats defied

Jack Vargo was a coach's dream at lead off, leading off 3
different innings with singles, stolen bases and runs scored. 

the 30 degree weather. Jack Vargo got them started by leading off the season with a line drive single into RCF. He stole 2B and then advanced to 3B on a passed ball. After Jackson Tysinger walked and Hunter Williamson was hit by a pitch, Jack took home on a passed ball to give Marietta a 1 run lead. Austin Hansell picked up an RBI with a 2 strike ground out to 2B to score Jackson. Nathan Brooks was then hit by a pitch. With 2 outs, Garrett Wells drove a single into LCF that scored Hunter and Nathan and the Knights led 4-0 after a half inning.
After a walk and an error allowed the Spartans' lead off hitter to score, Big Game Hunter settled down to throw an absolute gem. Hunter fielded a bunt from the mound and threw to 1B for one out and coaxed two weak grounders to 1B that Presley handled unassisted to maintain the 4-1 lead after 1. Jack led off the 2nd with another big rip into RCF and another stolen base. Jackson singled in Jack and Hunter walked and stole 2B allowing Austin to pick up another 2 strike RBI with a grounder to short to score Jackson. Hunter came home when Nathan Brooks reached on a hot shot to SS. Alex Beaullieu singled and stole 2B and 3B and scored on a WP to give the Knights a commanding 7-1 lead. After 2 innings, the Knights 1, 2 and 3 hitters had each scored twice.



Big Game Hunter threw a CG, 1 hitter with 5 K's in win over
South Paulding. He also batted .500 with 2 RBI's in the tourney. 

Hunter and the Knights defense never let the Spartans back in the game. Hunter used a great fastball and filthy curve for a complete game 1 hitter with 5 strikeouts. Only 2 balls left the infield, a lazy flyball that Alex caught in CF and the Spartans' only hit which was a grounder that snuck between SS and 3B. Meanwhile, the Knights' defense was fantastic. Austin Hansell anchored that D with 3 big assists from 3B. The Knights' lone error was a throwing error in the 1st.

Jackson closed out the Knights' scoring in the final inning with a huge RBI double to score Jack. In the bottom of the inning Hunter struck out the final 2 batters to end the convincing 9-1 opening day win.



With a thin bullpen, Coach Tysinger
was ready to take the mound.  

The Knights were only able to enjoy the win for a few minutes before they had to face a very strong Eastside Heat team. The AAA Heat's home is just a few miles from the Knights' and the boys had a lot of great friends in the opposing dugout including former Knights Cal Hughes and Mason Doyle. Coach Rob loved seeing his old players and their families right up until Mason started scorching the base paths and Cal made a great block and tag on a play at the plate. He was proud of his guys but wished they were doing it to someone else. And as good as the Knights' defense was in game 1, it was that bad in the first inning of game 2. It should have opened with a 3 up/ 3 down inning. But after 3 errors in the first 4 at bats, the Heat led 3-0 with only 1 out. The errors piled up until the Heat held an 11-0 lead. Jack came on and threw 2 solid innings with 2 strikeouts as the Knights played almost even for the rest of the way in the 14-2 loss. Jackson and Hunter each delivered an RBI single for the Knights 2 runs.

After a long late lunch break, the Knights found out they had earned the #2 seed and would have a rematch with the South Paulding Spartans in the Semi finals. Even better, Gil and George were back for the rest of the day.

The home Knights got off to a great start as Austin Hansell tied the all time baseball record for fewest pitches in an inning with 3. Jack caught a line drive at 2B, Hunter threw the next batter out from 3B and Austin snagged a line drive at the mound on the third pitch and the inning was over. Once again, Jack led off with a single and stole 2B. Hunter delivered another RBI single for a 1-0 lead after 1. The Spartans used small ball to scratch across a run each in the 2nd and 3rd to take a 2-1 lead. Trailing by a run, Hunter was hit by a fastball in the arm, stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd after tagging on Austin's deep fly ball to RF. With 2 outs, the Blue Devils connection stepped in with back to back drives to retake the lead. Gil hit a monstrous double to deep CF to score Hunter and he came home on George's line drive single to RCF.

Nathan Brooks came up big behind the plate catching a ton
of innings throughout the evening.

Austin delivered a 3up/3 down 4th on just 8 pitches. The Spartans tied things up at 3 in the 5th on a single and a triple. The throw home attempting to get the lead runner went wild and the batter broke for the plate to try to give the Spartans the lead. Catcher Nathan Brooks scooped the ball at the fence and tossed to Austin who tagged the runner to preserve the tie score. With runners on 2B and 3B and 1 out, Austin struck out South Paulding's clean up hitter and got a pop out to Jackson at SS to end the threat.

With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 5th, Jackson and Hunter led off with back to back singles. With fans and players from other teams lining the fence watching the tight game, Austin ripped a single to CF that scored 2. Gil followed up with his second RBI double of the day and came home on Garrett's RBI grounder to short. The Knights had opened it up and led 7-3.

After 2 walks and an error, the Spartans closed the gap to 7-5 and had a runner on 2B. Jackson came on to try to save it for the Knights and got a huge strike out. The Spartans lead off hitter then came up and hit a routine grounder to 2B. Hunter fielded it and threw to Gil at 1B for out number 2. In the Defensive Play of the Game, after making the put out at 1B Gil picked up the runner breaking for 3B and threw a dart to Austin who put down the tag on the sliding runner. The ump added to the drama with a big emphatic out call to end the game. The Knights were headed for their 4th game of the day and a chance to play for the championship.

Jackson Tysinger had a huge tournament hitting.400
with 3 RBI's, 3 Runs and 3 Stolen Bases and a Save.

The Championship Game was a rematch with the Eastside Heat. The Heat is a very good, well coached team that hits hard and makes very few mistakes. The Knights hung with them better in the rematch but the Heat were once again too strong and they pulled away for an 11-1 win. Although there were very few offensive highlights, the Knights were better defensively. Their 2 double plays were the Co-Defensive Plays of the game. With the Heat rallying in the 1st, Hunter caught a looping line drive behind 2B and tagged the bag to double off the base runner and end the inning. After a single in the 3rd, Alex fielded a grounder at SS, flipped to Jack at 2B for 1 and he threw to Gil at first to complete the 6-4-3 double play.

Although they were disappointed to come up a game short, the Marietta Knights were rightfully excited about the way they played on opening weekend. The Knights picked up 2 huge wins over very a good team. They had a lot of big hits, great defense and awesome pitching. There is certainly plenty to work on, but for their opening tournament, the Knights should be proud of a great performance.