Cartersville Junior LL 14U one of three teams remaining in state tourney
Pitchers Ayden Ray and Grant Knight combined for a five-inning, no-hitter Tuesday night as the Cartersville Junior Little League 14U baseball team blanked Hobgood 10-0 in an elimination game of the Georgia Little League Junior League state tournament in West Point. With the win, Cartersville is now one of only three teams remaining in the double-elimination tournament that began last Saturday and will conclude Thursday.
Cartersville 14U, now 2-1 in the tournament and 2-0 in elimination games, plays Athens Junior Little League Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. for the right to play Elbert County Junior Little League in the championship round Thursday night.
Elbert has not lost in the tournament and handed Cartersville and Athens their losses. Elbert topped Cartersville in Saturday’s opener 11-1 and beat Athens Tuesday night, 14-2.
The two Cartersville pitchers were dominant in Tuesday night’s win. Hobgood did not advance a baserunner beyond second base. Ray (1.2 IP, 0R, 0H, 1BB, 6K) opened on the mound and struck out six of the seven batters he faced. One batter reached first base on a dropped third strike and he walked one. Knight (3.1 IP, 0R, 0H, 2BB, 7K) entered with two outs in the second inning and fanned seven of the twelve batters he faced.
Meanwhile, the Cartersville 14U offense produced ten runs on eleven hits. Cartersville took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, added five runs in the third and four more in the fifth for the run-rule victory.
Luke Altizer paced the Cartersville attack with a pair of RBI singles. His hit in the second inning gave Cartersville their first run. His hit in the third inning put the locals up 5-0. Gavin Shrewsbury had two hits including an RBI single in the third inning and Colin Genrich finished with a pair of hits. Colt Williams tripled and later scored to lead off the Cartersville third inning. Ray had a third inning RBI double. Trenton Payne and Knight added one hit apiece.
The Georgia Junior Little League state champion will advance to the Junior Baseball Regional Tournament in Broadway, Virginia August 2-5.
Little League results are provided to Bartow Sports Zone by Bartow County Little League and Cartersville Little League. The game data is shared by the leagues via GameChanger reports from the respective teams and/or leagues. GRPA tournament team results are also provided by the Cartersville Parks and Recreation Department and the Bartow County Parks and Recreation Department or the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association. Results and capsules are sponsored on Bartow Sports Zone by Play It Again Sports and CiCi's - Beyond Pizza, both located in the Cartersville Main Street - Cherokee Place Shopping Center
