The 2022 Little League State Championships got underway at Knox on Friday, with Baycats, Eastern Athletics, Southern Mariners, and Twins enjoying a fantastic day on the field.
Southern Mariners are 2-0 in Little League Major, followed by Eastern Athletics at 1-1. Baycats and Eastern Athletics are leading the way in Little League Development, both with 2-0 records.
Check out GameChanger recaps from the first day and visit our LL State Champs hub for full standings, schedules, and live scoring on GameChanger.
Little League Major
Southern Mariners 8 v Eastern Athletics 6
Southern Mariners had an 8-6 walk-off victory over Eastern Athletics. The game was tied at six with Southern Mariners batting in the bottom of the sixth when Jackson B. doubled on a 0-1 count, scoring two runs.
Southern Mariners collected nine hits total while Eastern Athletics had five.
Eastern Athletics scored three runs in the fourth inning on singles from Jonathan P. and Alessio P.
Riku T was on the hill for Southern Mariners. The pitcher allowed zero hits and zero runs over one and two-thirds innings, striking out four and walking zero.
Eastern's Cliff N. pitched three and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out seven. Jonathan and Harvey D. entered the game from the bullpen, throwing one and one-third innings and one-third of an inning respectively.
Harper S., Riku, and Jackson all managed multiple hits for Southern Mariners while Jonathan went 2-for-3 for Eastern.
Eastern Athletics 21 v Twins 11
Eastern Athletics took the lead late in the game in a 21-11 victory over Twins on Friday.
Eastern was down 11-10 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Reiley M. doubled on the first pitch of the at bat, scoring three runs.
Jonathan P. collected five hits in five at bats to help lead Eastern Athletics to victory. He singled in the first, tripled in the second, doubled in the third, and singled twice in the fifth.
Twins got things moving in the first inning, scoring one run when Oliver V. singled.
Finn W. toed the rubber for Eastern Athletics. The fireballer lasted two and a third innings, allowing 11 hits and 11 runs while striking out two.
Andy Z. was on the pitcher's mound for Twins. The hurler surrendered three runs on three hits over one and one-third innings, striking out four.
Eastern Athletics collected 21 hits on the day. Oliver A., Jiah C., Harvey D., and Jonathan all had multiple hits, with three plays stealing at least two bases as well.
Twins racked up 12 hits in the game. Mitchell L. and Oliver B. all managed multiple hits for Twins. Mitchell went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Twins in hits and also made the most fielding plays with eight.
Southern Mariners 11 v Twins 6
Twins stayed in it until the end, but Southern Mariners pulled away late in an 11-6 victory on Friday. The game was tied at four with Southern Mariners batting in the top of the fifth when Hamish W. singled on a 2-2 count, scoring one run.
Twins collected six hits and Southern Mariners had eight in the high-scoring game, with Brodie S. bringing in the first run for Twins in the opening frame.
Connor M. led things off on the pitcher's mound for Southern Mariners. The pitcher lasted one and one-third innings, allowing two hits and three runs while striking out four and walking one.
Oscar S. was on the mound for Twins. The pitcher allowed one hit and zero runs over one and two-thirds innings, striking out five and walking one. Cruise C., Orlando M., and Murphy C. each contributed in relief for Twins.
Mitchell L., Andy Z., Reeve H., Maison R., Cruise, and Brodie each managed one hit to lead Twins.
Riku T. went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead Southern Mariners in hits.
Little League Development
Eastern Athletics 5 v Mariners Teal 3
Mariners Teal fought back after falling down by six runs in the fourth inning, but the rally fell just short as Eastern Athletics finished on top 5-3.
Eastern Athletics took the lead on a walk in the first inning and scored three more in the third.
Phillip T. led things off on the hill for Eastern Athletics. The pitcher surrendered one run on one hit over one inning, striking out three.
Hao H. started the game for Mariners Tea, giving up two runs on zero hits over one and one-third innings, striking out two. James W and Hayley D entered the game in relief, throwing one inning and two-thirds of an inning respectively.
Lachlan J. and Oscar H. each collected one hit to lead Mariners Teal.
Baycats 10 v Mariners Teal 2
Mariners Teal watched the game slip away early and couldn't recover in a 10-2 loss to Baycats, who scored on a double by Reuben M. and a walk by Huga T. in the first inning.
Baycats scored five more runs in the fourth inning on RBIs from Huga and Dallas H. Tylah L. threw two innings, allowing zero hits and zero runs while striking out four and walking one.
Oscar H. started the game for Mariners Teal. The hurler went one-third of an inning, allowing three runs on one hit.
Jack B., Aiden I., and Oscar all had one hit to lead Mariners Teal.
Reuben led Baycats with three hits in three at bats. The team didn't make any errors in the field as George S. had the most plays with six.
Baycats also stole six bases during the game as Jack N. led the way with two.
Baycats 14 v Twins Orange 3
Twins Orange watched the game slip away early and couldn't recover in a 14-3 loss to Baycats on Friday. Baycats took the lead on a home run from Tylah L. in the first inning.
Twins Orange scored three runs in the second inning as Jack C. and Noah A. had RBIs. Baycats answered with five runs in the second including RBIs for Xavier F., George S., and Reuben M.
Reuben was on the hill for Baycats. The ace surrendered two runs on two hits over one and two-thirds innings, striking out five and walking one.
Twins Orange had Keiran H. on the mound for one inning, with four hits, five runs, two strikeouts, and a walk. Beckett S. and Joseph H. entered the game from the bullpen, throwing two innings and one and two-thirds innings respectively.
Keiran, Joseph, Noah, and Jack each collected one hit to lead Twins Orange while George led Baycats with three hits in four at bats.
Earlier, Twins Orange won 13-3 over Mariners White.
Eastern Athletics 8 v Twins Black 5
Twins Black opened the day with a 12-4 win over Mariners White, but they fell just short in their second matchup of the day despite having more hits.
Eastern Athletics won 8-5 over Twins Black on Friday afternoon. Eastern collected four hits and gave up six in the game, with Harrison P., Jackson B., Michael N., Charles R., and Clayton H. all contributing with RBIs.
Otis K., Keith R., Oskar G., and Oliver C. knocked in runs for Twins while Oliver joined Connor B., Noah S., and Kaiden R. with time on the mound.
Eastern pitchers struck out six with three K's apiece to John G. and Michael N.
Both sides did a good job of bringing base runners home, with Twins leaving just one on base and Eastern stranding two.
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