Bartow County Little League 12U blasts Peachtree City to reach state championship round
Bartow County Little League 12U had their best offensive performance of the state tournament Wednesday night as they defeated five-time defending state champs Peachtree City, 13-4.
The win by the District 1 champions puts them one win away from winning the first state championship for the district since 1953 when Rome Little League won the Georgia title.
No 12U team from either Bartow County Little League or Cartersville Little League has ever won the Georgia state championship. Peachtree City, who has owned the Georgia title since 2015, will now need three consecutive wins to win the 2021 championship. (Note: There was no tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic.)
Wednesday night, Bartow pounded out eleven hits while pitcher McCayden Hufstetler limited Peachtree City to its lowest offensive output of the tournament.
Hufstetler pitched into the sixth inning to earn the win on the mound. The right-hander allowed four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven. Raiden Sexton, who spent most of the night playing centerfield, toed the rubber with one out in the sixth inning and fanned both batters he faced to complete the victory.
Playing as the home team, Peachtree City took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first but the lead would be short-lived.
Bartow 12U demonstratively answered in its next offensive frame.
The locals took advantage of three walks in the top of the second while compiling three singles and back-to-back doubles to take a 7-2 lead.
Bartow added a run in the third inning to lead 8-2 before Peachtree City’s Thomas Thigpen powered a two-run home run that narrowed the lead to 8-4. The score stayed 8-4 until the top of the sixth inning when Bartow County posted five insurance runs and effectively put the game away.
Sexton paced the Bartow offense with three hits including a double, a home run, and three RBIs. Noah Janssen and Hayden Miller contributed two hits and three RBIs each. Drazen Jones finished with two hits including a double and two RBIs. Drew Nida and Wyatt Garlin tossed in one hit apiece while Rush Faulk added one RBI.
The win puts Bartow in Friday’s state championship game(s) as the unbeaten team in the double-elimination tournament. Bartow (3-0) will play the survivor of Thursday night’s elimination game between Northern-Columbus (3-1) and Peachtree City (2-1).
Northern-Columbus eliminated Warner Robins Wednesday night, 6-4. Bartow County 12U will need one win Friday night to win the state championship. The Northern-Columbus/Peachtree City winner will need to defeat Bartow County twice Friday to claim the title.
Friday’s championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. If a second game is necessary, it will follow at approximately 8 p.m.
BartowSportsZone.com will broadcast the championship game(s) with pregame coverage beginning at 5:50 p.m.
To listen online, use the player at the top of BartowSportsZone.com. You can also download the free Mixlr app to listen on your phone or smart device — then search for “Bartow Sports Zone,”
— or — listen using this direct link: https://mixlr.com/bartow-sports-zone
