Cartersville Little League 12U places third at state tournament

The Cartersville Little League 12U baseball team finished third at the 2023 Georgia Little League state tournament following a 5-3 loss to host Smyrna Little League Wednesday night.

Smyrna posted four runs in the first two innings and added an insurance run in the fourth inning. Cartersville narrowed the margin to 4-1 in the third inning and scored two runs in the fifth but got no closer despite outhitting Smyrna seven to five.

Parker Huth (3.2 IP, 5R, 4ER, 4H, 2BB, 3K) made the pitching start and was tagged with the loss. Noah Leffew (2.1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 1K) closed out the final 2-⅓ innings on the mound.

Jackson Crawford (RBI) and Tyler Hickman led the Cartersville offense with two hits each. Braxton Lemon had one double. Mattox Stepp and Demetrius Wynn added one hit apiece. Trey Smith and Leffew added one RBI each.

Cartersville finished the double-elimination state tournament with a 2-2 record after winning the District 1 championship.

Smyrna advances to the state championship round on Thursday against Harris County. Smyrna will need two wins. Harris County needs just one win to take the tournament title.