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Sports

East Marietta Outlasts Masters City

The East Cobb Little League team won its second game of the state championships Sunday.

started the game for the East Marietta National Little League all-stars Sunday at the , but he threw only 20 pitches even though he'd struck out two batters and not allowed a hit in an inning of work.

Get used to hearing about 20-pitch pitchers this week in the Little League Baseball Georgia State Championship Tournament. If a player throws 20 or fewer pitches in a day, he doesn't need a day of rest before he pitches again.

After Rooks, Jack Hardin came in to work. Hardin did the same thing as Rooks: struck out the first two batters he faced and gave up a ground out on the infield. Through two innings, East Marietta hadn't allowed a hit. For that matter, neither had Masters City.

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But the score showed 2-0, East Marietta.

After loading the bases in the bottom of the second, East Marietta scored a run on a passed ball. A heads-up base running play by Genesis Angulo gave East Marietta a second run on the same passed ball as he trucked it around third and slid around the diving catcher.

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The first hit of the game came in the bottom of the third inning when Jason Avers launched a fly ball over the left fielder's head to rattle the outfield wall.

When Hardin then singled, Avers got caught in a rundown between third base and home. An errant throw allowed Avers to score East Marietta's third run.

Angulo scored the fourth run of the game on a passed ball, and East Marietta led 4-0 after three innings.

Gabe Magerkurth, in to pitch in the fourth inning, gave up the first hit of the game to a Masters City hitter. But that ground ball between third and shortstop was harmless as Magerkurth came out of the inning unscathed.

Hardin doubled to start the fifth inning, and Magerkurth tripled to score Hardin, giving East Marietta its fifth run.

Noah Cole, in to pitch the sixth inning for East Marietta, gave up a two-strike, two-out, two-run home run, but he promptly ended the game with a grounder on the infield.

East Marietta won, 5-2, and cruised on great pitching and timely base running.

The Giants remain undefeated in the postseason and of the state tournament, tied with Columbus American. Walton County is 0-2 in last, and Masters City and Cartersville are 0-1. The top two teams after pool play ends Wednesday will advance to Thursday's semifinals.

East Marietta's next game is Monday night at 7:30 against host Cartersville. A win would all but assure the Giants of advancing.

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