Chris Chestnut
On Wednesday, Dillon hosted the Aynor Blue Jackets for the District VIII title. The Blue Jackets squeaked out a 6-5 win in the eighth inning to force a second game, where the Wildcats rallied for an 11-7 win and the district championship.
In game one, Dillon took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and added two runs in the fourth for a 4-0 lead. But Aynor broke loose for five runs in the top of the fifth for a 5-4 lead and held it right up until the bottom of the seventh, when Dillon managed to tie things 5-5 and send the game to extra innings. But the Blue Jackets sealed the win with a run in the top of the eighth to force a second game.
Aynor’s Lewis claimed the win on the mound, pitching four innings for three hits, one earned run, five walks, and four outs. Dillon’s Weston Bailey took the loss, pitching 3.6 innings for two earned runs, four hits, six walks, and four outs.
At bat for Aynor, Prosser went 1-for-4 with one RBI, and Hood and Ward each went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Aynor had six hits in the win.
At bat for Dillon, Kaleb Page went 2-for-4 with two RBI; Jarvis Graves went 2-for-3 with two RBI; and Ethan Hayes went 2-for-4.
In game two, Aynor scored their first run in the top of the first inning, but Dillon took six runs in the bottom of the first for a lead and never trailed. Aynor added two runs in the top of the fourth to trail 6-3, but Dillon added a run in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull ahead 10-3. Aynor added three runs in the top of the sixth, but Dillon picked up another runner in the bottom of the inning for an 11-6 lead. Aynor added one run in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t close the gap.
Ethan Hayes earned the win on the mound, pitching three innings for two earned runs, two hits, four walks, and three outs. Aynor’s Woodle took the loss, pitching one inning for six earned runs and seven hits.
At bat for Dillon, Jarvis Graves went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI.Weston Bailey went 2-for-3; Omar McCollum went 2-for-3 with one RBI; Patrick Herring went 2-for-4 with two RBI; Ethan Hayes went 2-for-4 with two RBI; and Gunnar Grossetti went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Dillon had 14 hits in the win.
At bat for Aynor, Peeples went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Blue Jackets. Aynor had seven hits in the effort.
With the win, Dillon advanced to the first round of the lower state playoffs, but the Wildcats ran aground of Loris, falling 6-1 to the Lions on Saturday in Dillon.
Loris took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and added one run in the fourth before sealing the win with three in the seventh. The Wildcats’ only run came from a solo home run from Jarvis Graves.
The Wildcats had two players who had to leave the game on Saturday, with Patrick Herring getting hit in the hand by a foul ball while playing catcher and Kaleb Page getting struck in the head with a pitch. The Wildcats were also without pitcher Duncan Callahan, who was taken out of rotation after stiffness in his arm during the district playoffs against Aynor.
Tanner Cox picked up the win for Loris, pitching five innings for just one hit, and Tanner Chock pitched two no-hit innings for the Lions. Herring was the starting pitcher for the Wildcats on Saturday and took the loss.
At bat for the Lions, Clay Faircloth had two hits and three RBI and Tanner Cox had two hits and one run scored. Whit Riverbank also had an RBI single in the first inning.
The win for Loris marked three straight playoff wins against Dillon in the last two years, while the Wildcats have a 5-0 record against Loris in regular season play.
Dillon, now 18-3, was scheduled to host Wade Hampton on Monday night in an elimination bracket game. Wade Hampton fell 6-3 to Bishop England on Saturday. The Battling Bishops were scheduled to travel to Loris to determine which team will advance to the lower state championship. The loser will face the Dillon/Wade Hampton winner on Wednesday.
Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click the images below to view at full size!
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