After battling their way back from a 4-2 loss to Aynor in the second round of the District VIII playoffs, Dillon’s Lady Wildcats managed to defeat the Blue Jackets in a double-header on Wednesday, only to fall 8-5 to Waccamaw in the first round of the lower state playoffs on Saturday.

Dillon earned a 9-5 win over Aynor on Wednesday to force a second game for the district title. The Lady Wildcats trailed 5-3 after five innings but managed to score four runs in the sixth to pull ahead. Shayna Covington reached on a bunt, German was walked, and an error loaded the bases. Tara Grimsley hit a two-run single to tie the game, and Da’Kerhia Samuel followed with another two-run single to give the Wildcats the lead.

In the top of the seventh, two Wildcats reached on walks and Rebecca Callahan hit another two-run single to seal the win for Dillon.

Shaquailla German earned the win on the mound.

In game two, the Wildcats earned an 11-1 run-ruled win to claim the state title.

On Saturday, the Wildcats hosted Waccamaw in the first round of the lower state playoffs, with the Warriors taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Rebecca Callahan reached on a grounder and Tara Grimsley hit a double to the left field fence, but the last batter struck out before Callahan could score.

Waccamaw led off the second with a hot one up the middle for a single and the runner advanced on a passed ball. With one out, Waccamaw got another hit up the middle for a single and one RBI. The runner at first stole second, and another Warrior singled for another RBI. With two outs, the Warriors hit a grounder to the short stop and and the runner on first was thrown out at second to end the inning for Waccamaw with a 5-0 lead.

The Wildcats went three up, three out in the bottom of the inning, and Waccamaw led off the third with a batter hit by pitch. The second batter struck out, but the third hit a grounder up the middle for as single to put runners on first and second. The next batter flew out, and another popped up to end the threat.

Dillon’s Shar’Asia Samuel bunted in the bottom of the inning and reached first safely, and advanced to second on Shayna Covington’s turn at bat. Covington hit a grounder to second to advance Samuel to third, and stole second on Shaquailla German’s turn at bat. German walked, loading the bases, but Samuel got caught in a run down for the first out. After a time out from the umpire, Callahan hit one to the short stop where it was bobbled, allowing Dillon to load the bases once more.

Tara Grimsley followed at bat, hitting a fly to deep center for the second out but advancing Covington for Dillon’s first run of the game. Da’Kerhia Samuel then hit a double to deep left to bring in the other two runners to leave Dillon trailing 5-3 after three.

The Wildcats were tied 5-5 heading into the final inning, but Waccamaw managed three runs in the top of the seventh to claim the win.

The losses drop the Wildcats to 17-3 and put them in the elimination bracket where they were scheduled to host Silver Bluff on Monday night. Barnwell defeated Silver Bluff 14-7 on Saturday to advance to face Waccamaw on Monday. The winner will advance to the lower state championship while the loser will face the winner of the Dillon/Silver Bluff game on Wednesday.

Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click the images below to view at full size!