The Dillon Wildcats were shut out 9-0 on the road on Monday night at South Florence for the start of the regular season of baseball action.

South Florence took a 3-0 lead in the second quarter, taking advantage of errors to load the bases. With two outs, three straight walks and a wild pitch allowed the Bruins to run up the score before the Wildcats shut them down.

Dillon had a chance to score in the top of the sixth when Joseph Scott walked and Gunnar Grossetti singled to give the Wildcats runners on first and third with no outs. But South Florence’s powerhouse pitcher Patrick Lovelace struck out the next three Wildcat batters in a row to end the threat. Lovelace also faced a similar bases-loaded jam in the second inning, but managed to hold off the Wildcats.

In the bottom of the sixth, South Florence picked up six more runs with Austin Moore and Kyshawn Bacote each getting two-run singles and Zyeir Turner hitting a triple.

Ray McGirt, a freshman left-hander, took the loss for the Wildcats, allowing three runs and four walks in 1.6 innings, striking out one batter.

Lovelace earned the win on the mound, striking out a career-high 11 batters in six innings while walking two and allowing two hits. Lindsey Robinson pitched one inning of relief.

Omar McCollum led the Wildcats at bat with two hits and Grossetti singled. The Wildcats had four hits in the effort.

In addition to Turner’s RBI triple, Robinson was 2-for-3 with a double for South Florence and Kyshawn Bacote had two hits with two runs scored.

Dillon opens the regular season with a 0-1 record while South Florence improved to 3-1.

The Wildcats were scheduled to host Latta on Wednesday and South Florence on Friday, and will host Loris next Tuesday and East Clarendon on Wednesday. Game time is 6:30 p.m. Make plans to attend to support our local team!

Photos by Shannon Sawyer Carter. Click the images below to view at full size!