The Dillon Wildcats picked up three wins this week in varsity baseball action, defeating Loris, East Clarendon, and Mullins at home for a 2-0 record in Region 8-2A.
On Tuesday, Dillon shut out Loris 10-0 with the Wildcats taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Patrick Herring reached on a walk and advanced on errors to score.
The Wildcats picked up six runs in the bottom of the third, with Omar McCollum reaching on a walk and Duncan Callahan hitting a double. Herring singled to score McCollum, and Austin Moody singled to help bring in Callahan. Kaleb Page reached on an error to score Herring, and Gunnar Grossetti hit into a fielder’s choice to put out Austin Moody on the way to the third. Joseph Scott singled to load the bases, with all three scoring on errors.
In the bottom of the fourth, Moody reached on a dropped third strike, and Grossetti doubled to put runners on second and third. Scott hit into a fielder’s choice to score Moody, and Grossetti scored on a passed ball. Carter ground out for the second out, and Rae Rae McGirt doubled to score Scott to give Dillon the 10-0 win.
McGirt earned the win on the mound, pitching five innings for a no-hitter, striking out four. Kolin Causey took the loss from Loris for nine hits, 10 runs, three earned runs, two walks, and seven outs.
At bat for the Wildcats, Gunnar Grossetti went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored; Duncan Callahan went 2-for-3 with a double and one run; John Mitchell Carter went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI; Patrick Herring went 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run; Joseph Scott went 1-for-2 with two RBI and two runs; Austin Moody went 1-for-3 with one run; Rae Rae McGirt picked up two RBI; Kaleb Page picked up one run and one RBI; and Omar McCollum and Andrew Rowell each scored one run.
Dillon had nine hits and one error in the win, and Loris had four errors in the effort.
On Wednesday, Dillon hosted East Clarendon and defeated the Wolverines 4-1.
East Clarendon scored in the top of the first with Peyton Coker reaching on a single and advancing on a passed ball. A sacrifice bunt from Collin Lee advanced Coker to third, and Ryan Kwilton reached on an error that scored Coker for the 1-0 lead.
Dillon couldn’t score again until the bottom of the fourth with Herring reaching on an error and Moody singling. Both advanced on plays to score as Page struck out and Grossetti flew out to end the inning with Dillon up 2-1. In the fifth, Scott singled and advanced on an error, and Blake Deese singled with Carter hitting a sacrifice fly to score Scott. A grounder from McCollum advanced Deese to third, and Deese scored on a passed ball as Callahan flew out to end the inning.
On the mound for Dillon, Deese went seven innings for seven hits, one run, one walk, and four outs. For East Clarendon, William Ard pitched six innings for four hits, four runs, one earned run, and four outs.
At bat for the Wildcats, Deese went 1-for-2 with one run; Moody and Scott each went 1-for-3 with one run; Carter went 1-for-1 with one RBI; and Herring added one run. Dillon had four hits and one error in the win.
For the Wolverines, Peyton Coker went 2-for-2 with one run and Dylan Coker was 2-for-3. Collin Lee was 1-for-2 and Steven Cox and Jared Hair each went 1-for-3. East Clarendon had seven hits and one error in the effort.
On Friday, the Wildcats closed the week with a 5-0 win over the Mullins Auctioneers.
McCollum and Herring each singled and stole second in the bottom of the first, and a single from Page gave Dillon a 2-0 lead. The Wildcats picked up another run in the second with Scott reaching on a single and advanced on an error. A double from Dekendric Graves scored Scott, and Graves advanced on a wild pitch before going out on a fielder’s choice to end the ending.
The Wildcats picked up their last two runs in the fourth, with Graves reaching on an error and stealing second. Grounders from Carter and McCollum scored Graves with two outs, and Callahan singled and came home on a double from Herring for the 5-0 lead. Neither team could score through the last few innings to allow Dillon to retain the win.
On the mound for the Wildcats, Patrick Herring went 2.2 innings for three outs; Omar McCollum pitched 1.2 innings for four outs; Kaleb Page pitched 1.1 innings for one hit, one walk, and two outs; and Rae Rae McGirt pitched one inning for two outs. For Mullins, Fowler pitched six innings for nine hits, five runs, three earned runs, and two walks, striking out four.
At bat, Herring went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI, Scott went 2-for-3 with one run, and Graves went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI, and one run. McCollum went 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run; Callahan went 1-for-2 with one run; and Page went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Dillon had nine hits in the win.
Gerrald went 1-for-3 for Mullins’ only hit. The Auctioneers had three errors in the effort.
Dillon improved to 3-4 on the season and 2-0 in Region 8-2A.
The Wildcats will host Marion tonight and Aynor on Thursday, with both games set for 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Shannon Sawyer Carter. Click the images below to view at full size!