By Lonnie Turner

After two days of Dixie Youth Baseball action at the City of Dillon Parks and Recreation Sports Complex, three teams remain undefeated in the 60th Anniversary DYB State Major League Tournament. Two of the teams, the defending state champions Dillon Kiwanis and McLeod Park, were scheduled to play in an 8:00 p.m. game on Monday night to determine which team will take on Hartsville Northern, the other team with no losses, in tonight’s 8:00 p.m. game.

In elimination games scheduled for Monday, Conway was set to play Parks Field-Summerville and Belton was scheduled to play Turbeville at 5:30 p.m. The other game at 8 p.m. sent Bamberg up against Aynor.

In 2:00 p.m. games on Sunday, Turbeville sent Moncks Corner home with an 11-4 loss and Lake Marion bowed out at the hands of Belton, 5-3. In the loser’s bracket at 4:00 p.m., Parks Field eliminated Colleton County (Walterboro), 16-5, and Hartsville Northern sent Aynor into the loser’s bracket with a 4-1 victory. In the two 6:00 p.m. games, McLeod Park gave Conway their first loss of the tournament, 4-1, and Dillon Kiwanis came from behind twice to hand Bamberg their first defeat, 9-3.

The McLeod Park All Stars tied a State Tournament home run record hitting six in their 11-4 win over Lake Marion in their first game and on Sunday, they hit three more out of the park against Conway. In the first home run exhibition, Tom Faile hit a pair of two-run shots and Anthony Cox belted a grand slam and a solo homer in three trips to the plate. Chandler Watson and J.R. Williams added solo shots. Cox hit his third in two days, driving in two runs, and George Floyd and Dylan Snyder each hit solo home runs.

Ahmari Huggins-Bruce went deep against Parks Field on Saturday and again on Sunday against Bamberg. Noah Carter also connected for a 2-run opposite field shot in the Bamberg game.

Hartsville Northern had some pretty good long ball hitters in their first game against Moncks Corner. Dariyan Penderglass led off the Moncks Corner contest with a solo homer and Ryan Elmore hit a grand slam later in the first inning to give the red-clad Hartsville team a quick 6-0 lead. Charlie Graham added a two-run shot in the second and Connor Strickland went the distance in the third inning for two more runs batted in and another ten-run rule decision, dropping Moncks Corner, 14-0.

Tray Skipper had a 3-run homer in Conway’s 11-0 win over Belton to cut that game short by the ten-run mercy rule.

The winner of the tournament will take a trip to Lexington, SC for that city’s second consecutive hosting of the World Series.

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO VIEW PHOTO GALLERIES FROM THE TOURNAMENT:

Opening Ceremonies 7-17-15

McLeod Park vs. Lake Marion 7-18-15

Aynor vs. Turbeville 7-18-15

Dillon vs. Bamberg 7-19-15

Parks Field vs. Colleton County 7-19-15

McLeod Park vs. Conway 7-19-15

Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Be sure to pick up the Thursday, July 23, issue of THE DILLON HERALD for more coverage of the 2015 Dixie Youth Majors State Tournament!