By Lonnie Turner
The fifth inning proved to be the most profitable for both Dillon and Mullins in the second game of the Major League District 10 Tournament at Mullins Recreation Department on Friday night, but mostly for the Dillon Kiwanis All Stars, who won 7-6, thanks to some clutch relief pitching from Bryce Patterson (Dillon Internal Medicine Hurricanes) and great defensive plays after taking the lead with its four-run rally in the fifth. The win gave Dillon a bye to Monday evening and will play McLeod Park of Florence in the 8 o’clock game.
Mullins jumped out to an early two run lead, collecting two hits and a pair of walks off Dillon starting pitcher, Dawson Munns (Physicians Healthcare Yankees), in the first inning, but Dillon pulled within one run in the bottom of the inning when Jackson Outlar (Yankees) reached base on a force play and later scored on a hit by Dakota Barfield (Hurricanes). Dillon tied the game on a double by Jamison Hargrove (Dillon Family Dental Giants) and an rbi single by fellow regular season teammate Michael Love and went ahead, 3-2 in the third, when Jackson Outlar doubled, went to third and on a throwing error and was sent home by the third base umpire when the ball wound up inside the on-deck area next to the Mullins dugout.
Munns settled down and faced only twelve more batters through his four innings on the mound and left the hill giving up two hits, struck out five and walked two. Mullins put together five hits off reliever Brenden Miles (Hurricanes) to score four times and take a 6-3 lead into Dillon’s half of the inning. Patterson met Mullins reliever Hughes Elvington to start the action, scored on a triple by Outlar, who came home when Miles doubled and Munns singled him home to tie the game at 6-6 before an out was made. Jamison Pittman (Yankees) single sent Munns across the plate to give the Dillon team a 7-6 lead going into the sixth and final regulation inning.
The Dillon coaching staff (Jimmy Bohachic, Jonathan Wagner and Brad Sawyer) went to their closer, Patterson, to pitch the sixth.
Hunter Owens singled to start the inning and Patterson walked Landon Nobles. The right-hander struck out the next two batters and got Lonnie Allen to ground out to short to end the game. Patterson was the winning pitcher and Elvington took the loss.
Outlar led Dillon at the plate with two hits in three official times at bat with a double and scored three runs.