The Latta Vikings earned a 10-3 win over the Dillon Wildcats but fell 5-3 to Hannah-Pamplico in the first week of regular season varsity baseball action.

On Wednesday, March 11, the Vikings traveled to Dillon and scored in the first inning. Colby Lee reached on a walk, and Jackson Williams singled to put runners on first and second. John Kever Love flew out, and C. Williams reached on an error to load the bases. Dalton Lane drew a walk to score Lee, but Daniel Khalil hit one to first for the third out. On the mound, Love struck out the first three Wildcat batters to end the inning with Latta up 1-0.

The Vikings opened the second inning with a single from A. Miller. A sacrifice bunt from B. Hatchell advanced Miller to second with one out, and McGirt lined out for the second out. Lee singled to center field to score Miller, and Williams and Love both singled to score Lee, but Williams was thrown out on the way to third to end the scoring for the inning. Dillon led off the bottom of the second with a double from Omar McCollum and McCollum advanced to third on a passed ball. J. Carter struck out, and A. Moody flew out, but McCollum scored to cut Latta’s lead to 3-1. Page hit a line drive to left field, but Deese lined out to end the second.

Latta went three up, three down in the top of the third, and Dillon got two outs quickly in the bottom of the inning. Callahan reached after being hit by a pitch, and Patrick Herring hit a home run to score both runners. McCollum doubled, but Carter struck out to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.

Miller walked to lead off the top of the fourth, but was picked off at first. Hatchell drew a walk and advanced to second, but McGirt flew out for the second out. Lee reached on an error to allow Hatchell to advance to third, and Hatchell scored on the last play. Williams also drew a walk, but Love ground out to send the Wildcats to the plate, where Love shut them down quickly.

Neither team could score in the fifth, but Latta scored two more runs in the top of the sixth. Hatchell ground out to open the inning, but McGirt singled and Lee doubled to put runners on second and third. McGirt scored as Williams doubled to the pitcher, and Lee was tagged out on the way home. Williams stole second, and an error allowed Williams to score the second run before Williams flew out to leave Love stranded at second. Love shut down the Wildcats in the bottom of the inning, striking out three in a row.

With the Vikings up 6-3, Latta opened the seventh inning with Lane reaching on an error and stealing second and third as Khalil struck out. Miller reached on a walk and McGirt reached on an error that allowed Lane to score. Lee also drew a walk, and Jackson Williams was hit by a pitch to allow Miller to score and load the bases. A single from Love scored McGirt, and Lee scored on the last play to allow Williams to advance Jackson Williams to third. C. Williams ground out to end the scoring with the Vikings up 10-3. In the bottom of the seventh, Love struck out Moody and Page. Deese reached on an error and stole second, but Scott struck out to end the game.

Love pitched all seven innings for the win, facing 27 batters for four hits, three runs, two earned runs, one homer, and 15 outs.

For the Wildcats, Deese pitched 5.1 innings for six hits, five runs, three earned runs, five walks, and three outs. A. Moody pitched 1.1 innings for two hits, five runs, two walks, and two outs. Scott pitched relief for one hit.

Jackson Williams led the Vikings at bat, going 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, one RBI, and one run scored. John Kever Love went 2-for-5 with three RBI; Colby Lee went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and three runs scored; Austin Miller went 1-for-2 with two runs scored; Eric McGirt went 1-for-5 with two runs; Dalton Lane scored one run with one RBI on a walk with two stolen bases; and Brady Hatchell scored one run on a walk and stole one base.

Omar McCollum led the Wildcats, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and one RBI; Patrick Herring went 1-for-3 with one run, one homer, and two RBI; Kaleb Page went 1-for-3; and A. Moody picked up one RBI.

On Thursday, the Vikings hosted the Hannah-Pamplico Raiders and fell 5-3.

After two scoreless innings, Latta got on the board in the bottom of the third with C. Mishue reaching on a single and advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Khalil. McGirt reached on a walk, and Lee singled to advance the runners. Jackson Williams doubled to score Mishue, but McGirt was thrown out on the way to third for the second out, and Love struck out to end the inning with Latta up 1-0.

Neither team could score in the fourth, but Hannah-Pamplico broke through in the top of the fifth, leading off the inning with a single from E. Tanner, who advanced on a sacrifice bunt from W. Bazen. Mays singled to score Tanner, and W. Tanguay reached on a hit by pitch. V. Cooper drew a walk, and E. McAllister reached on an error to score Mays. A walk for N. Pilotte scored Tanguay, and Williamson singled but Cooper was thrown out on the way home. C. Gibbs singled to score McAllister and Pilotte scored on the next play before Tanner flew out to end the inning with the Raiders up 5-1.

Latta led off the bottom of the fifth, with McGirt getting a single and advancing to third on a double from Jackson Williams. Love singled to score McGirt, but was thrown out at first when he tried to advance on a play. Williams flew out to end the inning with Latta trailing 5-2.

The Vikings held off Hannah-Pamplico in the top of the sixth, and Latta reached on a walk and a hit by pitch but couldn’t score in the bottom of the inning. Latta held off the Raiders through the top of the seventh, but could only must one run in the bottom of the inning. Lee reached on an error and advanced to third on plays before scoring on a single from Williams. Williams was thrown out on the way to second for the first out, but Love reached on an error and advanced to third as Williams ground out. Lane flew out to end the game with the Raiders earning a 5-3 win.

V. Cooper earned the win on the mound, pitching all seven innings for nine hits and three runs, two earned runs, and three walks with seven outs. For the Vikings, Lee pitched 4.1 innings for four hits, four runs, three earned runs, and four walks with six outs. Dalton Lane pitched 2.2 innings for three hits, one run, one earned run, and one walk.

B. Williamson led the Raiders at bat, going 2-for-4. C. Mays went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI; Cooper went 1-for-2 and drew two walks; N. Pilotte went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI; E. Tanner went 1-for-3 with one run; C. Gibbs went 1-for-2 with two RBI; and Tanguay and McAllister each scored one run with McAllister picking up one RBI. The Raiders had seven hits and two errors in the win.

Jackson Williams went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles to lead the Vikings at bat. Eric McGirt and Colby Lee each went 1-for-3 with one run; Caleb Mishue went 1-for-2 with one run; John Kever Love went 1-for-4 with one RBI; Cledus Williams and Dalton Lane each went 1-for-4. Lane had one stolen base, and Daniel Khalil reached on a hit by pitch. The Vikings had nine hits and one error in the effort.

Latta finished the week with a 2-1 record.

The Vikings were scheduled to host Hartsville on Monday night and will be at Hannah-Pamplico on Thursday. On Friday, March 20, the Vikings will be at home to host Green Sea. Game times are set for 5:30 p.m., so make plans to attend to support our local team