Latta’s 12U All Stars defeated Hampton Varnville 6-1 on Saturday, July 20, and Central/Clemson 10-7 before falling 5-1 to Parks Field American on Tuesday in the 2013 South Carolina Dixie Youth Majors State Tournament at Nettles Park in Clemson, SC.

The tournament began with opening ceremonies on Friday night. Twelve teams were scheduled to participate, including Latta, Lake Marion, Conway, Edgefield, Edisto, Bishopville, Parks Field American of Summerville, Hartsville Northern, Walhalla, Hampton Varnville, Honea Path, and Central/Clemson.

The tournament festivities also included a home run derby where Latta’s Deonte Stanley took third place.

The tournament action kicked off on Saturday with Latta facing Hampton Varnville in the first round. Latta took a 5-0 lead in the first inning and scored a single run in the top of the sixth for a 6-1 win. Hampton scored their only run in the bottom of the fourth.

McLeod Carmichael led Latta at bat, going 2-for-3 with a RBI and one run scored. Trey Anderson hit a double with a RBI, and Deonte Stanley, Nate Lee, and Jamison Herring also each picked up a runner at bat for Latta.

Hunter Sawyer got the win on the mound, pitching two shut out innings. He struck out four, walked one, and surrendered one hit. Carmichael also pitched for Latta, allowing no earned runs and no walks while striking out four.

Matt Poston scored Hampton’s only run on a solo homer in the fourth.

Latta had seven hits and two errors in the win, while Hampton had three hits and three errors.

Elsewhere in the first round, Lake Marion defeated Conway 19-13, Edgefield defeated Edisto 13-7, Parks Field American defeated Bishopville 17-5, Hartsville Northern defeated Walhalla 12-4, and Central/Clemson edged Honea Path 5-4.

Sunday’s action began with the elimination bracket, with Conway downing Edisto 12-3, Bishopville shutting out Walhalla 4-0, and Hampton eliminating Honea Path 12-6.

In the winners’ bracket, Latta picked up a 10-7 win over Central/Clemson. Latta took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but Clemson scored two in the bottom of the second to briefly take the lead. Latta added four runs in the third and five in the sixth to lead 10-2, and although Clemson poured in five runs in the bottom of the inning, they couldn’t catch up to Latta.

Latta’s Jason Norton had two hits to lead Latta at bat, and Nate Lee hit a grand slam home run to pick up four RBIs. Carmichael, Sawyer, and Norton each hit a double and Carmichael also picked up two RBIs. Kendall Bryant also picked up a RBI for Latta.

Sawyer pitched three innings for Latta with three outs, and Carmichael also recorded three outs on the mound. Payton Jackson and Dylan Brewer also each took a turn on the mound for Latta.

Latta had eight hits and two errors in the win, while Central/Clemson had six hits and seven errors.

Weather delays forced some changes to the schedule, but eventually Lake Marion shut out Edgefield 7-0 and Parks Field American defeated Hartsville Northern 5-3 to advance in the tournament.

With the win, Latta advanced to the fourth round while other teams faced elimination on Monday. Hampton defeated Bishopville 5-1 and Hartsville Northern defeated Conway 4-3 in nine innings to stay alive in the tournament, while Edgefield eliminated Central/Clemson 12-8. In the winners’ bracket, Parks Field American defeated Lake Marion 4-1 to advance to face Latta on Tuesday.

Latta took on Parks Field American on Tuesday and fell 5-1, scoring their only run in the top of the fifth. Parks Field scored four runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead and added one in the bottom of the third to secure the win.

Anderson hit a double and picked up one runner at bat for Latta, and Brewer hit a double, and in the field, Lee made a double play.

Sawyer pitched three innings for Latta, striking out two with one hit by pitch, and Carmichael pitched two innings with one out.

Latta had three hits in the loss, while Parks American had six hits, including one grand slam homer from #7 David T., and one error in the win.

In the elimination bracket, Lake Marion blew out Edgefield 22-10 and Hartsville shut out Hampton 15-0 to stay alive.

On Wednesday night, Latta was scheduled to face Lake Marion in an elimination game while Parks Field American was scheduled to face Hampton. The winners of Wednesday’s games will move on to the state championship game which was scheduled to be played today at 10 a.m. A second game will be played afterwards if necessary to determine the state title.

The South Carolina state champion will advance to the 2013 Dixie Youth Majors World Series in Laurel, Mississippi, where they will face the state championship team from Mississippi in Game 1 on Saturday, August 3.

Photos by Tammy Jackson. Click images below to view at full size!