By Landry Collins

It was an amazing Lower State Championship series between Lake View and Latta. Both games were decided by one run. This speaks to the athletic talent that we have in Dillon County.

Game One

                  This was a win or go home situation for the Vikings. They needed two wins to advance to the State Championship. Lake View needed just one.

                  The Wild Gators got it going early with 2 Runs in the bottom of the first. Ian Capps grounded out to second base to score Luke King. Braden Borders was next up and he hit an RBI single to center field that scored Luke Price. The Vikings cut the lead in half in the top of the second. Eli Jones hit an RBI single to short that scored Colby Smith. Lake View was able to respond and added another run in the bottom of the inning. Price line out into a fielder’s choice and King was able to score from third. Again, Latta hung around a got another run across in the top of the third. Smith worked a bases loaded walk to score Seth Minshew and make it a 3-2 game. Another run was not scored until Latta scored two runs in the top of the sixth. BW Berry hit a fly ball to right that was dropped, and it allowed Fisher Richardson to score. Two batters later, Preston Brown ripped an RBI single to third that scored Greyson Williamson. The Wild Gators threatened to score in the bottom of the inning but could not get a run across. Latta was not able to get anything across in the top of the seventh. This is where things took a rough turn for Lake View. Between innings, lightning began to strike, and the bottom fell out. Over the next 30 minutes it poured and saturated the field. The game was called, and the Winner was decided on the score at the end of the sixth inning, per the rules of the SCHSL. This gave Latta a 4-3 win and another day to fight for a shot to play for a State title.

                  Seth Minshew started for the Vikings and got the Win. He went 6 innings and faced 33 batters. His final line was 7 Hits, 3 Runs(1 Earned), 6 BB, and 4 Strikeouts.

                  Eli jones went 2-5 with 1 RBI and 1 SB. Fisher Richardson went 1-3 with 1 Run scored and 2 SB. Seth Minshew went 2-3 with 1 Run, 2 BB, and 1 SB. Preston Brown went 1-2 with 1 RBI. Colby Smith had 1 Run and 1 RBI.

                  Chris McGill got the start for the Wild Gators. He went 5.2 innings and faced 33 batters. His final line was 8 Hits, 4 Runs(1 Earned), 4 BB, and 7 Strikeouts. Bryce King finished the game for Lake View. He went 1.1 innings and faced 7 batters. He finished with No Hits, No Runs, 1 BB, and 1 Strikeout.