The Dillon Wildcats may have fallen short against Manning in the first round of playoffs, but they made it up for it Monday night when they eliminated the Monarchs with a 12-8 win.
On Friday, Dillon fell to Manning 4-2, moving the Wildcats into a loser’s bracket battle against Swansea on Saturday. Jamie Callahan pitched the Wildcats to a 5-3 victory over the Tigers with Kwinton Smith getting the save. The win kept Dillon alive in the playoffs, and after Manning fell to Bishop England on Saturday afternoon, it also meant a rematch with the Monarchs on Monday.
The Wildcats traveled to Manning and kept their playoff hopes alive with a 12-8 win, with Kwinton Smith earning the win on the mound. Home runs from both Smith and Kyle Britt lead the Wildcats to the victory at bat.
On Wednesday night, Dillon was scheduled to travel to Charleston to take on Bishop England. The Battling Bishops finished first in Region 6-2A with a 20-8 overall record, and their coach, Bill Collier, is nearing his 100th career victory in just four seasons as BE coach with a 94-27 record headed into Wednesday night’s game.
Bishop England delivered a 6-0 loss to Swansea and an 11-0 loss to Manning in the first two rounds of playoffs. In the victory over Manning, pitcher Jimmy Lindberg allowed only one hit, striking out seven batters, taking out five in a row. Ryan Mills went 3-for-3 and drove in five runs in the 12-hit victory.
If the Wildcats are successful against the Battling Bishops on Wednesday, they will still have to face Bishop England one more time to eliminate the Bishops and claim the district title. If Dillon loses, the Wildcats will be eliminated from the playoffs.
