Lake View’s Wild Gators edged the Dillon Wildcats 3-2 in game one of a baseball double header on Tuesday in Dillon, but the Wildcats shut out the Gators 8-0 in game two.
Lake View opened the series with a single from Chris Ford, who stole second and third but couldn’t make it home as Dillon’s Weston Bailey struck out the next three batters. Bailey then gave Dillon their first run in the bottom of the inning to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Lake View’s Brody Smith got to base on ball with two outs, then stole second. Steele Mendenhall followed him at bat and hit a double to bring him home and tie things up 1-1.
The top of the third saw Nate Lewis make it all the way to third before, but the inning was over before Lake View could score. But Dillon’s Kwinton Smith had better luck in the bottom of the inning as he made it to base on a fielder’s choice and was brought in by a double from Jamie Callahan. Callahan made it to third before the inning ended with the Wildcats leading 2-1.
In the fourth, Lake View’s Darius Leonard and Brody Smith both made it to base on walks. Leonard stole third and Smith stole second, and both were brought in by Roger Scott. Scott made it to third on a single from Chris Ford, but the inning ended with Lake View ahead 3-2.
Dillon got three outs in quick succession in the bottom of the fourth, and Lake View followed with three outs in the top of the fifth. But Dillon opened the bottom of the fifth with a single from Tripp Wallace who advanced all the way to third but was tagged out on the way to home before he could tie things up.
Nate Lewis picked up the win for the Gators, pitching all five innings and facing 21 batters for four hits, two runs, one earned runs, two walks, and three outs.
Dillon’s Weston Bailey took the loss, facing 24 batters across five innings for three hits, three runs, three earned runs, three walks, and seven outs.
At bat for Lake View, Chris Ford went 2-for-3; Steele Mendenhall went 1-for-2 with an RBI; Brody Smith got two walks and scored two runs; Darius Leonard scored one run with a walk. The Gators had three hits and one error in the win.
At bat for Dillon, Weston Bailey went 2-for-3 with one run scored; Jamie Callahan went 1-for-3 with an RBI; Tripp Wallace went 1-for-2; Kwinton Smith got a walk with one run scored; and Ethan Hayes got to base on a walk. The Wildcats had four hits and two errors.
Game two saw the Wildcats come alive as they shut out Lake View 8-0.
Lake View’s Lewis hit a double early in the top of the first inning and stole third, but outs ended the inning before he could cross the plate. Dillon’s Bailey hit a single and stole second, advancing to third on a fly from Smith and coming in on a single from Callahan.
In the top of the second, Lake View’s Smith singled and advanced to second on a walk from Mendenhall. He made it to third on a sacrifice bunt from Scott, and a walk from Ford left the bases loaded. But a base hit from Lewis made for out number three to end the inning.
Dillon’s Daniel Huggins got a walk to open the bottom of the second and Patrick Herring hit a single to advance him to second. Huggins stole third and then scored on a passed ball to put the Wildcats up 2-0.
Walters singled for Lake View in the third and stole second, but but the inning once again ended before the Gators could score. Dillon’s Callahan made it to base on a walk, advanced to second on a hit to the pitcher from Britt, and rounded home to put he Wildcats up 3-0.
Lake View’s next two batters struck out and Roger Scott was put out to end the fourth quickly for the Gators.
Dillon’s Thomas Grossetti opened the fourth for the Wildcats with a single and Roquan Graves made it to base on error. Trip Wallace singled to bring in Grossetti, and a single from Bailey brought in Graves and advanced Wallace to third. Smith made it to base on a fielding error, scoring Wallace and Bailey, and then stole second and third before rounding home on a passed ball to end the scoring with Dillon ahead 8-0.
Lake View was unable to get anything going in the top of the fifth, with Munoz hitting a single to make it to first, while three other Gators hit to the outfield for outs.
Daniel Huggins picked up the win on the mound for Dillon, pitching five innings and facing 22 batters for five hits, two walks, and four outs.
Darius Leonard took the loss for Lake View, pitching three and one-third innings for six hits, eight runs, four earned runs, three walks, and three outs. John Michael Brown pitched the remaining two-thirds, facing two batters for one out.
Bailey Weston led Dillon at bat, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jamie Callahan went 1-for-2 with an RBI and one run scored; Tripp Wallace went 1-for-2 with an RBI and one run scored; Thomas Grossetti went 1-for-2 with one run scored; Patrick Herring went 1-for-2; and Daniel Huggins, Roquan Graves, and Kwinton Smith each scored one run.
At bat for Lake View, Eric Munoz went 2-for-3; Brody Smith went 1-for-2; Nate Lewis and Hunter Walters each went 1-for-3; and Roger Scott picked up an RBI. Lake View had five hits and three errors in the loss.
Lake View is now 9-3 overall in the regular season and 8-2 in Region 8A. The Wildcats are now 9-2 overall and 6-0 in Region 8-2A.
Up next, Lake View is scheduled to travel to face Mullins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, and then to Johnsonville on Monday, April 16, to face the Flashes at 5:30 p.m. Dillon was scheduled to face Mullins on Wednesday and will be at Marion on Friday and at Andrews on Monday at 6:30.
