Dillon’s Shar’Asia Samuel hits a home run in Wednesday’s game. (Photo by Sandra McMillan.)
After their first round loss, the Lady Wildcats faced an elimination game against Barnwell on Monday, May 6. Both teams were scoreless in the first inning but Dillon added two runs each in the second and third innings to take a 4-0 lead. Barnwell scored two runs to get on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Lady Wildcats added three in the top of the seventh to secure a 7-2 win.
Darby Hamer got the win on the mound, pitching a complete game for five hits, three walks, two runs, and five outs.
Erin Bailey went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored to lead Dillon at bat. Rebecca Callahan went 2-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, and one run scored; Tara Grimsley went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a double, and one run; Shayna Covington went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and one run scored; Darby Hamer went 1-for-3 with one RBI; Da’Kerhia Samuel went 1-for-3 with a triple, a RBI, and and one run scored; Leah McMillan scored one run, and Shar’Asia Samuel stole a base.
In the outfield, Shaquailla German made seven put outs, Covington and Grimsley made two each; and Hamer, Callahan, Shar’Asia Samuel, and Taylor Price each made one. Price and Covington each made two assists.
On Wednesday, the Lady Wildcats traveled to Aiken to face Silver Bluff in a second elimination game, picking up a 15-2 win. The Lady Wildcats scored two runs each in the first, second, third, and fifth innings for a 8-1 lead and added three runs in the sixth and four in the seventh to seal the win. Silver Bluff scored one run each in the bottom of the third and fifth.
Shaquailla German pitched a complete game for the win, allowing three hits, seven walks, two runs, and one bunt while striking out nine. Silver Bluff’s K. Kinard took the loss, pitching a complete game for 18 hits, 15 runs, 11 earned runs, three walks, and seven outs.
Dillon’s Tara Grimsley led the way at bat, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, for five RBIs and two runs scored. Shar’Asia Samuel went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and one run scored; German went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, one RBI, and one run scored; Covington went 2-for-6 with a triple, a stolen base, one RBI, and two runs scored; Callahan went 3-for-4 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored; Price went 2-for-5 with a RBI and one run; Bailey went 2-for-5 with a triple, a RBI, and two runs; Da’Kerhia Samuel went 1-for-5 with a double, a RBI, and two runs scored; and Darby Hamer reached base on two walks for two runs scored.
In the field, Hamer made six put outs; Price made three put outs and two assists; Covington, Bailey, and Shar’Asia Samuel made one put out each; German made two assists; and Callahan and Da’Kerhia Samuel had one assist each.
The win advanced the Lady Wildcats to the lower state championship where they once again faced the Lady Warriors in Waccamaw.
In game one, the Wildcats picked up an 11-1 win, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first inning and adding three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to end the game in six innings.
Taylor Price got the win on the mound, allowing five hits, two walks, and one run in six innings while striking out six.
McKenzie Lugin took the loss for Waccamaw. Emily Heimberger went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and one run; Hallie Butler went 1-for-3; and Olivia Dunlap went 1-for-2 with a walk.
Hamer and Grimsley led Dillon at bat, with Hamer going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored, and Grimsley going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Shar’Asia Samuel went 2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored; Callahan went 1-for-3 with a RBI and one run; Price went 1-for-3 with a RBI; Bailey went 1-for-3 with a RBI and one run scored; Da’Kerhia Samuel went 1-for-3 with one run scored; German went 1-for-4 with a double; and Covington went 1-for-4 with two runs scored.
In the field, German made five put outs; Covington made three put outs, one assist; Grimsley and Da’Kerhia Samuel made one put out each; Callahan made three assists; and Bailey and Price made one assist each.
The win forced a second game to decide the lower state title, with Waccamaw taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Dillon tied things up 3-3 in the top of the third with Darby Hamer hitting a two-run homer and Tara Grimsley hitting a solo homer. The Wildcats held off the Lady Warriors through the seventh to force extra innings, and in the bottom of the eighth, Waccamaw’s Melaina Moore got a hit to score Emily Heimberger to give the Warriors a 4-3 win and the lower state title.
McKenzie Lugin got the win on the mound for Waccamaw, striking out four. Melaina Moore went 2-for-4 with a RBI at bat to lead the Warriors and Emily Heimberger went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.
Taylor Price took the loss for Dillon, allowing five hits, four runs, two earned runs, and one walk, striking out three.
Hamer and Grimsley led at bat, with Hamer going 1-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs, and one run scored and Grimsley going 1-for-3 with a homer, a RBI, a walk, and one run scored. Callahan went 1-for-4; Price went 1-for-3; Bailey went 1-for-3; and German reached base on a walk and scored one run.
In the field, German made seven put outs with Grimsley, Hamer, Callahan, and Shar’Asia Samuel each making two. Covington and Price each made two assists and one put out; and Callahan made one assist. Bailey and Da’Kerhia Samuel made one put out each.
The Lady Wildcats ended the season with a 25-5 record as Waccamaw improved to 28-6 to advance to the state championship series. Waccamaw will face Upper State Champion Crescent. Crescent defeated Pendleton 12-3 and shut out Chesterfield and Buford for the upper state title. Crescent will host game one of the series and Waccamaw will host game two on Wednesday.
Photos by Sandra McMillan. Click images below to view at full size!
