Dillon’s Lady Wildcats topped the Class 2A South Carolina Softball Coaches polls this week while Latta and Lake View were both ranked in the top 10 in Class A.
The Lady Wildcats tied for first place in Class 2A with Crescent. Dillon dropped their season opener 4-3 against Class 3A’s Hartsville, who topped the 3A polls.
Dillon finished the 2013 with a 25-5 record, battling their way back from a loss in the lower state bracket to face Waccamaw for the lower state title. The Wildcats forced a second game and pushed it into extra innings before falling 4-3 to the Warriors. But Waccamaw fell 3-2 and 8-1 to Crescent in the state title series.
Waccamaw was ranked third in the polls this week, followed by Landrum, Andrew Jackson, Silver Bluff, Buford, Chesterfield, Pelion, and Pendleton. Buford finished as the upper state runner-up last season.
In Class A, defending champ East Clarendon topped the list, with state runner-up Dixie in second, Johnsonville in third, and Lewisville in fourth. Johnsonville fell to East Clarendon in the lower state bracket last season, while Lewisville fell to Dixie, with both teams finishing in the elimination bracket.
Latta, the 2013 lower state runner-up, was ranked fifth in the state in Class A. The Lady Vikings fell 5-1 to East Clarendon in the first round of lower state playoffs last season, but defeated Green Sea-Floyds and Johnsonville for a second shot. But East Clarendon bumped off the Vikings 1-0.
So far this season, Latta holds a 2-0 record, shutting out Carver’s Bay 18-0 and defeating Class 3A’s Darlington 7-2. The Lady Vikings were scheduled to open region play this week.
Lake View took eighth place in the polls. The Lady Gators finished the 2013 season with a 14-7 record and a 3-5 in Region 8-A. This year the Gators are 6-2, and have so far shut out Mullins, 13-0, and Carver’s Bay, 10-0.
The Lady Gators also picked up their first region victory on Friday with a 4-3 win over Green Sea-Floyds. Lake View was scheduled to be at Carvers Bay on Wednesday night and will be at Johnsonville on Tuesday.
St. Joseph’s was ranked sixth in the polls, followed by McBee in seventh. Fox Creek and Lamar filled the eighth and ninth place spots.
In Class 3A, Hartsville topped the list, followed by Seneca, Palmetto, Union County, Chapman, Chapin, Blue Ridge, Gilbert, Darlington, and Midland Valley.
In 4A softball, Summerville was ranked first, with Mauldin, Byrnes, Dutch Fork, and Boiling Springs rounding out the top five.
