Dillon’s Lady Wildcats defeated Central 8-2 to claim the school’s first state softball championship on Wednesday night in Pageland.
Dillon took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and the Wildcats were ahead 5-0 at the end of the fourth. Central scored their only two runs in the bottom of the fifth on throwing errors from the Wildcats, but Dillon’s Shaquailla German hit a solo home run in the sixth to put the Wildcats up 6-2.
Auh’Keria Smiling led Dillon with three hits, and Tara Grimsley, Shayna Covington, and Erin Bailey each had two hits. Shar’Asia Samuel had two hits and two RBI, and Rebecca Callahan had one hit and one RBI. Taylor Price earned the win on the mound, giving up two runs, seven hits, and two walks.
Meanwhile in Class A baseball, the Latta Vikings fell 3-2 to St. Joseph’s in a heartbreaker in Latta.
The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Latta tied things 1-1 in the third on a single from Josh Bowen. St. Joseph’s Nick Leonard tripled in the fourth to break the tie and scored on a single from Angelo Pahila to put the Knights up 3-1. Latta’s Jackson Williams scored the Vikings’ other run in the sixth after John Kever Love reached on a fielding error. St. Joseph’s switched pitchers, sending in Ryan Stamler, who shut down the Viking threat and held off Latta through an easy seventh to give the Knights the title.
Leonard went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBI to lead the Knights. Stamler and St. Joseph’s starter Graham Roberts each struck out two in the win.
Josh Bowen and Jackson Williams each had two hits for Latta, and Bowen picked up one runner. Love struck out seven on the mound for Latta and gave up eight hits.
