Dillon Kiwanis Majors Defeat Lake Marion 4-2 to Advance in State Tournament

By Lonnie Turner

Sometimes it takes only one pitch to win a baseball game and such was the case Tuesday afternoon when the Dillon Kiwanis Dixie Youth Major team defeated the Champions from Lake Marion, 4-2, to remain unbeaten in the State Tournament being played at the Freedom Florence Sports Complex in Florence.

Lake Marion took an early lead in the top of the second inning on back to back singles by Blake Edmunds and Zach Wiles, a wild pitch, and a fielding error.

With the bases loaded and his team trailing 2-1, Trent Johnson smacked a line drive to right field that scored Collin Hamilton to tie the game and BoBo McKinnon to give Dillon the lead at 4-3. With Johnson at first and Amari Huggins-Bruce at third, Johnson was instructed to make a break for second base in hopes that he would get into a rundown and allow Huggins-Bruce to score a very important insurance run. The plan worked to perfection. The Lake Marion catcher threw to second and the rundown began and Huggins-Bruce scored well ahead of the time it took Johnson to be tagged out returning to first base.

That was all the Kiwanis team would need as Tristian Brigman picked up the win in a complete game. Brigman gave up two more hits in the fourth inning, but pitched himself out of a jam by forcing a fielder’s choice that was fielded by John Rourke to end the inning. Rourke initiated a double play with one out in the fifth after Edmunds picked up his second hit of the game to halt another threat. Even though Lake Marion had three base runners in their final at bat, including the team’s sixth hit of the game, Brigman struck out one and forced a high fly ball to end the game.

Other than the two runners who scored, Lake Marion never got another runner past second base in the final four innings.

“This was a total team effort,” said head coach Brad Sawyer after the game. “You just never know who will step up and come through for the team!”

In quite a contrast from Monday’s afternoon game when the Dillon squad pounded five Green Sea pitchers for fifteen hits, the lone single by Johnson was the only base hit in this game.

Dillon was scheduled to play Summerville’s Parks American on Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. If Dillon wins, they will play at 12:00 p.m. today. If Dillon losses, they will play an elimination game at 10:00 a.m.

Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click the images below to view at full size!