By Lonnie Turner
During the recent girl’s softball tournaments that were played at the City of Dillon Sports Complex, we all saw some great pitching, but some of the girls, who have worked very hard getting the ball to stay down in the strike-zone in years past, didn’t get the credit that they most worthily deserve. The cause was simply that their names didn’t show up on the scorebook when they went in the game in relief. Girls, please accept my apology. Here is the pitching update in all the Ponytail games in the sub-district, giving credit where credit is due to the girls who were left out of the article in last Thursday’s Herald.
In the first game, a 20-0 winner over Marlboro County, Tiffany Dwyer pitched two perfect innings, striking out 5 of the six batters that faced her. Tori Grimsley was called on to pitch the third and struck out two while throwing out the third at first and she was followed by Johnna Rogers, who walked one and whiffed two. The Dillon All Stars led 14-0 when Dwyer left the mound giving her the pitching win.
Grimsley started Dillon’s second game, an 18-0 win over Lake View, and struck out the only three batters that she faced. The Dillon coaching staff decided to let three different pitchers take turns on the mound against the Lake View All Stars. Rogers gave up two walks and fanned two in her one-inning stint and Kurstin Hopkins struck out the first five batters that she faced in the third and fourth inning and forced the last batter to bounce out to first. Grimsley was the winning pitcher since the Dillon All Stars spotted her with six runs in the top of the first.
Dwyer started the third game on the mound against Mullins and pitched two innings walking three and striking out two while her teammates were wearing out the base paths putting 15 runs on the scoreboard in the second inning on the way to a 21-0 win. It was her a second win in the tournament. Grimsley came on to pitch the last two innings striking out two and walking one in the three and a half inning game.
In the fourth game, a 13-1 win, Marlboro County managed to get the first hit and the first run off Dillon pitching in the tournament. Grimsley, getting the start and the win, retired six in a row, striking out four, but gave up a single by Lexi Jackson. Rogers in relief experienced some control problems and walked four, but settled down to strike out four of the last five batters that she faced.
Mullins was the victim again in the championship game, 13-2. Dwyer again was the winning pitcher, going the first two innings and allowing three base hits while striking out five. Kurstin Hopkins pitched the final two innings, giving up the two runs in the fourth on back to back doubles and a single before retiring the final two batters. With the sub-district championship trophies in hand, Dillon was set to take on the Sumter All Stars for the District Championship and a chance to play in the State finals at Florence starting July 8th.
