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LATTA’S JUNIOR VARSITY VIKINGS won the Cheraw Junior Varsity Spring Break Tournament. The JV Vikings include Jackson Powers, Pierce Watson, J. Ray, Kody Anderson, McLeod Carmichael, Ontario McClellan, Noah Moody, Josh Hicks, Brady Hatchell, Jordan Hayes, John Malcolm George, Josh Lane, Caleb Mishue, Daniel Khalil, Dalton Lane, Cledus Williams, and Eric McGirt with Coach Chris German and Coach Daniel Little. (Photo by Tammy George. Click to view at full size!)
The JV Vikings were invited to participate in the Cheraw Junior Varsity Spring Break Tournament on March 30th. Latta was the only 1A school in the tourney that hosted powerhouses such as Cheraw, Chesterfield, Marlboro County, and Central. Each game was either five innings or an hour and a half drop, which means as soon as the time was up the game was over no matter what.
In the first game of the tournament, Latta defeated Chesterfield 5-3. In the second game Latta was defeated by Marlboro County 7-5 after an array of untimely errors.
In the third game against Cheraw, Latta got off to a slow start allowing the Braves to score eight runs in the first two innings. But the Viking bats finally woke up and Latta went on a tear to defeat Cheraw 10-8.
Defeating Cheraw placed Latta in the championship game against Marlboro County and Latta did not waste any time pouncing on the Bulldogs, scoring six runs in the first inning. The JV Vikings defeated Marlboro County 8-0 and were named Cheraw Spring Break Tournament Champions.
“This was definitely one of the longest days of baseball I’ve ever coached, and the way my team responded and came together as a family was remarkable,” said Coach German. “Everything from the pitching, hitting, defensive plays, even after making a couple mistakes was very pleasing to me as their coach.”
“By looks only, we shouldn’t have even been in the tournament because realistically we were the only team with middle schoolers playing. Everyone else was a true 9 and 10 grade team,” he added. “I’m proud of all my guys and can’t wait to see how the progress over the next couple of years.”
The JV Vikings were 8-3 heading into Monday’s game against county rival Lake View. Latta will wrap up the junior varsity baseball season on Thursday, April 11, at Lamar at 5:00 p.m.
