The Latta Vikings edged the East Clarendon Wolverines 4-3 on Saturday to advance in the Class A Lower State baseball playoffs.
East Clarendon got on the board first with one run in the bottom of the third, but Latta picked up two runners in the to of the fourth. The Wolverines tied things at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning, and neither team could score in the fifth or sixth.
In the top of the seventh, with the score tied, Christian Hendrix hit a triple to lead off the inning and Eric McGirt picked him up on a base hit to allow the Vikings to pull ahead 3-2. The Vikings loaded the bases, and a walk for Travis Power sent another runner home to put Latta up 4-2.
The Wolverines had a chance to tie in the bottom of the inning, scoring on an error to trail 4-3. With the bases loaded, Ryan Knowlton hit a grounder that ended the game with the Vikings advancing and the Wolverines now facing elimination.
Travis Power pitched six innings for the win, striking out eight, and John Kever Love earned the save, striking out one. East Clarendon’s William Ard took the loss, pitching six innings for five outs.
Christian Hendrix and Jackson Williams each had two hits for the Vikings, and Hendrix and Power each picked up one RBI. Latta had six hits and three errors in the win.
For East Clarendon, Coker had one hit and Attinson picked up one RBI. The Wolverines had four hits and one error in the effort.
Latta, now 20-3, was scheduled to travel to Lake View on Monday night in a clash of local and regional rivals, with the winner advancing to the lower state championship on Friday and the loser facing elimination on Wednesday. Latta defeated Lake View in their regular seasons encounters, shutting out the Gators 6-0 on April 1 and picking up an 11-1 win on April 25.
Also on Monday, East Clarendon was scheduled to face Johnsonville in an elimination bracket matchup. The winner will advance to Wednesday’s elimination game to face the loser of the Latta/Lake View game.
