The Latta Vikings faced some tough competition at Cheraw’s Spring Break tournament on Monday, taking losses from Andrew Jackson and Cheraw and tying with Lamar. But the Vikings earned a 12-2 win over the Silver Foxes on Tuesday behind two home runs from Eric McGirt.
On the first day of action, Latta took a 2-0 loss from Andrew Jackson, who scored both of their runs in the top of the third inning. Cauthen singled and Kipp Rollins hit a home run for the win.
Rollins was the winning pitcher, going five innings and allowing one hit while striking out 12.
On the mound for Latta, McLeod Carmichael pitched three and third innings for five hits, two runs, two earned runs, one homer, and one out. Jackson Williams pitched two-thirds of an inning for two outs, and John Kever Love pitched one inning for one hit and one out.
Daniel Khalil got Latta’s only hit at bat, going 1-for-1 for a double. Love reached on an error and stole second, but was left stranded in the second inning as the next three batters were struck out. The Vikings had two errors in the effort.
For Andrew Jackson, Rollins was 1-for-3 with the home run, two RBI, and one run scored; Wade was 1-for-3; G. Lucas, L. Lucas, and H. Gandy each went 1-for-2; and Cauthen went 1-for-2 with one run scored. Andrew Jackson had six hits and one error in the win.
Also on Monday, Latta tied 2-2 with the Lamar Silver Foxes. Lamar scored both their runs in the bottom of the first, with Tyler Smith reaching on an error and Ja’Darius Munford hitting a home run to score both.
The Vikings picked up both their runs in the top of the second with Carmichael and Khalil each reaching on singles and scoring on hits from Noah Moody and Jackson Williams.
On the mound for the Vikings, Dalton Lane and Jackson Williams each pitched three innings. Lane allowed two hits, two runs, two walks, one hit by pitch, and one homer, striking out one. Williams allowed three hits and one walk, striking out two. For Lamar, Collin Jordan pitched all six innings for six hits, two runs, two earned runs, two walks, and five outs.
At bat, Jackson Williams led Latta, going 2-for-2 with one RBI; Khalil went 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run; Moody went 1-for-2; Carmichael went 1-for-3 with one run; and Cledus Williams went 1-for-3.
In their last game on Monday, the Vikings took a 4-2 loss from Cheraw with the Braves taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with Josh Burkett reaching on a hit by pitch. The Braves added three more runs in the bottom of the third as Burkett hit a solo home run and Clayton Hurst and Tallon Campbell each hit doubles to put Cheraw up 4-0.
Latta’s runs came in the top of the fourth with Jackson Williams reaching on a single, stealing second and advancing to third before a double from John Kever Love brought him in. A sacrifice bunt advanced Love to third, and a single from Austin Miller allowed Love to score.
Noah Keith got the win on the mound for Cheraw, pitching all five innings for three hits, two runs, two earned runs, one wild pitch, one walk, and three outs. Caleb Mishue took the loss for Latta, pitching four innings for five hits, four runs, four earned runs, one walk, one homer, one hit by pitch, and one out.
At bat for the Braves, Tallon Campbell went 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI, and one run; Burkett went 1-for-2 with a home run, one RBI, and two runs scored; Clayton Hurst went 1-for-2 with a double and one run; and Noah Keith went 1-for-2.
For Latta, John Kever Love went 1-for-2 with a double, one RBI, and one run; Austin Miller went 1-for-2 with one RBI; and Jackson Williams went 1-for-2 with one run scored.
Tournament action continued on Tuesday with the Vikings defeating Lamar 12-2.
Latta’s Eric McGirt reached with a single for the first run in the top of the first, and a hit by pitch, an error, and a walk helped the Vikings pick up three runners in the second. Lamar scored in the bottom of the third with Jordan reaching on a bunt and Smith reaching on a single.
McGirt hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth for a 5-2 Viking lead, and Latta picked up four more runs in the fifth as McGirt hit a grand slam to clear the bases. A string of singles in the sixth helped Latta seal the win, with Lane, Moody, and John Malcolm George scoring.
Love earned the win on the mound, pitching six innings for two hits, two runs, two earned runs, and nine outs.
For Lamar, Luke Amerson pitched 4.2 innings for six hits, seven runs, one earned run, two walks, one home run, and five outs. Daniel Galloway pitched one and a third innings for six hits, three runs, three earned runs, and one out. Cameron Galloway also took a turn on the mound for one hit, two runs, runs, two earned runs, two walks, and one homer.
McGirt led the Vikings at bat, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI, and four runs scored. Moody went 2-for-2 with two runs and a stolen base; Jackson Williams went 2-for-4 with one RBI; Love went 2-for-4 with one RBI; Brady Hatchell went 1-for-3 with one RBI and two runs; John Malcolm George went 1-for-1 with one RBI and one run; Lane went 1-for-4 with one run; Carmichael scored two runs; and Cledus Williams picked up one RBI and had a stolen base on walks.
For Lamar, Smith went 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored; Parker Vause went 1-for-3 with one RBI; and Jordan scored one run.
The tournament was scheduled to continue through Wednesday. The Vikings will return to regular season action next Tuesday, April 7, at Green Sea-Floyds.
