Latta’s #3 Austin Miller went 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI against Hannah-Pamplico. (Photos by Betsy Barfield Bridgers.)
The Latta Vikings fell 12-7 to Hannah-Pamplico’s Red Raiders on Tuesday night in the second round of the Class A lower state baseball playoffs.
After a scoreless first inning, the Raiders took a 9-0 lead in the top of the second and led through the rest of the game. Cooper singled to lead off the inning, but Pilotte hit a fly for the first out. Williamson reached on an error, and Hicks singled to load the bases. McAllister doubled and Tanner tripled to clear the bases, and Bazen drew a walk, followed by base hits from Mays and Tanguay. Cooper flew out on his second at bat of the inning, and Pilotte drew a walk. Williamson singled, and Pilotte stole third and scored on a passed ball that allowed Williamson to reach third before Hicks struck out to end the inning.
Latta got on the board with four runs in the bottom of the third. McLeod Carmichael led off with a double, followed by a single from Brady Hatchell and walks for Eric McGirt and Cledus Williams. Jackson Williams singled and John Kever Love doubled to bring in the fourth run for the Vikings, but the Raiders struck out Caleb Mishue, caught a fly from Austin Miller, and got Jonathan Ray to ground out to end the inning with the Vikings trailing 9-4.
Hannah-Pamplico picked up two runs in the top of the fifth and one more in the sixth. With one out in the fifth, Tanner drew a walk and Bazen singled, with both runners advancing on errors and a single from Tanguay to take an 11-4 lead. With two outs in the sixth, McAllister reached on a single and scored on a double from Tanner before Bazen lined out.
The Vikings scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and one more in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Raiders. In the sixth, Jonathan Ray reached on an error and advanced on throwing errors and a sacrifice bunt from Hatchell. McGirt singled to score Ray, who advanced on errors to score the second run to leave Latta trailing 12-6. In the seventh, with one out, Love reached on a single and Noah Moody flew out. Miller doubled to score Love, but Ray got a grounder to end the game at 12-7.
Hannah-Pamplico’s Mason Hicks got the win on the mound, pitching five innings for the Raiders and giving up five hits, three runs, one earned run, one hit by pitch, and three outs. Whit Tanguay pitched two innings for five hits, four runs, four earned runs, two walks, and one out.
Jackson Williams took the loss for Latta, pitching one and a third innings for four hits, five runs, four earned runs, and one out. Caleb Mishue pitched four and one third innings for six hits, three runs, two earned runs, one walk, and two outs; Eric McGirt pitched one inning for one walk; and Dalton Lane pitched one-third of an inning for two hits, four runs, three earned runs, and two walks.
At bat for the Raiders, Easton Tanner went 2-for-3 with a triple and two doubles for three RBI and two runs scored, also reaching on a walk; Ethan McAllister went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two runs; Whit Tanguay went 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run, also reaching on an error and getting a fielder’s choice; Will Bazen went 1-for-4 for two runs, also reaching on a walk; Vic Cooper went 1-for-5 with one run and also reached on an error; Brandon Williamson went 1-for-4 with two RBI and one run, also reaching on two errors; Carson Mays went 1-for-4 with one RBI and one run, also reaching on a walk; Mason Hicks went 1-for-4 with one run; and Noah Pilotte scored one run on a walk with one stolen base and a fielder’s choice and also reached on an error. Hannah-Pamplico had 12 hits and three errors in the win.
At bat for the Vikings, John Kever Love went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI, and one run scored; Austin Miller went 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI; Caleb Mishue went 2-for-3; McLeod Carmichael went 1-for-3 with a double and one run; Eric McGirt went 1-for-2 with one RBI and two runs, also reaching on a walk and a hit by pitch; Jackson Williams went 1-for-4 with two RBI; Brady Hatchell went 1-for-2 with one run and also made a sacrifice bunt; Cledus Williams scored one run with one RBI and reached on a walk; and Jonathan Ray scored one run and reached on error. Latta had 10 hits and six errors in the effort.
Latta slipped to 18-6-2 overall and was scheduled to host Bamberg-Ehrhardt in an elimination game on Wednesday night. Bamberg fell 2-1 to East Clarendon in an 11-inning elimination game on Monday, but the Wolverines were disqualified from the playoffs for a pitching violation, allowing Bamberg to advance instead.
Hannah-Pamplico advanced directly to the title game and will host the lower state championship on Friday.
Photos by Betsy Barfield Bridgers. Click the images below to view at full size!
