Latta’s Lady Vikings downed Hannah-Pamplico 4-1 on Wednesday night to advance to the Class A Lower State Championship on Friday, where they downed East Clarendon’s Lady Wolverines 4-2 in game one and 4-3 in game two to claim the title.
The Lady Vikings are set to take on defending Class A softball champ Dixie this week in the state series, with game one set for Monday in Latta and game two scheduled for Wednesday night at Dixie. A third game will be held at a neutral site on Friday, May 22, if necessary. For the Vikings, this will be their six state title appearance, but their first since 2012.
Latta was facing elimination on Wednesday when they traveled to Hannah-Pamplico to take on the Red Raiders for a 4-1 win.
The Raiders scored their only run in the bottom of the first, with the Vikings getting on the board in the top of the third with three runs. Kaleigh Caulder led off with a single and Kyra Grant tripled before scoring on the next play for a 2-1 lead. Madison Owens reached on an error, advanced on a single from Macy Hyatt, and scored on a passed ball and an error to make it 3-1. The Vikings capped the win with one run in the fifth as Camryn Sawyer singled, advanced on a grounder from Dori Webster and a single from Genesis Anderson, and scored on an error that allowed Kurstin Hopkins to reach base.
Dori Webster got the win on the mound, pitching seven innings for five hits, one earned run, two walks, one hit by pitch, and 10 outs. Hannah-Pamplico’s Lyndsey Prosser took the loss, pitching seven innings for 13 hits, four runs, two earned runs, two walks, one hit by pitch, and five outs.
At bat for the Vikings, Kyra Grant went 2-for-4 with a triple, one RBI, and one run scored; Madison Owens went 2-for-4 with a triple, one RBI, and one run, also reaching on an error; Macy Hyatt went 2-for-4 with a double; Dori Webster went 2-for-5; Genesis Anderson went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base; Camryn Sawyer went 1-for-2 with one run and a stolen base, also reaching on a walk; Maddy Long went 1-for-4 with a stolen base; Kurstin Hopkins reached on an error and a hit by pitch, also getting a fielder’s choice; Kaleigh Caulder went 1-for-5 with one run, also getting a fielder’s choice; and D’Anna Tanner had one stolen base.
At bat for the Raiders, R. Boyle went 1-for-2 with one RBI, also reaching on a walk; Jordan went 1-for-3 with one run and a walk, also reaching on an error; Todd went 1-for-3; Trail went 1-for-3; and M. Boyle went 1-for-2, also reaching on a hit by pitch.
The win allowed the Lady Vikings a shot at the lower state title on Friday night against the East Clarendon Wolverines. The Wolverines had already downed Latta 7-3 in the opening round of the lower state bracket, but this time the Vikings were ready to battle.
Latta opened the first game with three runs in the top of the first inning. Caulder led off with a single, followed by singles from Grant and Owens. East Clarendon pitcher Brooklyn Fort struck out Hyatt, but Sawyer singled to start bringing in the runners. A grounder from Webster scored Grant, and allowed Owens to reach as well, but a grounder from Anderson ended the inning with a 3-0 lead and Sawyer stranded on third.
Latta’s Dori Webster allowed one hit in the bottom of the inning with three grounders to send the Vikings back to the plate. Both teams went three up, three down in the second inning. In the top of the third Owens singled and advanced to second on a passed ball, but three fly balls put the Wolverines at bat. KT Rose ground out to open the inning for East Clarendon, but Mikayla Anderson, Jessie Welch, and Elly Floyd singled to load the bases. But Webster got fly balls from Gracen Watts and Abbie Reardon to end the threat with the Vikings still holding a 3-0 lead.
A grounder and two outs ended the fourth inning quickly for the Vikings, and a single from Olivia Singletary in the bottom of the inning wasn’t enough for the Wolverines as three batters grounded out in short order. In the fifth, Latta’s Grant singled and was left stranded at first, and East Clarendon went up and out in the bottom of the inning.
In the sixth, Hyatt led off with a triple, and Sawyer followed with a single to put the Vikings up 4-0. Fort struck out Webster, and Anderson hit into a double play to send the Wolverines to bat again. Watts led off with a single for the Wolverines, but Webster struck out Reardon. Caitlin Timmons singled to put runners on first and second, but Webster struck out Singletary. Watts came home on an error, and Kinsley Driggers hit a double to score Timmons to cut the lead to 4-2. But with Rose at bat, Timmons attempted to steal third and got caught to end the scoring.
In the seventh, Long led off with a fly but Hopkins, Caulder, and Grant each singled to reach. Hopkins advanced to third on an error, but Caulder was put out and Owens hit a grounder to end the inning for the Vikings. The Wolverines had two grounders to open the bottom of the inning, and singles from Welch and Floyd weren’t enough to reach as Watts flew out to end the game.
Webster got the win on the mound, pitching a complete game for 10 hits, two runs, one earned run, and two outs. Fort took the loss, pitching all seven innings for 11 hits, four earned runs, and six outs.
For the Vikings, Grant went 3-for-4 with one run; Sawyer went 2-for-3 with two RBI; Caulder and Owens each went 2-for-4 with one run; Hyatt went 1-for-3 with a triple; Hopkins went 1-for-3; Brooke Carter scored one run; and Dori Webster picked up two RBI.
For the Wolverines, Welch and Floyd each went 2-for-4; Watts went 2-for-4 with one run; Timmons went 1-for-3 with one run; Singletary went 1-for-3; Driggers went 1-for-1 for a double with one RBI; and Mikayla Anderson went 1-for-3.
In game two, the Vikings edged East Clarendon 4-3 to claim the lower state title.
The Vikings took a two-run lead in the top of the first inning with Grant reaching on a fielder’s choice, taking out Caulder who reached on an error. Owens reached on a hit by pitch to advance the runners, and Hyatt doubled to score Grant. Owens came home on a wild pitch, but Fort struck out Sawyer and Webster hit a fly to end the top of the inning. East Clarendon went three up, three down with two grounders and a fly.
In the top of the second, Latta led off with a single from Anderson. With one out, Anderson advanced on a grounder from Hopkins, and Caulder drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Anderson advanced to third on a wild pitch, and a single from Grant scored Anderson and put Caulder in scoring position. Grant stole second, but Owens hit a grounder to leave Latta up 3-0.
In the bottom of the inning, East Clarendon led off with a grounder and a fly before Timmons reached on an error. Singletary drew a walk to put runners on first and second, but Fort hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
Latta went three up, three down in the third, but the Wolverines got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Mikayla Anderson was hit by a pitch. Two fly balls gave the Wolverines two outs, but Watts and Driggers drew walks to load the bases and a single from Reardon allowed two runs to leave East Clarendon trailing 3-2.
Neither team could find traction in the fourth, but Latta picked up another run in the top of the fifth. With one out, Grant singled, stole second, advanced on a grounder from Owens, and came home as Hyatt reached on an error. Sawyer singled, but Webster hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning with Latta up 4-2. Webster and the Viking fielders held off the Wolverines in the bottom of the inning.
A fly and two outs ended the sixth quickly for the Vikings, but the Wolverines mustered another run in the bottom. With one out, Singletary and Fort singled, and Mikayla Anderson hit into a fielder’s choice that took out Fort but moved Singletary to third, where she scored on a single from Welch. But Floyd flew out to leave Anderson stranded at second.
Fort held off Latta in the top of the seventh, but the Wolverines couldn’t rally in the bottom of the inning. Watts led off with a double and advanced to third on a double, but a fielder’s choice from Reardon put a halt to what could have been a tying run. Timmons grounded out to end the game with Reardon stranded on first.
Webster pitched a complete game for seven hits, three earned runs, three walks, and one hit by pitch. Fort took the loss, pitching seven innings for five hits, four runs, two earned runs, two wild pitches, one walk, and four outs.
At bat for Latta, Grant went 2-for-4 with one RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs, also getting a fielders choice; Hyatt went 1-for-3 with a double and one RBI, also reaching on an error; Sawyer went 1-for-3; Anderson went 1-for-3 with one run; Owens scored one run on a hit by pitch; Caulder drew a walk and reached on an error; and Webster had a fielder’s choice.
For East Clarendon, Watts went 1-for-3 with a double and one RBI, also reaching on a walk; Reardon went 1-for-4 with two RBI, also getting a fielder’s choice; Timmons went 1-for-4 and reached on an error; Welch went 1-for-4 with one RBI; Anderson went 1-for-2 with one run, a fielder’s choice, and a hit by pitch; Singletary went 1-for-2 with one run, also reaching on a walk and getting a fielder’s choice; Fort went 1-for-3 with a fielder’s choice; and Driggers drew a walk.
Latta improved to 29-6 on the season and ended a 17-game winning streak from East Clarendon.
