Wildcats Earn 9-5 Win Over Bishop England for Lower State Title

The Dillon Wildcats earned a 9-5 win over Bishop England on Friday night to claim the lower state title in Class 2A baseball.

The Wildcats opened the lower state bracket with a 9-3 win over Aynor and downed Region 8 rival Waccamaw 10-1 on Tuesday to advance to the title game, while Bishop England fell 2-1 to Waccamaw in their opening game and faced elimination throughout the rest of the tournament. The Battling Bishops eliminated Aynor 4-3 to stay alive and took revenge on Waccamaw with a 5-2 win on Wednesday to earn a shot at the title.

On Friday, the Bishops took a two-run lead in the top of the first as Albano and Browning both singled. Bolchoz reached on an error and McManus hit into a fielder’s choice to help pick up the two runners before Coste struck out to end the inning. The Wildcats had one it in the bottom of the inning from Jon-Mitchell Carter, but three fly balls sent the Bishops to bat.

Wildcat pitcher Rae Rae McGirt struck out all three batters in the top of the second, and Dillon led off the bottom of the inning with a single from Duncan Callahan. Kaleb Page made a sacrifice bunt to advance Callahan to second, and a single from Joseph Scott and a double from Gunnar Grossetti brought him home. Dekendrick Graves followed with a single to score Scott, and Grossetti came home on a grounder from Carter. Omar McCollum reached on a hit by pitch, but Patrick Herring flew out to leave Graves and McCollum on base with the Wildcats up 3-2.

In the top of the third, Bishop England’s Brown reached on a hit by pitch, Albano reached on an error, and Browning reached on another hit by pitch to load the bases. Brown came home on a passed ball to tie the game 3-3, but McGirt settled in to retire the next two batters. A walk loaded the bases once again, but Bastian got a fly to end the inning.

Graves reached on a walk to lead off the bottom of the fourth for the Wildcats, stole second, and advanced to third on an error. McCollum singled to score Graves for a 4-3 lead, but Carter hit into a double play for two outs and Herring flew out to end the inning.

Neither team could score in the fifth, but the Bishops took the lead again in the top of the sixth. McManus and Finneseth reached on errors, but McManus was caught stealing for the first out. Finneseth stole second and advanced to third as Bastian and Windom drew walks. McGirt struck out one batter, but after Windom’s walk, the Wildcats put Austin Moody on the mound. Brown singled to pick up Finneseth and Bastian, and Albano reached on an error before a fielder’s choice from Browning ended the scoring.

Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats led off with a single from Scott. A fly from Grossetti gave them their first out, but the pitcher balked, allowing Scott to reach second. Scott reached third on a passed ball by the catcher, and Graves hit a stand-up double to center to score Scott and tie the game. Graves stole third, and a single from McCollum brought him home, followed by a single from Carter to put runners on first and second. Bishop England brought in a new pitcher, but a double from Herring scored McCollum, and a single from Moody brought in Carter. Moody singled but was caught trying to steal second, allowing Carter and Andrew Rowell, who was running for Herring, to score. Bishop England struck out Callahan to end the inning with the Wildcats up 9-5.

The Wildcats held off Bishop England in the top of the seventh to maintain the win. Bolchoz hit a fly, McManus struck out,and Finneseth hit a grounder to end the game.

On the mound for the Wildcats, Rae Rae McGirt pitched 4.2 innings for three hits, five runs, three walks, two hit by pitch, and eight outs. Austin Moody got the win, pitching two and a third innings for one hit and two outs.

For the Bishops, Gunnar Finneseth took the loss, pitching one and a third innings for four hits, four earned runs, and one out. Jackson Riley pitched two innings for six hits, three earned runs, one hit by pitch, and one out; Ryan McManus pitched two-thirds of an inning for two hits, one earned run, and one out; Johnny Wood pitched one inning for one hit, one run, one walk, and one out; and Chandler Garrett pitched one inning with no hits and no outs.

At bat for the Wildcats, Dekendrick Graves went 2-for-2 with a double, three stolen bases, two RBI, and two runs scored, also reaching on a walk; Gunnar Grossetti went 1-for-3 with a double, one RBI, and one run; Patrick Herring went 1-for-4 for a double and one RBI; Joseph Scott went 2-for-2 with two runs and a sacrifice bunt; Omar McCollum went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run, also reaching on a hit by pitch; Jon-Mitchell Carter went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run; Austin Moody went 2-for-4 with one RBI; Duncan Callahan went 1-for-3 with one run, also reaching on a walk; Kaleb Page made a sacrifice bunt; and Andrew Rowell scored one run.

For the Bishops, Jonathan Browning went 2-for-3 with a double, one stolen base, and one run scored, also reaching on a hit by pitch and getting a fielder’s choice; Leo Albano went 1-for-4 with one run, also reaching on two errors; Jeffrey Brown went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run, also reaching on a hit by pitch; Ryan McManus had a fielder’s choice for one RBI, also reaching on an error; Will Bastian reached on a walk and scored one run; Max Windom drew a walk; Edward Bolchoz reached on an error; Gunnar Finneseth reached on an error with a stolen base for one run; and Paul Provost drew a walk.

The Wildcats improved to 15-4 overall as they head into the Class 2A state championship series against Ninety-Six. This will be the first time the Wildcats have played for a state title since 2008. Ninety-Six enters the series as the defending state champion and have 24 home runs so far this season.

The Wildcats were scheduled to travel to face the Ninety-Six Wildcats on Monday night and will host game two on Wednesday. A third game will be played at a neutral site on Friday if necessary.

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