CLARKTON – Jayden Collins’ 2-out single drove in Caden Goins with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as West Robeson American edged Elizabethtown 15-14 Wednesday night to claim the District 2 AA (Coach-Pitch) Supplemental Championship.
Goins’ double had put runners on second and third in the seventh, but Elizabethtown’s Gavin Elks caught a pop-up, and secondbaseman Braylon Cromartie had thrown out another runner at the plate with a peg to catcher Inman Carson, before the Collins hit ended the game.
Elizabethtown led 14-9 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, but West Robeson rallied for 5 runs after 2 were out to tie the game. “We just couldn’t hold the lead,” said Elizabethtown Coach Rusty Hill. “It was an unbelievable game!”
Claxton Tatum led off the game with a double, and Carson walloped a triple to drive him in. Jackson Smith smashed a double that scored Carson, and Cromartie followed with a single. Omar Powell cracked a single that scored Smith for a 3-0 Elizabethtown lead.
West Robeson trimmed the lead to 3-2, but Elizabethtown answered with 2 runs in the second. Niyah Wooten slammed a double, and Collin Cole smacked a single. Conner Hill belted a single that scored Wooten, and Tyler Eason drove in Cole with a single.
A West Robeson run closed the gap to 5-3, but Elizabethtown plated 2 more runs in the third. Cromartie started the inning with a single, and Elks knocked him in with a double. Wilson Clifton rapped a single, and Wooten’s single scored Elks to up the count to 7-3.
West Robeson pulled even with 4 runs in the home third, but Elizabethtown exploded for 5 runs in the fourth. Tatum and Brady Marlowe ripped back-to-back doubles with Tatum scoring.
Carson blasted a triple that scored Marlowe. Smith slapped a single that brought home Carson. Cromartie , Elks, Powell and Clifton connected for consecutive singles that scored Smith and Cromartie for a 12-7 Elizabethtown lead.
West Robeson whittled the lead to 12-9, but Elizabethtown scored twice in the fifth. Hill and Eason cracked singles to start the inning, and Tatum drove in Hill with a single. After Marlowe singled, Carson delivered a single that scored Tatum for a 14-9 lead.
Carson batted 4-4 with 2 triples, 3 runs batted in and 2 runs scored. Cromartie finished 4-4 at the plate with an rbi and 2 runs scored. Wooten was 4-4 at the plate with a double and a run scored. Smith batted 3-4 with a double, 2 rbi’s and 2 runs scored.
Marlowe finished 3-4 at the plate with a double, an rbi and a run scored. Powell was 3-4 with an rbi, and Cole was 3-4 with a run scored. Clifton also batted 3-4. Tatum finished 3-5 with 2 doubles, an rbi and 3 runs scored.
Elks was 2-4 with a double, an rbi and a run scored. Hill batted 2-4 with an rbi and a run scored, and Eason was 2-4 with an rbi.
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