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By Sonny Jones

ELIZABETHTOWN — Aiden Wooten pitched into the fifth inning and Reid Hester drove home three runs with a pair of hits Saturday as Elizbethtown defeated Fairmont 18-7 at Leinwand Park.

The victory in the North Carolina Dixie Youth Baseball District 9 AAA tournament advances Elizabethtown to a game Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against Red Springs. Red Springs received a first-round bye.

Fairmont drops into the loser’s bracket and will play Lumberton on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. West Robeson beat Lumberton 16-7 on Saturday. West Robeson will play the winner of the Elizabethtown-Red Springs game on Monday.

The winner of the five-team double elimination tournament advances to the state tournament scheduled July 8-14 in Lumberton.

Wooten, a right-hander, scattered six hits, struck out six and walked two in lasting 4.1 innings before reaching his 75-pitch limit. Elijah Dicicco retired the final two Fairmont batters in a game that was halted because of the 10-run rule.

Hester singled in the second for a run batted in as part of a seven-run Elizabethtown inning, then blasted a triple to the fence in the third to highlight a four-run frame that gave Elizabethtown a 14-2 lead.

Cooper Clark drove in a pair of runs with a single to right in the fifth for Elizabethtown. Greylan Nobles drove in a run with a single in the fifth and and Wooten drove in a run with a sigle in the second.

Mark McMichael, Kai Smeigh, Baylor Gooden and Nobles each scored three times for Elizabethtown. Hester and Wooten each scored twice. Cooper Patrick and Shawn Davisson each scored once.

Elizabethtown scored four runs in its first at-bat, then sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning for seven runs and a 10-1 advantage.

Fairmont pulled within 14-7 after four innings, but Elizabethtown sealed it with four runs in the top of the fifth.

Elizabethtown had seven bases and used 15 walks and three hit batters to keep runs crossing the plate. Elizabethtown was retired in order in the fourth on three strikeouts.

Members of the Elizabethtown team (pictured at top) are:

Top from left: Jabari Adams-Peterson, Shawn Davisson, Aiden Wooten, Reid Hester, Kymani Matheson, and Elijah Dicicco

Bottom from left: Greylan Nobles, Mark McMichael, Cooper Clark, Baylor Gooden, Cooper Patrick, and Kai Smeigh

Coaches: Coach Adam Nobles, Manger Camrin Wooten, Coach Teffrey McKoy

Elizabethtown 374 04 — 18
Fairmont 113 20 — 7