ELIZABETHTOWN – The Elizabethtown All-Stars won the Dixie Youth Baseball District 9 AAA (Minors) Tournament Championship Tuesday night with an 8-4 victory over West Robeson American.
Elizabethtown and West Robeson will both advance to the State AAA (Minors) Tournament that begins July 5 in Dunn. Elizabethtown rolled through the district tournament undefeated with five straight wins.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
Jayce Hatcher pulled a soft liner under the shortstop to begin the Elizabethtown first inning. Joshua Dawson was hit by a pitch, and Tyler Eason knocked in Hatcher with a two-out single. Collin Cole and Easton Bostic drew walks that forced home Dawson for a 2-0 Elizabethtown lead.
Braylon Cromartie and Brady Marlowe drew walks in the Elizabethtown second inning. Hatcher belted a single that scored Cromartie, and Claxton Tatum pulled a single past shortstop that scored Marlowe and stretched the lead to 4-0.
Tatum walked in the fourth inning, and C.J. McCracken and Dawson lined back-to-back singles to left field. Eason drew a walk that forced home Tatum, and Bostic walloped a double to left-center field that scored McCracken, Hunter Wood and Eason and stretched the lead to 8-0. Wood was a courtesy runner for Dawson.
West Robeson rallied with four runs in the fifth inning, but McCracken struck out the side in a scoreless sixth inning to end the game.
Cromartie pitched 4.1 innings to pick up the win, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five. McCracken pitched 1.2 innings of relief, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out four.
Dawson batted a perfect 2-for-2 with a run scored for the winners. Tatum finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and a run batted in. Hatcher batted 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. McCracken was also 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Bostic slammed the three-run double and finished with four RBI’s. Eason singled and drove in two runs while scoring one run. Wood, Marlowe and Cromartie scored one run each.
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