ELIZABETHTOWN- Cam Byers and Jayce Hatcher slugged home runs and Claxton Tatum knocked in 3 runs to lead Elizabethtown to a 10-4 victory Monday night in the rain-delayed North Carolina Dixie Youth Division 1 Majors State Tournament on Carl Newkirk Field at Leinwand Park.
Elizabethtown advances to an 8 p.m. game Tuesday against Whiteville National who edged West Robeson 3-2. Sampson County will play Leland at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
The game was stopped by rain in the bottom of the 1st inning and resumed 2 hours and 15 minutes later after some monumental work on the field by the Elizabethtown Dixie Youth ground crew with help from some parent volunteers and Bladen Recreation Director Grant Pait.
Sampson’s Samuel Johnson led off the game with a triple into the right field corner and teammate Reed Ammons reached base on a fielder’s choice. Caleb Neal’s single to right field plated Johnson, but Ammons was gunned down at the plate on a perfect throw from right fielder Easton Bostic to catcher Josh Dawson.
Collin Cole walked and advanced on a wild pitch before the rain halted play. After the delay, Tyler Eason smacked a single to right that scored Cole with the tying run. Tatum belted a single to center field, and both Eason and Tatum came around to score on wild pitches to push Elizabethtown in front 3-1.
Will Blackman and Preston Toohey started the Sampson 2nd inning with singles, but Blackman was thrown out at the plate by shortstop Tatum on the back end of a double steal. However a throwing error scored Toohey and trimmed the lead to 3-2.
Cole was hit by a pitch and Eason walked to begin the Elizabethtown 3rd inning. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and both of them scored when Tatum rapped a single up the middle. Tatum advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch and scored on Dawson’s ground-out to pad the lead to 6-2.
Johnson and Thomas Tart cracked singles in the Sampson 4th inning, and both scored when Ammons pounded a double off the left-center field fence to slice the lead to 6-4. Byers relieved starting pitcher Hatcher and struck out the next 3 batters to end the inning.
Byers walloped a towering home run over the right-center field fence to lead off the Elizabethtown fourth. Hatcher then clobbered a high drive over the left field fence. Bostic lined a single to center field, Jackson Hair walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Tatum launched a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Bostic to stretch the lead to 9-4.
In the Elizabethtown 5th inning, Byers hammered a single that one-hopped the left field fence, moved up on a passed ball and a wild pitch then scored on Bostic’s ground-out to grow the lead to 10-4.
Hatcher pitched 3-plus innings for the winners and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and no walks while striking out five. Byers worked 2 innings of scoreless relief and gave up 1 hit while striking out 5 of the 7 batters that he faced. Tatum struck out the side in a 1-2-3 6th inning.
Tatum batted 2-for-2 with 3 runs batted in and 2 runs scored. Byers finished 2-for-3 at the plate with the home run and 2 runs scored. Hatcher blasted the solo home run, and Hair slammed a triple. Eason, Bostic and C. J. McCracken connected for 1 hit each. Eason, Dawson, and Bostic had 1 RBI each. Cole and Eason scored 2 runs each, and Bostic scored a run.
Johnson batted 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored to lead Sampson County. Ammons, the starting pitcher, slammed the 2-run double. Cullen Lewis, Johnson, Neal and Blackman followed Ammons to the mound in relief.
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