WINNABOW –Bladen County defeated Columbus County 9-7 Sunday night in the North Carolina Junior Dixie Boys Baseball State Tournament. Bladen County will play Hope Mills Monday at 7 p.m.
Both teams scored in the first inning. Devon Strange ripped a lead-off double to right field and dashed home when Michael Young belted a 2-out single to left-centerfield to pull Bladen County even at 1-1.
After Columbus went up 2-1, Bladen answered with 2 runs in the home second. Garrison Tatum and Alex Strange drew walks, and Devon Strange laced a 2-out, opposite field double to left that scored Tatum and Alex Strange for a 3-2 Bladen lead.
Columbus took a 4-3 lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings, before Bladen rallied with six runs in the fifth inning to take a 9-4 lead. Young yanked a lead-off single to left, Nathan Howell walked, and Tatum reached base on an error to load the bases.
Walker Ward slapped a single through the middle that scored Young. Devon Strange knocked in Howell and Tatum with a single to centerfield. Ward raced home on a wild pitch.
Evan Pait and Riley Stanley drew walks, before Young hammered a double to right-centerfield that drove in Devon Strange and Pait.
Columbus County trimmed the margin to 9-7 in the seventh before Destin Montgomery came on to get the final two outs and record the save. Montgomery walked one and struck out one.
Young started on the mound for Bladen and pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out seven. Devon Strange pitched 1.1 innings of relief allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out one.
Devon Strange slammed 2 doubles, batted 3-4, drove in 4 runs and scored twice to lead the winners at the plate. Young finished 3-4 at the plate with a double, 3 runs batted in and a run scored.
Ward batted 2-3 with an rbi and a run scored. Josh Russ and Alex Strange added one hit each. Tatum scored 2 runs, Pait and Howell scored one run each.
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