KENANSVILLE – Raymond Autry’s second home run of the game capped a 9-run fourth-inning that carried Elizabethtown to a 12-7 victory over South Park Monday in the North Carolina Dixie Youth Baseball Majors State Tournament.
Elizabethtown advances to a return match with Whiteville Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Whiteville outlasted Elizabethtown 9-7 in Saturday’s opening game.
Autry blasted a solo home run over the left-centerfield fence to put Elizabethtown in front 1-0 in the second inning.
South Park bunched 4 hits with an error and scored 5 runs in the top of the third inning.
Coleman Tatum hammered a double to left-centerfield to lead off the home half of the third. Ayden Piland smacked a single to centerfield, and Mahki Cromartie knocked in Coleman Tatum with a single that trimmed the margin to 5-2.
After leaving the bases loaded in the third, Elizabethtown exploded for 9 runs in the fourth. Freddy Wooten walloped a home run to left-centerfield to start the inning. Autry and Ty Mathis followed with singles.
Tyler Hill slammed a double that scored Autry, but Mathis was retired on Garrison Tatum’s fielder’s choice. Coleman Tatum laced a single to left-centerfield scored Hill.
Piland pulled a single down the rightfield line that scored Garrison Tatum. Garrett Melvin launched a sacrifice fly to leftfield that scored Coleman Tatum.
Piland eventually scored as Evan Pait and Freddy Wooten drew walks. Autry then crushed a 3-run home run over the left-centerfield fence that put Elizabethtown ahead 11-5.
Garrison Tatum cracked a one-out single in the Elizabethtown fifth. Cromartie belted a single, and Piland ripped another single to rightfield that scored Garrison Tatum and padded the lead to 12-5.
South Park tallied 2 runs in the top of the sixth on a hit, 3 walks and a hit batter.
Autry batted 3-3 with 2 home runs, 4 runs batted in and 3 runs scored. Piland also finished 3-3 at the plate with 2 rbi’s and a run scored. Coleman Tatum batted 2-2 with a double, an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Cromartie finished 2-2 at the plate with an rbi. Wooten slugged the home run and scored twice. Hill doubled in a run and scored one. Melvin, Mathis, and Garrison Tatum added one hit each.
Garrison Tatum scored twice, and Pait scored one run. Melvin drove in a run.
Mathis started on the mound and pitched a pair of scoreless innings before giving up 5 runs on 4 hits, a walk and an error. Autry pitched 2 scoreless innings and struck out 3 batters to pick up the win. Wooten gave up 2 runs in the sixth on 3 walks, a hit batter and a hit in the sixth.
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