MV pelts Silver Bluff in rainy 12U contest
JACKSON -- Midland Valley's 12-and-under All-Stars brought the thunder to John Harley Park on a day where dark clouds and rain were already prevalent.
Midland Valley's All-Stars scored eight runs in the top of the first inning and jumped into the driver's seat at the 12-and-under Subdistrict 6B tournament with their 18-4 victory over Silver Bluff in five innings.
Midland Valley will face the winner of today's elimination game - which will pit Silver Bluff and Gregg Park against one another - on Thursday. A Midland Valley victory will allow it to clinch the subdistrict title.
"We did really well in the first inning ... played fundamental baseball." Midland Valley manager Raymond Bailey said. "I'm really proud of these guys getting where they are right now, and we're going to keep playing one game at a time."
Midland Valley, which scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth and final inning in its 5-4 victory over Gregg Park on Monday, scored early and often in Tuesday's contest.
Bradley Goodwin led off the opening frame with a single, which followed with walks by Matthew Faircloth and Hunter Bailey. Wyatt West advanced to first on an error, which scored a run. Ben Langdale added a two-RBI single and Dallas Young's RBI knock gave Midland Valley a 4-0 advantage.
Logan Fleming followed Young's hit with a three-run home run that bolted over the fence in left field and
pushed Midland Valley's lead to seven. A wild pitch during Austin Oshields' at-bat scored Midland Valley's final run of the inning.
Goodwin, also the Midland Valley starter, handcuffed Silver Bluff during the first two innings. He struck out four of the six batters he faced and pitched two perfect frames.
Meanwhile, Midland Valley's offense continued to pour it on. Langdale earned a one-out walk in the top of the third, which followed with a single from Mitchell Walters. Fleming's single loaded the bases, which followed with a wild pitch that scored Langdale and Walters.
The rain cleared up a bit during the middle of the third inning, a phenomenon that coincided with Silver Bluff's in-game resurgence.
Silver Bluff's D.J. Derricott hit a single in the bottom of the third and advanced to third after sacrifice hits from Raymond Norris and Stephone Morency. Austin Candamone earned a two-out walk, then found himself in a pickle during Malek Owens' at-bat.
The melee scored Derricott while Candamone improbably made his way to second. However, an errant call by Silver Bluff's third-base coach led Candamone to try and steal third, which ended with an inning-ending tag.
Silver Bluff turned an unorthodox triple play in the top of the fourth; a Midland Valley runner looked to tag up from third on a modest pop-out at first, and appeared to be safe on the play. However, the runner failed to tag third, and a Silver Bluff player later tagged the bag. Additionally, another Midland Valley baserunner left the bag on third, presumably thinking himself out, and was promptly tagged to end the frame.
Still, the game belonged to Midland Valley. Silver Bluff trimmed its deficit to 10-4 in the bottom of the fourth, but Midland Valley scored eight runs in the top of the fifth, which represented the final margin.
"Both teams played a great game," Silver Bluff manager Chris Mason said. "We made a great rally, and hopefully we'll do better (Wednesday and Thursday)."
10-and-under District 6 final
Bamberg 7
Gregg Park 4
Gregg Park's 10-and-under boys suffered a rare loss Tuesday in a 7-4 setback to Bamberg.
Bamberg's win forced a winner-take-all game tonight, scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. The winner will advance to the State tournament in Florence on July 25.
"I told them that we'll have another shot at it (Wednesday)," Gregg Park manager Michael Paradise said.
Eli Bentley went 2-for-3 to lead Gregg Park.
Dixie Boys six-team tournament in Bamberg
Monday's scores
Bamberg d. Silver Bluff
Barnwell 4, Ridge Spring-Monetta 1
Tuesday's scores
Aiken 4, North Augusta 3, eight innings (game resumed from Monday evening)
North Augusta 13, Ridge Spring-Monetta 5 (RS-M eliminated)
Aiken vs. Barnwell, suspended (will resume today)
Wednesday's game
Aiken vs. Barnwell, 7:45 p.m.