Bladen DYB all-stars stay alive in SC
Aug. 1—ANDERSON, S.C. — Bladen County's Dixie Youth Baseball All-Stars exploded for nine runs against the Alabama state champions on Sunday en route to a 13-3 win in the Dixie Youth Baseball Majors Div. 2 World Series.
The victory keeps Bladen County alive in the tournament's elimination bracket. They will face the winner of Monday's elimination game between Lunenburg, Virginia, and Amelia, Virginia, on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m.
On Subday, Bladen County went up 3-0 in the home half of the first inning, highlighted by a double-steal that saw Corben Chadwick pull off a steal of home.
Bladen added a run in the second inning, sparked by a triple from Andrew Wren, who later scored on a wild pitch for a 4-0 advantage.
Alabama tallied three runs in the top of the third, but the North Carolina champions erupted for nine hits and nine runs in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 13-3.
Alabama's bats were silenced in the top of the fourth, ending the game on the 10-run mercy rule.
Leading Bladen County at the plate was Chadwick, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI; Wren was 2-for-2 with the triple; Gauge King was 2-for-2 with an RBI; Cole Brisson was 2-for-3 with three RBI.
On the hill, Chase Bryan and Wren combined on the five-hit win.
The first game
Bladen County opened the World Series last week with a 5-0 shutout of Alabama's runner-up.
Cole Brisson and Ashton Davis teamed up on the mound to hurl a two-hitter while striking out 15 batters en route to the win. Davis, who got the start, fanned the first eight Alabama hitters he faced.
The North Carolina champs got all the runs they would need with a four-run second inning — thanks in large part to a slew of wild pitches.
Bladen County added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth to seal the win.
At the plate for Bladen, Gause doubled and had an RBI; Chadwick added a single and RBI; Brisson singled and had an RBI.
The second game
Bladen County and Lunenburg — the Virginia state champions — had to wait out a three-hour and 30-minute weather delay on Saturday, but when things finally got started, fans were treated to a 2-1 nail-biter.
The North Carolina champions opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second, thanks to a single and stolen base by Davis and a throwing error by Virginia.
That score held up for two innings, but Virginia knotted the game at 1-1 with a run in the bottom of the fifth, then scored the winning run in the home half of the seventh.
On the hill for Bladen, Davis twirled a real gem, striking out 16 batters in just six innings while giving up just three hits, a walk and a hit batter.
Bladen County outhit Virginia 8-3, but left nine runners on base.
Gauge King was 2-for-3 to lead the Bladen hitters.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-862-4163 or cvincent@bladenjournal.com.
