EDEN — The quest for a 2019 North Carolina Dixie Youth Ozone state title came to a close last Tuesday night at Freedom Park in Eden for the West Chatham 12U All-Stars as the locals ran into the proverbial buzz saw in eventual state champion South Stanly National.
South Stanly National won the contest 10-0 in four innings in final four action of the state tourney, remaining as the lone unbeaten team in the event, having obliterated Boger City 19-2 after a first round bye, and hammering Lumberton 13-0 in the third round.
The eventual tournament champs would crush Lee County 14-4 in the finals on Wednesday night to earn a trip to the 2019 Dixie Youth World Series in Ruston, Louisiana, which will be played on August 2-8.
South Stanly, which also went unbeaten in District 1 play down in Norwood two weeks earlier, plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and second innings before blowing the game open with five in the third to go up 9-0, and then scoring a walk-off run in the fourth to ice the win.
West Chatham, which closed the event with a respectable 2-2 record and fourth place finish, managed three hits in the contest including 1-for-2 efforts each from Preston Holder, Bryson Marley and Benjamin Wilson. All the West Chatham hits were singles in the game while Stephen Moody, Brayden Brewer and Cole Koenig all walked in the loss.
Offensively South Stanly compiled 12 hits in the victory led by Grayson Gulde who was 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI while Luke Dennis was 2-for-2 with a run, an RBI and a double. Chipping in a 2-for-3 effort with two runs and an RBI was Eli Thompson while Carter Callicutt was 1-for-1 with a run, an RBI, a walk and a double, Jaxon Valler 1-for-1 with a walk, Jackson Springer 1-for-1, Jack Crump 1-for-2 with a run, a walk and an RBI, Gavin Kimrey 1-for-2, and Gavin Miller 1-for-3 with a run.
South Stanly stole 20 bases in the contest including four by Thompson and three by Gulde.
Singles by Gulde and Dennis led to two runs in the first for the Nationals before a base hit from Valler ignited the two runs in the second for the victors.
The five-run third was highlighted by singles from Thompson, Gulde and Kimrey and back-to-back doubles from Carter and Dennis.
Thompson singled to left in the fourth with one out and proceeded to swipe second and third before trotting home with the game-clinching 10th run on a base hit to left from Crump.
Callicutt went all four innings for South Stanly to get the win on the mound and allowed three hits, no runs, three walks and fanned nine.
Suffering the loss on the mound for West Chatham was Wilson who got the start and was one of four pitchers used in the contest for the local bunch.