NORWOOD — The West Chatham American 10U All-Star team posted a 3-2 mark last week in Dixie Youth Baseball District 1 play to take second place overall.
With the runner-up finish the local bunch advances to the 2019 NC Dixie Youth Baseball State Tournament which begins down in Dunn on July 6 with a 1 pm contest against Elizabethtown.
In opening day action in the districts, West Chatham American plated six runs in the bottom of the first enroute to a 10-6 victory over West Stanly.
Singles by Landon Moser, Davis Rhodes, and Jackson Bare and a double by Gavin Davis highlighted the six-run uprising for the locals.
A lead off double by Moser, a single from Rhodes and an RBI-single from Bare led to another run in the bottom of the third for the locals and a 7-0 cushion before West Chatham answered a four-spot in the fourth by West Stanly with three runs in the bottom of the fifth a double from Jacob Eubanks and singles from Moser and Rhodes to cap the 10-6 win.
Moser was 3-for-3 with three runs, a double and an RBI in the win for WC while Rhodes wasa 3-for-3 with a run and two RBI, Bare 2-for-2 with a run and two RBI, Eubanks 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk, Davis 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI, and Raje Torres 1-for-2.
Rhodes picked up the win on the mound after going 3.2 innings and allowing five hits, four runs (two earned), one walk and striking out six. Moser notched the save after going 2.1 innings and allowing four hits, two runs (none earned), two walks while fanning five.
Second round play saw West Chatham take on South Stanly and the contest wasn’t for the faint of heart as WC American took a wild 9-8 walk-off win in the bottom of the sixth when Eubanks belted a single to right field to plate Gavin Vanderford and Isaac Mathison with the game winners. Vanderord had singled to lead off the frame and Mathison walked before both stole third and second respectively to set up the Eubanks heroics.
After spotting South Stanly a 1-0 lead early, West Chatham came back with two runs in the bottom of the second behind singles from Jensen Mitchell and Bare.
South Stanly plated a run in the third and five in the fourth to go up 7-2 only to see West Chatham storm back with five runs in the home half of the fourth highlighted by RBI-singles from Eubanks and Moser and a two-run double from Rhodes.
South Stanly went up 8-7 with a run in the fifth only to see the locals rally with the walk-off runs in the sixth.
Rhodes was 2-for-2 with two RBI, a walk and two doubles to lead WC at the plate while Eubanks was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI, Moser 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, and Bare 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk.
Rhodes notched the win after working just .1 innings while Vanderford went 2.1 innings in relief and allowed three hits, three runs (two earned), and five walks while whiffing three. Moser started the game and went 3.1 innings and allowed five hits, five runs (three earned) and no walks while mowing down nine.
Third round action was a disaster for the most part for West Chatham American as Montgomery County plated five runs in the top of the first, six in the second, and two more in the third to roll to a convincing 13-3 win in four innings.
West Chatham, which scored all three runs in the bottom of the first, committed four costly errors and allowed six walks to go with 12 hits by the victors.
Moser was 2-for-2 with a run and a double in the loss to lead WC American offensively while Davis was 2-for-2 with an RBI, Torres 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI, Mitchell 1-for-2 with an RBI, Rhodes 1-for-2 with a run, and Bare 1-for-2.
Rhodes suffered the loss on the mound after going 1.1 innings and yielding nine hits, 11 runs (seven earned), and three walks while fanning one.
This set up an elimination game with South Stanly and the locals quickly fell behind 5-0 in its fourth round contest after one inning of play.
It was all West Chatham American from that point on, however, as the locals tallied seven runs in the third, three in the fourth and five in the fifth to end the game due to the mercy-rule.
Bare had a huge game at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance that included a run, three RBI and a walk while Eubanks mashed a triple to go 1-for-4 with a run and three RBI, and Moser and Rhodes each clubbed homeruns. Moser closed 2-for-2 with three runs, three RBI and a walk while Rhodes was 1-for-3 with two runs, three RBI and a walk.
Torres added a 1-for-2 effort with three runs and two walks while Mitchell had an RBI and two walks, and Vanderford, Mathison, Logan Ellis and Robert Norton all a run and a walk.
Moser went 3.1 innings on the mound to get the win and allowed eight hits, five runs, and a walk while striking out seven. Torres collected the save after going the final 1.2 innings and yielding two hits and fanning a pair.
West Chatham advanced to battle Montgomery County in the finals and in need of two wins to take the District 1 crown.
The locals plated five runs in the second and another in the top of the third to go up 6-0 only to see Montgomery County storm back with three runs in the bottom of the third and nine in the fourth to take a thrilling 12-10 victory.
West Chatham out-hit Montgomery County 12-10 in the contest but three errors and seven walks proved fatal.
Bare was 3-for-4 in the contest to pace WC American at the plate. The left-handed slugger slammed three doubles while scoring two runs and driving in three runs.
Mitchell added a 2-for-3 outing with two RBI in the loss for West Chatham while Moser was 1-for-2 with two runs, a double and two walks, Carson Jackson 1-for-2 with a run, a walk and an RBI, Rhodes 1-for-3 with a run, a double and a walk, Mathison 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, Vanderford 1-for-1 with a run, an RBI and a double, and Eubanks 1-for-4 with a run.
Davis took the loss on the mound for West Chatham.