Lumberton battles back but falls short 11-10

Lumberton rallies to tie game 10-10 in thrilling final inning

(photos & article courtesy of D. Kenney)

(La Grange, Georgia) – The 53rd Annual Dixie Youth World Series featured a thrilling 6th inning in the first round AAA game between Mississippi (McComb) and North Carolina (Lumberton Nationals) on Monday afternoon. Daniel Oxendine’s three-run homer in the top of the 1st inning jumped Lumberton out to 3-0 lead. Mississippi rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Mississippi used three hits and two Lumberton fielding miscues to take a 6-3 lead. Mississippi added two more runs in the 3rd inning to take an 8-3 lead. Lumberton used a double by Daniel Oxendine, a single by Hunter Barfield, and a single by Nolan Locklear to put together a two-run 4th inning to cut Mississippi's lead to 8-5. Mississippi added one more run in the 4th inning to push their lead to 9-5. The teams traded runs in the 5th inning to move the game to a 10-6 score going into the last inning.

Lumberton went to work in the top of the 6th inning when Nolan Locklear walked and J.J. Oxendine singled. Alec Brewington reached base on a fielder’s choice. With two outs and runners on first base and third base, Gage Hardin hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 10-7. Hardin advanced to second base, while Brewington advanced to third base, when a Mississippi throw went into the dugout. Evan Odom was walked, but not before Mississippi threw a wild pitch on ball four to allow Brewington to score for Lumberton. Hardin advanced to third on the play. Odom stole second base on the next pitch. Hardin and Odom scored on another wild pitch that included a throwing error from the Mississippi catcher to the pitcher covering home plate. Mississippi was able to end the 6th inning without allowing any more Lumberton runs. With the scored tied 10-10 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Mississippi was able to use a single by Sanders Ott, followed by two passed balls, to score the winning run with two outs. With the loss, North Carolina (Lumberton) faces Georgia (Pike County) at 3:30 pm on Tuesday in the double-elimination tournament, while Mississippi plays Virginia (Charlotte County).

Lumberton's leading hitters were Daniel Oxendine 2 for 2 with a three-run homer and a double, Nolan Locklear 2 for 2 with an RBI, Austin Swiderski 1 for 3 with a double, Gage Hardin 2 for 3 with an RBI, and Raleigh Forrest 1 for 3.