BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Diamond Dawgs and Legends went head-to-head in the Martin County Coach Pitch tournament. In double elimination, the Legends emerged from the loser’s bracket to defeat the Dawgs Friday 8-7.
The Diamond Dawgs recovered in the championship game, winning by a score of 10-3 over the Legends on Saturday.
The following is a recap of last week’s tournament action:
Legends vs. Diamond Dawgs Friday
A late rally for the Dawgs wasn’t enough as the Legends came away with the 8-7 win to set up a Saturday championship showdown.
Jon Hinkle, Elijah Mollette, and Jackson Ray scored two runs apiece for the Legends in the first two innings. Zander Tackett and Jace Howell belted in one run each.
Braxton Slone singled the first hit for the Dawgs. With Slone on base, Waylon Porter smoked an in-the-park homerun.
Willie Porter cruised into home to pull the Dawgs within reach 8-3.
Jaylan Wright and Willie tacked two more on the board for the Diamond Dawgs in the fifth inning.
Eli Adkins and Slone put No. 6 and No. 7 on the scoresheet.
Despite holding the Legends scoreless for four innings, the Dawgs left two on base and struck out to close out the game for a Legends win.
The Legends amassed 17 hits and the Dawgs racked up 16.
Diamond Dawgs vs. Legends championship
A hot start and four runs in the first inning helped lead the Diamond Dawgs to a championship title.
Luke Howell went 3-3 at-bat to lead the Dawgs.
Jon Hinkle and Zander Tackett started the Legends off with two runs in the big game.
Braxton Slone, Howell, Waylon Porter, and Jaylan Wright answered with four runs.
Finley Goforth and Uriah Ray extended the lead to 6-2 on in-the-parkers.
Slone, Howell, and Porter racked up three more runs.
Tackett put one more on the board for the Legends.
Despite hits from Hunter Bowen, Jace Howell, Parker Fletcher and Jaxson Maynard, the Legends couldn’t convert and fell to the Dawgs 10-3.
Diamond Dawgs vs. Tigers
It came down to the wire Thursday, as the Diamond Dawgs grabbed the victory in walk-off fashion in extended innings 14-13 over the Tigers.
The Diamond Dawgs tied the game in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a double by Braxton Slone, a single by Luke Howell, and an inside-the-park homerun by Waylon Porter.
A single by Rayden Baisden gave the Tigers a 12-11 lead in the top of the sixth.
The Diamond Dawgs turned two double plays in the game.
The first was made by Willie Porter when he caught a pop-up at pitcher and threw to Waylon Porter at first for the out.
The Diamond Dawgs tied the game at 12 on a Uriah Ray single that saw Rylie Parks score in the bottom of the sixth.
The Tigers regained the lead 13-12 in the top of the eighth.
Finley Goforth caught a line drive hit to second and tagged the runner on second for a double play, bringing the Dawgs back out to bat.
Goforth singled on a ground ball to reach first. Cruz Cline advanced him to second after a single up the middle.
Ray sent a heater out to the second baseman that scored Goforth to tie the game.
With Cruz on second, Adkins stepped in the box.
He belted a double to center field and Cline sprinted into home for the winning run.
The Diamond Dawgs racked up 30 hits in the game.
Rylie Parks and Waylon Porter each collected four hits for the Diamond Dawgs. Porter drove in five runners.
The Tigers tallied 22 hits in the game. Ezra Bowens went 2-for-3 at the plate and led the team with four runs batted in.
Wildcats vs. Legends
A big first inning for the Wildcats propelled them to an 11-6 win over the Legends.
Zander Tackett scored the lone run for the Legends in the top of the inning.
Mason Mollette started things off with a triple for the Wildcats. Tyler Allen, Jaxston Moore, and Arianna Guthrie each racked up a single. All three made their way around on errors to reach home.
Ayden Allen and Kinsley Johnson both crossed home to end the bottom of the first.
Brian Burke hit a rocket for a double and reached home after Mollette and Allen singled. Gracie Whitt put another run on the board for the Cats.
Guthrie added another run to extend the lead to 8-1.
Jon Hinkle tacked on two runs for the Legends in the third and fourth innings. Jace Howell beaned a two-bagger and scored on errors for an 8-4 score.
The Wildcats extended their lead when Mollette, Allen and Moore singled. Guthrie ran across home for the 11th run.
Hinkle had an in-the-park homerun in the final stanza. Tackett doubled and Elijah Mollette singled. Jackson Ray put No. 6 on the board.
Waylon Ray and Hunter Bowen managed hits but were unable to make it home giving the Wildcats the win.
Legends vs. Blue Jays
The Blue Jays entered the fifth inning with a 7-3 lead over the Legends.
Five runs in the final two innings and a Jackson Ray walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth completed the comeback for the Legends 8-7.
Wesley Gilkey, Cole Spence, Easton Smith, and Finn Osborne each crossed home in the first inning for the Blue Jays. Gilkey put another run on the board in the second.
The Legends managed a run from Jon Hinkle in the first inning.
Osborne and Dash Vanhoose extended the lead 7-1.
Hinkle and Zander Tackett knocked away at the lead slowly with another two runs in the third inning.
Those two along with Elijah Mollette brought the Legends back into the game when all three scored in the bottom of the fifth.
Down one run to start the bottom of the final inning, Hinkle stepped up to the plate and refused to lose. He sent a rocket to the outfield and scored an in-the-park homerun to tie the game.
Tackett and Mollette continued their hot streak, and both belted out singles.
Big hitter Ray stepped in the batter’s box with two runners on in a tie game.
Facing his last pitch, he smashed a single and Tackett crossed home plate for the winning run.
