KENANSVILLE – Raymond Autry pitched a 2-hitter and struck out 10 batters to lead Elizabethtown to an 11-1 victory over Whiteville Wednesday night in the North Carolina Dixie Youth Baseball Majors State Tournament.
Elizabethtown advances to their bracket championship game against District 9 foe West Robeson National Thursday night at 6:30. The winner advances to the State Championship Series against Southport-Oak Island.
Autry walked 3 and allowed only one unearned run.
After two scoreless innings, Elizabethtown took a 2-0 lead in the home half of the third. Ayden Piland reached base on an error, and Victor Campbell swatted a single. Mahki Cromartie laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Piland, and Chase Starkloff knocked in Campbell with a single.
Whiteville closed the gap to 2-1, before the winners broke the game open with 8 runs in the bottom of the fourth. Freddy Wooten slammed a double to start the inning, and Ty Mathis belted a single that scored Wooten.
Tyler Hill reached base on an error, and Coleman Tatum walloped a 3-run homer over the rightfield fence. Piland made it back-to-back round-trippers by slugging a home run over the left-centerfield fence.
Garrett Melvin smashed a double before Evan Pait blasted a 2-run homer to centerfield. Wooten hammered a triple, and Autry drove him in to push the margin to 10-1.
Coleman Tatum clobbered his second home run of the game over the left-centerfield fence leading off the fifth inning to end the game on the mercy rule.
Wooten batted 2-2 with a double, a triple and 2 runs scored. Coleman Tatum finished 2-3 at the plate with the two home runs, 4 runs batted in and 2 runs scored. Melvin was 2-3 with a double and a run scored.
Piland pounded the 2-run homer and scored twice, and Pait drilled his 2-run homer and scored a run. Mathis, Starkloff, Campbell, Autry and Hill added one hit each.
Autry, Mathis, Cromartie and Starkloff drove in one run each. Campbell, Hill and Mathis scored runs.
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