The Dillon Wildcats cruised to a 27-2 win over Kingstree in the first round of the Class 2A district playoffs and battled Region 8-A foe Aynor to a 6-2 win on Saturday to advance to the District VIII championship.

On Thursday, Dillon hosted Kingstree for a 27-2 win in five innings. Kingstree scored their only two runs in the top of the first inning, while Dillon took a 10-2 lead in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats added eight in the second and three in the third, and capped the win with six runs in the fourth.

Omar McCollum earned the win on the mound for Dillon, pitching two innings for three walks, two earned runs, and four outs. Kingstree’s McClary took the loss, pitching three innings for 14 hits, 11 runs, 11 earned runs, three walks, and four outs.

At bat for the Wildcats, Weston Bailey went 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBI; Austin Moody went 5-for-5 with five RBI; and Ryan Rouse went 2-for-2 with three RBI. The Wildcats had 29 hits in the win.

Kingstree’s Alston led the Jaguars at bat with their only hit, going 1-for-2 for two RBI.

On Saturday, the Wildcats hosted Aynor and took a 6-2 win over the Blue Jackets. The Wildcats scored four in the bottom of the second and one in the third for a 5-0 lead. Aynor picked up two runners in the top of the fourth, but the Wildcats held them off the rest of the way and added one run in the sixth to seal the win.

Weston Bailey earned the win on the mound for Dillon, pitching 3.6 innings for one walk and five outs. Duncan Callahan started on the mound for the Wildcats. Aynor’s Woodle took the loss, pitching six innings for 12 hits, six earned runs, one walk, and four outs.

At bat for Dillon, Jarvis Graves went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI; Patrick Herring went 2-for-3 with one RBI; and Austin Moody went 2-for-2 with one RBI. The Wildcats had 12 hits in the win.

At bat for Aynor, Ward went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. The Blue Jackets had seven hits in the effort.

Dillon improved to 17-1 overall as they advanced to the District VIII championship.

In Saturday’s elimination bracket, Timberland defeated Kingstree 17-1 to stay alive in the playoffs. Aynor was scheduled to host Timberland on Monday night with the winner advancing to the championship to face Dillon at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Photos by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD. Click the images below to view at full size!