Dillon’s 15U Dixie Belles traveled to South Hill, Virginia, this weekend for the 2011 Dixie Softball Belles World Series to compete against teams from across the Southeast.

The banquet and opening ceremonies of the series were held on Friday, July 29, at the North Bend Park Amphitheater at Kerr Lake in Boydton, Virginia.

The preceding entertainment was provided by Upper Level Band of South Boston, Virginia, and got several Dillon players up on their feet doing the Electric Slide. Afterwards, the opening ceremony address was delivered by Obie Evans, President of Dixie Softball, Inc., and each player and coach was introduced to the crowd.

On Saturday, things got underway early as South Carolina and took on Georgia’s Baldwin County at 10:00 a.m. in the first game of the series.

This year’s Belles World Series is dedicated in memory of Jessica Gail Wood, of Magee, Mississippi, who died in a car accident on July 3, just before the Mississippi state tournament. In her memory, her teammate and parents were on hand to throw out the first pitch of the series.

Georgia proved to be a tough opponent for the Dillon Belles, who were shut out 3-0 to send them to the losers bracket.

Saturday’s games also saw Virginia defeated Tennessee 14-4; Louisiana shut out Florida 12-0; South Hill, Virginia, defeated Mississippi 3-2; and Alabama defeated Texas 5-4.

Sunday’s games were all rained out, so the remaining games were rescheduled for Monday. In Monday’s earlier games, Texas eliminated Mississippi 7-4 in the losers bracket and Georgia defeated North Carolina 8-4 in the winners bracket.

Dillon took on McEwen, Tennessee at noon on Monday and came away with an 11-1 win to keep them alive in the series. They were scheduled to move on to face Denison, Texas, on Monday evening at 8:30 p.m.

The 2011 Dixie Softball Angels World Series is also underway in South Hill, Virginia, with South Carolina being represented by Hartsville’s Angels.

On Saturday, Hartsville defeated Arkansas 13-2 in the first round of the series. On Monday, they were scheduled to take on Tennessee at 3:00 p.m. in round two.

Look for updates under our online Sports section at thedillonherald.com and in Thursday’s issue of THE DILLON HERALD!

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(Photos by Sandra McMillan. See more photos from Saturday’s game in Tuesday’s issue of THE DILLON HERALD and look for more coverage of the World Series in Thursday’s issue.)