LUMBERTON — For the first three innings of its first-round matchup against Georgia in the Dixie Youth Majors World Series on Saturday, the Lumberton Majors team seemed out of place.
Butch Campbell’s team surrendered the first 10 runs of the game in that span, putting the host team in an early hole against a pitching staff that was hitting its spots.
They weren’t going down without a fight.
Kaden Revels knocked an RBI triple to bring in the first of four runs for Lumberton in the bottom of the fourth inning, a rally that fell short as Georgia went on to win 16-4 at the Ray Pennington Athletic Complex.
“I saw a lot of potential on both sides,” Campbell said. “Georgia came out and capitalized on hitting the ball. They hit the ball better than we did. We made a few fielding errors. Georgia is a really good ball club. They came to play.”
Georgia rattled Lumberton starter Chatler Maynor with four runs in the first inning before Tra’Von Moore took over with two outs in the frame. Georgia took advantage of a pair of wild pitches to add on two more runs before the end of the inning.
Defensive mistakes continued to haunt Lumberton in the second inning as another wild pitch and a throwing error on a toss to first base resulted in two more runs for Georgia.
With Georgia ahead 8-0 in the third inning, John Durden hit an RBI infield single with the bases loaded to increase Lumberton’s deficit. Drew Carter drew a walk with the bases still loaded to plate Georgia’s 10th run of the night.
After Revels drove in Lumberton’s first run of the game in the fourth inning, Austin Thorndyke registered a walk with the bases loaded to bring in another one. A passed ball in the same inning allowed two more runs to score for Lumberton.
Georgia rallied to score five runs in the sixth inning after Carter crossed the plate in the fifth inning. A double by Carson Everett helped fuel the late run.
Eight different players accounted for at least one run apiece for Georgia.
Carter, starting pitcher Samuel Smith and Baylor Parker each had three runs.
Smith, Cam Beasley and Durden combined to throw 10 strikeouts on the mound for Georgia.
“We played a solid ballgame,” Georgia coach Clint Smith said. “We started fast and got a little lull, gave up four runs in an inning. You’ve got to give Lumberton credit. They battled. They hit late in the game and we had to pull away from them.
Revels went 2-for-3 with a run scored while Thorndyke drew two walks and scored a run of his own for Lumberton.
“Our guys are normally comeback guys,” Campbell said. “We just couldn’t get on the ball like we needed to. It just wasn’t our night.”
In other Majors action, South Carolina defeated Tennessee 7-2. Mississippi slipped past Alabama 14-12 in seven innings. North Carolina defeated Texas 19-0 in four innings. Florida topped Arkansas 10-0. Louisiana’s game against Virginia did not end before press time.
