DIBBLE — The Latta Panthers leaned on their lone senior Saturday during the finals of the Dibble Baseball Tournament.
Darien Miller hit a clutch two-out, two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a tie and help the Panthers knock off host Dibble 6-4 to claim the tournament title.
Coach Dillon Atkinson’s club, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A-1, has now won seven of its past eight games to improve to 11-3 on the year. No. 8 Dibble lost for the first time this spring, falling to 12-1.
The Vanoss Wolves split a pair of games Friday in Dibble — defeating Frederick 7-2 before being blanked by Ardmore 10-0.
Latta traveled to Stonewall Monday and is scheduled to visit Calera today. Vanoss (6-10) — No. 16 in Class 2A-2 — was at Coalgate Monday and will host Dibble today.
Latta 6, Dibble 4
Dibble’s high-powered offense had been averaging over 12 runs per game over its last eight contests but Latta pitchers Ryder Perry and Brock Brittain kept the Demons off balance for the most part.
Perry struck out three, walked one and allowed three earned runs in the start for Latta and Brittain struck out four, walked three and allowed two hits and no runs over the final five innings.
Carter Freeze got Latta started in the bottom of the fourth when he was hit by a pitch, and Kaiden Goolsby then walked. Landon Fortner hit a single to center field and Freeze tried to score on the play but was thrown out at home.
Goolsby and courtesy runner Blaine Whiten moved to second and third on a passed ball before scoring on Miller’s base hit.
Latta collected nine hits in the game, led by Miller who finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Fortner went 3-for-4 and Perry ripped a two-out, RBI triple to right field in the bottom of the third inning that tied the game at 4-4.
Goolsby ended up 1-for-3 with a walk, an RHBI and two runs scored for the Panthers from the top of the batting order. Jonah Boyington had a hit, walked and scored a run for Latta. Whiten scored a pair of runs.
Dibble’s Austin Maddox hit a two-run homer in the top of the second inning which tied the game at 3-3. Blake Creswell paced the Demons at the plate with a 3-for-4 effort.
Maddox was the losing pitcher for Dibble. He struck out six, walked three and allowed four earned runs in five innings.
Vanoss 7, Frederick 2
The Wolves scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning to take an early 5-1 lead. Pitcher Kanon Bradley allowed just one Frederick run over the last five frames. He struck out seven, walked five and didn’t allow an earned run in six solid innings of work.
Cole Reeder paced the Vanoss offense, going 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs. Caleb Treat finished 1-for-1 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored for the Wolves and Bryson Braudaway had a base hit and scored a run.
Quenton Jackson walked three times and scored a run for Vanoss.
Grady Hillburn had two of three Frederick hits. He went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Dalton Wells absorbed the pitching loss for the Bombers (5-4). He struck out six and walked six in five innings.
Ardmore 10, Vanoss 0
Ardmore scored 10 runs through three innings despite getting only two hits. The Tigers were able to take advantage of five Vanoss errors that led to seven unearned runs.
Chenoah Joe finished 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored for Ardmore and Tristan Rienicker went 1-for-2 with a walk and three runs scored.
Vanoss finished with just three total hits. Cole Reeder finished 2-for-2 and Hershel Sanders had the other VHS hit.
Quenton Jackson was the losing pitcher for the Wolves. He struck out one and walked five in three innings. Blake Coronado picked up the win for the Tigers. He struck out five and walked one in four shutout innings.
