CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Raider Nation packed up their swimsuits, beach towels, and baseball bats and headed to Charleston, South Carolina to watch a baseball tournament at the Southeast’s only waterfront baseball complex, Shipyard Park, on July 5-8. Why? To support the local Moore County Raiders 12 & Under team .
Lost to the Hawks on Wednesday 5-4
The Raiders narrowly lost to the Hawks Mid-Atlantic 12 & Under team 5-4 on opening day on the final play of the game. They were tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth when a Hawk drew a walk – scoring the winning run. Moore County led in that game until the fourth inning thanks to singles by Jace Deal, Lucas Preston, and Ryder Pilkington and a double by Caseon Casteel that gave Moore County two first inning run. The Hawks then scored on an error to make it 2-1 and then tied the score at 2-2 off a homerun.
Moore County recaptured the lead, 4-2, in the top of the fifth inning after Jace Deal walked – allowing Cody Burton to score off a passed ball as Deal ran in behind him. With two outs, a Hawk walked – scoring his teammate on third base to seal the win.
Ryder Pilkington lead for Moore County in that game with two hits followed by Jace Deal, Caseon Casteel, and Lucas Preston with one hit each.
Cool pitching and hot bats wins the next two days
The Raider big bats came to play on Thursday and Friday while lights out pitching sealed the deal.
They beat the Valley Venom thanks to five runs in the fourth inning on Thursday. In the bottom of the fourth, Cody Burton drew a walk – scoring one run. Then, Wyatt Byrom doubled – scoring two of his Columbia Blue teammates and Price Harden doubled, also scoring two runners, to put the game well out of reach. Harden led for Moore County with two hits followed by Ryland Stovall, and Byrom with a hit each. Jace Deal got the start and the win on the mound. He threw 70 pitches and 42 strikes.
On Friday, the 12 and Under Raiders blanked the Boys of Summer team by a final score of 12-0. They got on the board in the first inning when Caseon Casteel, Ryder Pilkington, and Lucas Preston singled and Bralynn Hill walked, each scoring one run. They then scored six runs on five hits in the bottom of the second inning. Jace Deal singled, scoring one run, then Ryland Stoval hit a homerun to right field to score two more. But the hits just kept coming. Austin Scherff singled and score two more run before Wyatt Burton closed out the second inning scoring by a drawing a walk to score a run. The Raiders scored two more runs in the third to seal the win.
Lucas Preston led against the Venom going 3-for-3 at bat followed by Price Harden, and Jace Deal with two hit each. Ryland Stoval, Caseon Casteel, Ryder Pilkington, Austin Scherff, and Nick Smith all added one hit each. Caseon Castell got the start and win for the Raiders. He pitched all three innings, throwing 42 pitches and 25 strikes.
Moore County ended their beach adventure on Saturday with a 9-3 loss to Bridge City 12 & Under. Price Harden led in that game with two hits. Lucas Preston, Ryder Pilkington, and Caseon Casteel added a hit each.
The Raiders left Charleston with a fourth place finish but by all account it was a memorable trip. They are coached by Chris Everette, Josh Deal, Lashonda Hill and Patrick Hill.•
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