If you saw some new faces around Goochland this past weekend, they may have been those of players, family members or fans who traveled to the county for Dixie Baseball’s 2008 Va. State Tournament, hosted by the Goochland Youth Athletic Association.

  The event featured district-winning teams from Amelia, Buckingham, Carroll, Franklin, Mecklenburg, Pulaski, Smyth, Timberlake and host Goochland. Competition included brackets in the Boy’s (13-14 year old), Pre-majors (15-16), and Majors (15-19) divisions.

  The teams came to battle for the right to advance to the Dixie World Series in Dyersburg, Tennessee on July 26. 

  The Goochland Bulldogs Pre-Major squad took a big step toward that goal in Saturday night’s opening round game with Halifax-South Boston. A crowd of about two hundred watched along the baselines and bleachers at the old high school grounds on Sandy Hook Road while 90-degree heat gave way to a pleasant breeze as the sun dipped down below the trees.

  A coin flip determined the home team and after the toss Goochland found themselves in the visitors’ dugout.

  A leadoff walk by Halifax pitcher Luke Griles put the Bulldogs’ Kevin Carroll on base. Following several close pick-off attempts, a balk charged to Griles put Carroll in scoring position at second. Austin Jordan’s hit to third resulted in a wild throw over the first baseman’s head, scoring Carroll for a 1-0 Goochland lead.

  Halifax countered in the bottom of the first. After Dale Trent followed his leadoff single with an uncontested steal of second base, Scott Rickman drove Goochland pitcher Kevin Carroll’s 1-1 offering into the stands at center field for a 2-1 lead. But Carroll bounced back to retire the next two batters on fly balls to end the inning. 
  After Griles struck out the Bulldogs in the top of the second, SoBo mounted a scoring threat when Markee Brooks singled to deep right, then attempted to steal second. The attempted pick-off throw sailed into center field, but Brooks hesitated before taking off and Lonnie Johnson’s laser throw from center resulted in a great defensive play at third to stem the attack.

  After Goochland went down in order to open the third, Carroll found himself in a two-out, bases-loaded jam, but fanned SoBo’s Tyler Hoy to end the inning.

  A fourth-inning walk by Matt Henley coupled with SoBo’s drop of a Kyle Tourmey center field popper primed the Bulldogs’ offense, putting two runners in scoring position with just one out. Alec Moore drove the first pitch he saw to center for an RBI double, then J.T. Poff smacked Griles’ next offering deep to left, scoring Tourmey and Moore for a 4-2 Bulldogs’ lead. 

  But Goochland found that lead threatened when SoBo mounted a charge with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Rickman reached on a single and was lifted for speedster Aaron Mitchell, who stole second moments later. Griles popped to right field and took second on a dropped ball, advancing Mitchell to third. Hoy took a walk to load the bases, prompting coach Mike Carroll’s visit to the mound to check on his pitcher. The Bulldogs found some relief when Brooks fanned on Carroll’s 2-2 pitch for the second out. 

  Halifax made a switch for power, sending slugger Darrell Davis to the plate. His drive of Carroll’s fastball deep into the night raised some eyebrows but hooked foul left. Davis then popped a full-count pitch several hundred feet straight up and Carroll gloved it to put out the SoBo fire.

  The Bulldogs lit a fire of their own in the sixth. Henley bunted his way to first, stole second and then took third on a wild pitch. Davis walked Moore to put runners at the corners. Moore stole second and then gained third on a wild pick-off throw that flew into center field, scoring Henley for a 5-2 Goochland lead. Next up, Poff took Davis to a full count and then walked on the 3-2 pitch, initiating a trip to the mound for SoBo coach Dwayne Griles.

  A scary moment occurred on the next pitch when Davis drilled Zack Jones in the mid-section as he attempted to bunt, leaving him in a heap at the plate. Jones limped back to the dugout after several minutes, giving way to a pinch runner that loaded the bases with one out.

  Excitement built as Carroll ran the count full before whiffing for the second out. Scottie Ragland took the plate and dug in. He drove a 1-1 pitch directly down the third base line, scoring Moore and Poff for a 7-2 lead and retiring Davis in favor of reliever Josh Hudson. Lonnie Johnson connected with Hudson’s first pitch and legged out a two RBI single that scored Ragland and Jones. SoBo finally stopped the bleeding when Jordan’s ground out retired the side.

  Halifax threatened in the bottom of the sixth, manufacturing three runs combined off of Carroll and reliever Johnson. After some initial jitters, Johnson settled in and put the brakes on SoBo’s momentum, closing out the sixth and seventh innings.

  Goochland’s 9-5 victory was a sweet result considering the Bulldogs’ relatively slow start.

  “The pitching for both teams was excellent,” said Coach Carroll. “The starter for the other team threw strikes with an off-speed fastball that had us swinging out in front of it – kind of had us handcuffed for a little bit. This South Boston team is probably going to be the class of the tournament. They’re a well-disciplined, well-coached team.”

  On this night they met their match in the Goochland Bulldogs.
  On Sunday afternoon Goochland defeated Franklin 10-0 to advance to the quarterfinal round of the winner’s bracket. 

  In a Monday night game, Goochland beat Carroll 5-2 that set up a rematch with Halifax in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.

  Results of the game were not available at press time.