Bluffton team advances to Dixie Youth State Championship

The Bluffton Youth Sports Dixie Angels All Stars defeated Colleton County 18-3 in the final game of three to advance to the Dixie Youth State Championship, which will be held July 8-12 in Dillon.

Behind strong pitching by No. 17 Addison Roppelt and an offensive explosion led by No. 8 Reagan Kelly’s clutch two-run home run, the Bluffton All Stars cruised to victory in the rubber game.

After winning the first game 15-2 with great defensive performances by No. 6 Kayden Smith and No. 5 Bethany Carlson and timely hitting by No. 11 Shaina Lugo, the Bluffton All Stars, or “Beasts” as they prefer to be called, dropped a heartbreaker in the second game 11-7.

They responded in the third game by putting up eight runs in the first inning and never looked back, batting .670 as a team for the game. Roppelt had six strikeouts in three innings pitched in the Mercy Rule-shortened game.

This story was originally published June 25, 2017 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Bluffton team advances to Dixie Youth State Championship."