The Sandhills Lightning 13-and-under baseball team won the North Carolina 13-U AAA state championship in Greensboro on June 14. Included on the team are Hayden Buffkin, Jonathan Bowling, Walker Davis and and Grant English, all of Scotland County. Team members are: front; Matt Epley, Tristan Helms, Dalton Bullard, Hayden Buffkin and Tim Carter. Middle: Jonathan Bowling, Walker Davis, Jackson Maples, Chris Dejak, Austin Embler and Grant English. Back: Barry Embler, Dean English, Mike Bullard and Berry Epley.
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The Sandhills Lightning won the 13-U AAA state championship tournament in Greensboro on June 13-14.
The traveling USSSA team includes Hayden Buffkin, Jonathan Bowling, Walker Davis and Grant English, all from Scotland County.
The Lightning opened the tournament against the Piedmont Prowlers and took a 13-5 victory. Tristan Helms and Dalton Bullard had RBI doubles, and Tim Carter hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Carter would add another two-run homer, Austin Embler went 3-for-4 and Bowling and Davis both had RBI singles.
The Lightning lost 9-1 to the Diamond Dawgs of Star in their second game. Hayden Buffkin hit a solo home run to provide Sandhills its only run.
The Lightning faced the Piedmont Prowlers again on Sunday to begin tournament play. Sandhills took a 4-3 victory, and the team was led by offensively by Buffkin, who allowed just three hits in six innings to get the win.
Sandhills took an 8-0 win over the Carolina Lumberjacks in the semifinals, and a 5-3 victory over the Richmond Rockies in the championship game. Buffkin led the way in the title game, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and an RBI single.
Helms and Maples were both 3-for-3, and Bowling went 2-for-3 with a double. Helms went the distance, striking out 10 to get the win.
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