SOUTHPORT - The Columbus South All-Stars rolled up wins in the first two rounds of play of the North Carolina Dixie Boys Baseball Tournament at Smithville District Park.

Columbus South took a 6-2 win over Bladen County in the opening round before romping past Franklin County 9-2

The Columbus East opened the tournament on Saturday with a 9-8 win over East Lincoln, but fell to Duplin County 9-3 in Sunday’s round.

Columbus South will got against host Brunswick County today at 5 p.m., in a winner’s bracket game.

Grayson Bullock was the winning pitcher in the victory over Bladen County and Jeremy Bullock took the mound win against Franklin County.

Cory Sykes pounded a home run in Saturday’s win and Lester Frink and Justin Godwin have each turned in a 4-for-4 hitting effort.

“It’s been a good team effort so far,” said Columbus South coach Nelson Lee. “The best thing you can say about this team is that they play very well together.”

Columbus East has a bye in today’s third round of play following Sunday’s loss.
Houston Barnes was the winning pitcher for Columbus East in Saturday’s game while Andrew Scott picked up the save.

Leading hitters in the first two games have been Darrell Boswell, Ty Freeman, Alex Watts, Austin Pittman, Matt Merritt and Andrew Scott.

“We just couldn’t move our runners around (against Duplin County),” said Columbus East coach Darrell Boswell. “Both teams had six hits, but Duplin County came out with the most runs.

“We’ll have to be much more consistent in order to stay alive in this tournament.
The winner of the 14-team double-elimination tournament will advance to the 2007 Dixie Boys World Series, Aug. 4-9 at Aiken, S.C.