LELAND - It was girls softball galore the past four days at Northwest Park as 11 teams from Columbus County made up a sizeable portion of the field in the District 9 Dixie Girls Softball Tournament.

The four-day event included play in four divisions with ages ranging from 6 through 15.

When the dust had cleared on Sunday, two teams from Columbus County had gained district championships and berths in state tournament. Another Columbus team grabbed a runnerup finish.

The East Columbus Dixie Belles (ages 13-15) defeated Burgaw 3-2 in eight innings in Sunday’s championship found to finish tournament play undefeated.

The South Columbus Dixie Darlings (ages 6-8) absorbed their first loss of the tournament Sunday to Burgaw by a 17-16 score, but came back later in the afternoon to defeat the Burgaw squad 14-7 for the title.

In the Angels (ages 9-10) division final, Central Columbus fell hard to Burgaw 25-1. It marked the first time that a team from Central Columbus had advanced to the finals of District 9 play.

In the only tournament final game not involving a Columbus County team, Burgaw took the Ponytails (ages 11-12) with an 8-1 decision over Leland.

“It’s been a good tournament,” said District 9 director Julie Strickland of Whiteville. “We had a lot of good crowds, and a lot of good, close games. We were fortunate to not have had any weather delays and got the tournament completed on schedule.”

Veteran East Columbus Dixie Belles head coach Darin Harrelson said that strong defense and timely bunting were the keys for his team’s victory in the championship game.

“Pender had the pitching,” Harrelson said. “We did what we had to as far as just putting the ball in play. All our girls bunt the ball well.”

The East Columbus squad relied on the steady pitching of Hope Bordeaux, Samantha Malpass, Erica Brewer and Kelsey Jacobs. Danielle Monroe, Shanita Hampton, Caitlyn Harrelson and Jacobs were leaders on offense. Shanna Cummings, Sierra Cummings, Emmy Malpass, Amber Mitchell and Samantha Myers also made big contributions in the tournament march to the title. Harrelson is assisted by Tom Monroe and Kimberly Patrick.

“We made only four errors in the entire tournament, and for this level of play, that is outstanding.”

East Columbus had opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Burgaw before defeating South Columbus 12-0 and Brunswick West 12-2 to gain the championship round.
South Columbus coaches Stephen Suggs and Chad Turbeville got their heads shaved after their Darling team came back to beat Burgaw in the championship round.

“Losing like we did today may have helped us some,” Coach Suggs said. “It kind of got them refocused on what we have to do. They are a good, hard-working group and they love to play.

Courtnee Faulk, Taylor Turbevlle, Kourtney Grainger, Lindsey Jones. Autumn Anderson, Sadryne Jacobs. Katlyn Pridgen, Hailey Sarvis, Madison Spencer, Alexis Suggs and Brianna Wright comprise the South Columbus Darling team. Wendy Suggs and Natalie Grainger are other coaches for the team.

The South Columbus Darling team had advanced to the championship round with wins of 17-7 over Burgaw, 14-13 over East Columbus, and 26-6 over Central Columbus.

The Central Columbus Angel team had opened the tournament with a 15-5 win over Shallotte before falling to East Columbus 17-7 in the second round. Central Columbus bounced back to take a 2-0 win over East Columbus and advance to the championship round.

Members of the Central Columbus team were Elliyah Bell, Sabra Bell, Julie Canady, Madison Creech, Haley Hardwick, Summer Hinson, Lorna Jackson, Charis Kasitati, Morgan McKeithan, Amber Ransom and Erica Vereen. The team was coached by Kevin McKeithan, Harry Hinson and Regina Hinson.

Tournament sportsmanship award winners were
The South Columbus Darlings and East Columbus Belles will advance to state tournament play, which is set for June 29-July 5 at Shallotte.

The Columbus County Dixie Deb (ages 16-18) All-Stars have an automatic berth in state tournament play.

The South Columbus Darling team had advanced to the championship round with wins of 17-7 over Burgaw, 14-13 over East Columbus, and 26-6 over Central Columbus

The Central Columbus Angel team had opened the tournament with a 15-5 win over Shallotte before falling to East Columbus 17-7 in the second round. Central Columbus bounced back to take a 2-0 win over East Columbus and advance to the championship round.

Members of the Central Columbus team were Elliyah Bell, Sabra Bell, Julie Canady, Madison Creech, Haley Hardwick, Summer Hinson, Lorna Jackson, Charis Kasitati, Morgan McKeithan, Amber Ransom and Erica Vereen. The team was coached by Kevin McKeithan, Harry Hinson and Regina Hinson.

Tournament sportsmanship award winners were
The South Columbus Darlings and East Columbus Belles will advance to state tournament play, which is set for June 29-July 5 at Shallotte.

The Columbus County Dixie Deb (ages 16-18) All-Stars have an automatic berth in state tournament play.