After a first round loss to Chesterfield, Jefferson fought their way back to win six games and claim the 2015 District 5 championship. On the 8th day of the tournament, they were faced with having to beat an undefeated Cheraw team twice and they were up for the challenge.
Cheraw's pitching had been dominant all tournament and they saw no real decline in game one on Friday. However, it was the outstanding pitching of Jefferson's Jamie Parks that stole the show. Parks pitched a complete game shutout for the 4-0 win.
In the winner-take-all second game, Jefferson's bats, which had put up 33, 22, 18 and 16 in their four wins prior to Friday, came alive. Parks, game one's star on the mound, launched the game's final pitch into orbit for a 2-run blast. Jefferson won 14-3 in 5 innings.
Congratulations to Jefferson on winning the tournament championship and advancing to the state tournament in Union.
Also, we'd like to congratulate Cheraw on an outstanding showing in the district tournament. Prior to the final game, Cheraw's pitchers gave up 9 runs over 5 games.
Hartsville National would like to thank everyone who was involved in the tournament, including our umpires. The grounds crew at Byerly did a great job preparing the fields, especially during the wet weather we had during the tournament. The concession stand attendants met every order with a smile. The scorekeepers and park attendants also helped out tremendously in making this a successful tournament. Is anybody surprised that the umpires were the only ones willing to pose for a picture?