2007 Dixie Boys Baseball World Series- Day 2

Welcome to the second day of the 2007 Dixie Boys Baseball World Series.

Tonight is the battle of South Carolina as Aiken, the host team, takes on Union, the South Carolina state champs. We're just now underway with Union as the home team.

Here's a pregame observation: Obviously, the parking lot is filled with team spirit. Window paint and shoe polish cover a large portion of the minivan windows out there with the usual "World Series Bound" and "Go State Champs" messages.

I'd have to give the winner of the most detailed vehicle decor to one zealous fan from Louisiana. Not only did this particular vehicle have the encouraging messages, it also had a full portrait of the state of Louisiana itself.  Louisiana isn't exactly an easy state to draw. We're not talking the typical box shape like Colorado or Wyoming. No, this is Lousiana with a winding coastline almost like a frayed knot. Let's just say this Louisiana fan didn't cut corners. That's true team spirit.

After the top of the first inning it's obvious Aiken isn't going to have a 20-0 win like it did last night. Aiken's Brandon Poole walked, but he was the only base runner. Union's coming to bat.

Bottom of the first: Aiken 0, Union 0

Aiken pitcher Ben Donath is at it again with his nasty curve. He struck out the side for the third time in three innings this tournament.

Top of the second: Aiken 0, Union 0

Here are the scores from the losers' bracket action earlier today:

Alabama 7, Arkansas 6.

Virginia 17, Texas 2.

Florida 17, Louisiana 3.

The winners live another day. The losers have been eliminated.

Aiken put another runner on in the top of the second, but that was it. This game's living up to its hype so far. We've got two good, well-coached teams going at it. South Carolina pride is on the line.

Bottom of the second: Aiken 0, Union 0

Neither pitcher has given up a hit so far. Donath struck out the side in the first while Union's Keiston Stevens has only given up a pair of walks in two innings of work. A couple of runs might be enough to win this game if the trend holds.

Aiken second baseman Bren Wilson just showed some nice range by moving to his right to track down a grounder off the bat of Stevens. Most kids at this age would have tried to backhand that ball. Wilson was quick enough to get in front of it.

Donath picked up his fourth strike out of the game, and Aiken's Grayson Smith had an adventure tracking the ball down in centerfield but the inning is over with no damage done.

Top of the third: Aiken 0, Union 0

The other local team in this tournament is Columbia County, representing the state of Georgia. The boys from across the Savannah River are trailing right now 2-0 in the second inning. I'm told errors have hurt them in the early part of the game.

Aiken's Grayson Smith just broke up the no-hitter with a double to the gap in right-center field. Bryce Clifton followed with an infield hit, and we've got our first scoring opportunity of the game. Runners at the corners with one out.

Union's Taylun Wallace just gave his team a huge momentum boost. The shortstop scooped up a ball near second base, tagged the bag and fired to first for an inning-ending double play. Aiken's first opportunity to put some runs on the board is gone.

Bottom of the third: Aiken 0, Union 0

Here come the Union boys with a scoring opportunity of their own. Deion Smith led off the inning with a walk, and Darrius Beacham followed with a single to left field. Runners at first and second with no outs. 

Union's No. 9 hitter, Jacob Freenman, put the South Carolina state champs on the board first. He poked a single through the right side of the infield to score Deion Smith for a 1-0 lead. Union's still batting with runners at the corners and no outs.

Team Georgia update: The Columbia County boys are heading to the top of the third still trailing Mississippi 2-0.

Back to the Aiken boys, Union has loaded the bases after Josh Armstrong took ball four. Still no outs, and we're one swing away from this getting ugly for the hometown boys.

No swing needed. Donath walked Union's Adam Lawson to bring a run home.

After a force out at home, Union's Keiston Stevens hit a grounder that found its way into left field for a two-run single. Duckett reached third, but then trotted home after Aiken catcher Cody Heath fired the ball into left field on a botched throw to third. Union's up 5-0 and still batting with one out.

Another error, another run for Union. Aiken third baseman Michael Fekete, who made a nice play earlier in the inning on a force out at home, threw the ball over his first baseman's head for an error. The South Carolina state champs are now up 6-0, and Aiken pitcher Ben Donath has been replaced by Caleb Smith.

Smith balked in another run. Union is still batting with one out, and the inning can't end soon enough for Aiken.

Things aren't looking that great for Team Georgia either. The Columbia County boys are getting no-hit through three innings. They still trail Mississippi 2-0.

The gloom is as thick as the humidity here at Citizens Park for the two local teams. But as they say in the recreation baseball world, "It ain't over 'til you get a fudge round and a juice box."

We've got another pitching change for Aiken. Smith is out and Andrew Faulkner is in.

In other Dixie Boys Baseball action (there's a transition worthy of a professional writer), North Carolina is on top of Tennessee 6-0 in the third inning. Georgia finally got a hit off Mississippi thanks to Columbia County's Michael Taylor, but they're still losing 2-0 in the fourth inning.

Aiken's finally out of the inning. Union baserunner Deion Smith got caught in a pickle between third and home and was gunned down at the plate. Darrius Beacham followed with a line out to shortstop Brandon Poole to end the seven-run, three-hit inning.

Top of the fourth: Union 7, Aiken 0

Tennessee just put two runs across the plate on field No. 7. They still trail North Carolina 6-2 in the third inning.

Union pitcher Keiston Stevens looks unhittable at this point. He just struck out the side to end the inning. He's now at four inning pitched with five strike outs and only two hits.

Bottom of the fourth: Union 7, Aiken 0

Union's at it again. After a leadoff strikeout, Josh Armstrong reached on a single to left field. Union's Adam Lawson skied one to left-centerfield, and it fell in between two Aiken fielders to score Armstrong. Lawson scored one batter later on an error. Union leads 9-0, still batting, with one out in the fourth inning.

Good news for Columbia County fans: Georgia has cut the Mississippi lead in half with a run on a walk and an error. They're losing 2-1 in the sixth.

A ground out and a pop out ended Union's half of the inning.

Top of the fifth: Union 9, Aiken 0

Union starter Keiston Stevens is out and Kendrick Byrd is in. Aiken's Cody Heath led off the inning with a single, but we've had two outs since then.

Grayson Smith struck out, and the top half of the inning is over. Get the juice boxes ready.

Bottom of the fifth: Union 9, Aiken 0

New life for Team Georgia. It's all tied at 2-2 after Taylor Camp bunted in Justin Cofer in the sixth. Columbia County is still batting.

North Carolina is beating Tennessee 8-2 in the fourth inning.

Matthew Polk is now on the mound for Aiken. He struck out the first two batters, gave up a single and got leadoff man Josh Armstrong to pop out to end the inning.

Top of the sixth: Union 9, Aiken 0

Columbia County has once again given up the lead, this time on a double by Mississippi's Wade Robertson in the sixth inning. Mississippi leads 3-2 over Georgia, and they're still batting with no outs and a runner on second.

Aiken went 1-2-walk-3 in the top of the sixth inning. They've got only one more trip to the plate as a team before this one's over.

Bottom of the sixth: Union 9, Aiken 0

North Carolina has just about wrapped things up against Tennessee. They're leading 11-2 in the fifth.

Georgia now trails Mississippi 5-3 in the top of the seventh.

Union's Jarrod Cheek crushed the ball over the fence in dead centerfield for a walk-off home run. The mercy rule is in effect and Union beat Aiken 12-0.

Columbia County also lost their second-round game by a final score of 5-4.

Check back Monday at 5 p.m. for more live blogging from the 2007 Dixie Boys Baseball World Series.