The hosts will be doubly represented at the Dixie Youth Baseball Ozone (11-12) State Tournament next month in Bluffton.
Bluffton National punched its ticket to state with a 9-5 win over Colleton County on Monday at Burton Wells Park in Beaufort, capturing the District 8 championship and joining host Bluffton American in the state tourney from July 12-18 at Oscar Frazier Park.
Cole Grieve got Bluffton National on the board with a two-out, two-run single in the second, and the Bluffton squad took advantage of wild pitching in the third to build a 5-1 lead.
Colleton answered with four runs in the fourth to pull even, but Ryan Goll and Aaron Guthrie each singled and scored and Cooper Dietch and Kevin Douthit added RBI singles in the four-run fourth to put Bluffton back in command.
Guthrie was 2-for-3 and scored twice in the leadoff spot, and Goll was 2-for-3 with two runs.
Walker Mikkelson allowed five runs — three earned — and eight hits in his second complete game victory of the tournament.
Editor’s note: Coaches may submit results for publication to lowcosports@gmail.com throughout the all-star tournaments.