Dodgers swing hot bats, win Woodfest

SEMO News Service photo by Josh Mills Dunklin County's Aaron McCaig tossed a three-hit shutout in the Dodgers' 11-0 title win Sunday. [Click to enlarge]

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- The Dunklin County Post 303 Dodgers used a combination of hot hitting and strong pitching to take home the championship of the nutsbaseball.com Woodfest, routing Mayfield, Ky. 11-0 here Sunday evening in the title game.

"I think for this early in the season we swung the bats well," said Post 303 head coach Jamie Johnson.

The Dodgers (7-1) outscored the competition 49-18 in five games at the Woodfest.

"It's been a good start," Johnson said. "That's what I'm proud of. The kids are playing well, they're getting along. To start out 7-1 we couldn't ask more of them than what they're doing right now."

Against Mayfield, Post 303 again stung the ball, as Aaron Booker (2-for-4), Austin Jackson (2-for-3, two triples), Dylan Lynn (2-for-4 and three RBIs in the No. 9 hole) and Jonathan Boone each had two hits, while Booker and Boone scored twice and Jackson crossed the plate three times. Overall, seven Dodgers had at least one hit.

Post 303 scored twice in the top of the first inning to take the early lead, then added three runs each in the fourth, fifth and six innings to enforce the mercy rule after six innings.

Meanwhile on the mound, Aaron McCaig went the distance for the shutout, allowing three singles and striking out six in the win.

Dunklin County reached the finals by going 2-1 in pool play, losing to Mayfield 7-3 on Thursday before bouncing back to down District XIV rival Jackson 14-3 on Friday and New Madrid 15-3 on Saturday.

In semifinal action Sunday, the Dodgers downed Cape Girardeau Post 63 6-5 in semifinal game, a game that featured Cale Weeks hitting a wood-bat home run

Dunklin County will be back in Charleston this evening at 5 p.m. to take on the Fighting Squirrels.

"It was a great experience for the kids to swing wood bats," Johnson said. "It was just a great tournament and they run it first class. The experience of swinging those wood bats and have to play real baseball, that's real valuable."