Top-Ranked Lexington Rolls to an 11-2 Win Over Dutch Fork

Lexington, S.C. - Reece Burnett belted a two-run homer, Nick Ciuffo drove in four runs with three hits and lefty Josh Reagan pitched five solid innings as top-ranked Lexington defeated Dutch Fork 11-2 in Region 5-AAAA high school baseball action at Wildcats Field on Friday.

Lexington improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. The Wildcats take on Dorman in a doubleheader at Newberry College at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Silver Foxes fell to 5-6 and 2-2.

In the bottom of the first inning, Ryan Brown led off with a double and eventually scored on Ciuffo's sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Lexington lead. Lexington extended its lead to 4-0 in the second inning on Burnett's two-run homer to left and Brown's two-out RBI single to left center.

After Ciuffo and Zach Paquette led off the third inning with singles, Cole McMillan gave Lexington a 5-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to left.  Paquette eventually scored on a throwing error for a 6-0 Wildcats' advantage.

The Silver Foxes cut Lexington's lead to 6-2 in the fourth inning on Dustin Bachman's RBI single and a bases loaded walk.

Brown walked and Dalton Addy singled to start the bottom of the fourth inning.  Ciuffo followed by ripping a double into left center that scored two runs and extended Lexington's lead to 8-2.  Ciuffo's RBI single in the fifth inning gave the Wildcats a 10-2 lead.  David Barboza drove in Lexington's final run with a single in the sixth inning.

Ciuffo finished 3-for-3,  Brown 2-for-4 and McMillan, Burnett and Barboza went 2-for-3.

Reagan (2-0) earned the win allowing two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts over the first five innings. Mark Kingsmore (1-1) suffered the loss allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits over four innings of work.

Lexington 11, Dutch Fork 2
DF   -- 000 200 0 –   2 -  7  - 4
LEX -- 132 221 x -- 11 - 13 - 0
WP - Josh Reagan (1-0). LP -- Mark Kingsmore (1-1).
Hitters:
Lexington: Nick Ciuffo 3-3, 4 RBI; Cole McMillan 2-3; Reece Burnett 2-3, HR; David Barboza 2-3.
Dutch Fork: Dereck Olenchuk 2-3, Ethan Hinkle 2-4.