HICKORY — The Bath 15U All-Stars had themselves a day to remember at the plate this afternoon, as they bombarded Western Harnett with 19 hits on the way to a 22-8 victory, earning Bath a spot in the Tar Heel League State Tournament final.

Bath quickly got to work, scoring five runs in the top of the opening inning. Three of Bath’s base runners in the inning got on base by drawing walks, but the highlight of the opening barrage of runs was Tyler Modlin’s bases-clearing triple.

The second and third innings saw Bath and Western Harnett trade blows, as the Bath All-Stars put up two runs in the second and three more in the third. Western Harnett answered back with three runs in the bottom of the second and one more in the third, making the score 10-4 in Bath’s favor.

After an uneventful fourth inning where neither team got past first base, Bath’s batters went into overdrive. All but three of its batters came to the plate twice in the fifth, as the Bath All-Stars scored 12 runs to put the game well out of Western Harnett’s reach. It wasn’t until Bath’s ninth batter of the fifth came to the plate that Western Harnett recorded the first out of the inning.

After Cameron Craig opened the inning by drawing a walk, Chase Williford and Douglas Dixon followed with back-to-back home runs. Five consecutive singles and a Craig double helped contribute to the offensive onslaught. When the dust settled at the end of the top of the fifth, Bath held a 22-4 lead. Western Harnett tacked on four runs in the bottom of the inning, but it was nowhere near enough.

Williford and Carter Boyd split time on the mound, with Williford pitching the first two innings and Boyd closing out the final three. The duo both racked up three strikeouts apiece during their respective stints on the mound.

The victory put Bath in the final of the state tournament, where it will face off against Hickory, who defeated Bath 11-9 earlier this morning.