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<p>Battery Creek’s softball team is back in the Class 3A Lower State championship game, and this time the Dolphins are in the driver’s seat.</p>
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<p>Alexis Ortiz threw a three-hit shutout and went 2-for-2 with a double and a homer to lead the Dolphins to a 4-0 win over visiting Hanahan on Monday.</p>
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<p>The Dolphins (19-8-1) will host either Aynor or Hanahan for the Lower State title Friday. The visiting team will need to defeat Battery Creek twice to advance.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>McKenzie Young went 3-for-4 with a triple and a run, Emily Crosby was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and Margaret Schubert drove in a run for the Dolphins in the win over Hanahan.</p>
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<p>Ortiz continued her dominant postseason run, striking out five and walking three in her fourth shutout in five playoff games. Ortiz has allowed one run, 10 hits, and four walks with 54 strikeouts in 32 postseason innings.</p>
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<p>Ortiz racked up 15 strikeouts in a two-hitter in a 1-0 win over Gilbert to open the Lower State tournament. The Dolphins were hitless until the sixth inning, when Kelsey Hill doubled with two outs and scored the game’s only run on Emily Crosby’s double.</p>
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<p>Battery Creek lost to Hanahan in the Lower State championship game last season.</p>
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<p><em>Alexis Ortiz, left, and McKenzie Young celebrate after winning against Strom Thurmond High School on Wednesday, May 1. The Lady Dolphins also went on to win over Gilbert High School, 1-0, during the Lower State softball tournament. <strong>Photo by Bob Sofaly</strong></em><br></p>
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