River Bluff baseball defeats Summerville, advances to third straight Lower State championship game
Since South Carolina went to five classifications, River Bluff baseball is the only team to represent Class 5A Lower State in the title series.
And the Gators are in a good position to continue that streak. River Bluff used big third and sixth innings to defeat Summerville, 9-3, on Saturday, in a winner’s bracket game of the Class 5A playoffs.
The Gators will host the Lower State championship on Wednesday against either Summerville, Dutch Fork or St. James. Whichever team River Bluff faces would have to beat them twice.
“We haven’t accomplished anything and that is what I stressed to the team,” River Bluff coach Mark Bonnette said. “We have been on the other side and had to win two in a row. So our kids know that but this is definitely where we want to be.”
The Gators have won 10 straight games, including four in the Mingo Bay tournament in Myrtle Beach during spring break. Bonnette thought that was a good way for his team to grow closer and helped prepare them for the stretch run of the regular season.
“When you are in a 12-bedroom house with about 30 of us, there is a lot of bonding,” Bonnette said. “It is making this run even more enjoyable.”
“Our kids are playing fearless and that is all I want them to do. Right now, our guys aren’t afraid to fail and that is how you got to play this game because it is so hard.”
Summerville jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the third. But the Gators answered right back in the bottom of the inning with four runs, capped off by Preston Sansone’s towering homer to make it 4-3.
“Maybe in BP or in a scrimmage,” Sansone on the last time he hit a homer that far. “We all work together and forgive each other. Some made some mistakes in the alf inning before but we shrugged it off and kept playing as a team.”
River Bluff added another run in the fourth and then four more in the sixth.
Cam Ferrell was 3-for-4 with two RBI and Clemson commit Ricky Williams was 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Jack Benedict, who got the save against Dutch Fork on Thursday, picked up the win. The right-hander went 5 ⅓ innings, allowed an earned run, five hits. Brayden Fowler picked up the save.
Summerville had the winning run at the plate when Fowler came in during the top of the sixth but he got Brodie Blanton to ground out to end the inning.
South Carolina commit Cole Messina had two hits for Summerville. Blanton was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
WP: Jack Benedict LP: Trip White SV: Brayden Fowler Hitters: S: Cole Messina 2-3; Brodie Blanton 2-3 RBI. RB: Ricky Williams 2-4 2 RBI; Cam Ferrell 3-4 2 RBI; Preston Sanson 1-4 HR, 2 RBI
This story was originally published May 4, 2019 at 5:33 PM.