Startup SC baseball league navigates COVID-19, caps season with championship
West Columbia Post 79 took the slogan “Win Anyway” to an entirely different level this weekend at Segra Park.
The roster of 21 had dwindled to 14 in uniform for various reasons — a player testing positive for COVID-19, kids returning to school and general attrition — but they swept through the weekend and claimed the inaugural South Carolina American League senior state title with a 7-1 victory over Greer Post 115 on Sunday.
“These kids have worked tremendously hard,” West Columbia coach Dargan Lybrand said. “We just wanted to start out the season and have a successful season. Last year, this Post didn’t make the playoffs (in American Legion).”
“I couldn’t be more excited for these kids. They deserve all the fortune they’ve had out there. These kids stepped up. It’s on these kids.”
The victory capped a summer in which athletes were able to return to a normal routine after having their baseball seasons in high school or college abruptly ended in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For more than two months, players who were used to practicing or playing nearly every day sat at home and waited for what was next. Most hoped to play some sort of baseball by the summer. American Legion baseball was the first hope, but that was dashed when the governing body decided against the league playing.
That is when the South Carolina American League was formed. Spearheaded by a committee that consisted of Mike Riefsynder of Lexington, former South Carolina baseball standouts Derick Urquhart of Florence and Curtis Johnson of Sumter, and Tim Elrod of Easley, an 18-team league was formed across the state.
“We wanted to put this league together and if there was any way possible and safe, we would do it. When Legion decided to cancel, we already had plans in place to move forward,” Riefsnyder said.
Riefsynder said the most important factor was keeping the kids safe while providing them an opportunity to play baseball this summer. Riefsnyder said they only had nine positive COVID-19 cases out of roughly 1,000 players between the junior and senior leagues.
West Columbia had three players still in the 14-day quarantine period after a player that didn’t play in the playoffs this week.
“All we wanted to do when we put this committee and league together was to get these kids on the field as safely and as much as we could,” Riefsnyder said. “We had constant temperature checks, kept track of any COVID-19 testing and tried to make sure we kept them safe. I would say it was a success.”
Lybrand is in his first season coaching at this level. He said it was a challenge with all the uncertainty but well worth the sacrifice and dedication it required. As the season ended, Lybrand was missing much of his starting pitching and had several players at different positions.
“The biggest challenge was trying to keep everyone safe,” Lybrand said. “At this age, they don’t listen to what the old coach says. We tried to keep them apart, but you do not know what they do when they go home. We just wanted to focus on staying safe and just playing. It turned out pretty well.”
Lybrand did have Dylan Williamson available on the mound. The rising sophomore at Spartanburg Methodist pitched allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings. He was pleased to be able to close out the summer on a positive note.
West Columbia Post 79 finished the season 17-2-1. Greer Post 115 finished 19-2 with their two losses coming to West Columbia this weekend.
“The high school (and college) seasons being cut hurt my feelings a little bit, but this is like a dream come true really,” Williamson said.
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 5:01 PM.