Seven baseball teams advance to district finals, 5 girls soccer teams in final eight
Blythewood has been the top team in Class 5A for much of the season and now has a pair of wins over the defending state champions.
Alex Nevils and John Rollings each had two RBI as the Bengals defeated defending champ Hillcrest, 7-2, on Thursday in a winner’s bracket game in the district playoffs. It was the Bengals’ second win over Hillcrest. Blythewood defeated the Rams, 5-2, at SC Diamond Invitational on April 13.
“I really liked how we kept our composure tonight when we were in some top spots,” Blythewood coach Banks Faulkner said. “... They just believe and are so competitive, put in a ton of work. We talk about pressure being a privilege. And yeah there is pressure this time of year but it is what we worked for.”
Blythewood (27-1) will face Nation Ford or Hillcrest in the district championship game on Monday. The Bengals tied a school-record with 27 victories on Thursday, equaling the mark by the 2013 team.
Kevin Steelman pitched 5 ⅓ innings for the win.
The game was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth but the Bengals scored twice in the inning and three more over the final two innings.
In other playoff action Friday:
▪ Chapin, Lexington, AC Flora, Brookland-Cayce, Airport and Gray Collegiate baseball teams all moved on to district championship with wins Thursday.
▪ Chapin might be the most surprising of the bunch after finishing fourth in Region 5-5A. But the Eagles won road games at Carolina Forest and then over Cane Bay, 13-6, on Thursday. Chapin will be at home on Monday.
▪ AC Flora trailed 7-6 in the fifth before scoring three times to move on to the district title game.
▪ B-C’s Skylar King hit a grand slam, drove in five and also picked up the win on the mound in the 11-5 win over Bishop England.
▪ In girls soccer, Lexington, Chapin, AC Flora, Camden and Gray College all moved on to the final eight with victories. All will be in action on Saturday with a spot in the state semifinals on the line.
Baseball
Class 5A
Mauldin 7, Spring Valley 4
Blythewood 7, Hillcrest 2
WP: Kevin Steelman SV: Zac Cowan Hitters: B: Alex Nevils 2-3 HR, 2 RBI; Zac Cowan 2-3; John Rollins 2-3 2 RBI; Alex Myers 2-3 RBI;
Lexington 7, Ashley Ridge 2
WP: Cole Long. Hitters: L: Nathan Hall 1-4 3 RBI; Landon Knight 2-3 HR, RBI; Gabe Herrold 2-2 RBI; Tyler Floyd 1-2 RBI
Chapin 13, Cane Bay 6
WP: Apple. Hitters: C: Wells 2-5 HR, RBI; Liveley 2-3 HR, RBI; Apple 2-4 RBI; Hornick 2-3 4 RBI; Raines 2-3 RBI
Berkeley 4, River Bluff 3
Hitters: RB: Todd Hudson 2-2 2 HR, 2 RBI; Walker Mitchell 1-1 RBI. B: Jackson Proctor 2-4 HR, 2 RBI (Walk-off homer); Newbold 1-3 2 RBI
Summerville 10, Dutch Fork 3
WP: Carson Messina LP: Clark Hubbard. DF: Blake Martin 1-2 HR, 2 RBI. S: Morlando 2-3 HR, 3 RBI; Messina 1-3 2 RBI; McCurry 2-3 HR, 3 RBI
Class 4A
AC Flora 9, Greenwood 7
WP: Charles Flake SV: Robert Harrington. Hitters: ACF: Phillips Daniels 2-2 HR, 2 RBI; Jake Sears 1-2 2 RBI; Hunter Helmly 2-3 2 RBI.
Greenville 6, Dreher 2
Westside 11, Westwood 1
Lugoff-Elgin 12, Walhalla 0
WP: Morris Hitters: Evans 3-4 2 RBI; Branham 1-3 2 RBI; Meshach 2-3 4 RBI; Morris 2-3 RBI; Jackson 2-3 2 RBI
Airport 6, South Florence 3
WP: John Allen Forrester. Hitters: A: Corbin Wright 2-4 RBI; Luke Palyok 2-3
Class 3A
Lower Richland at Palmetto
Fairfield Central 16, Berea 1
Chapman 7, Mid-Carolina 1
Brookland-Cayce 11, Bishop England 5
WP: Skylar King. Hitters: BC: 4-4 HR, 5 RBI; Parker Mergo 1-3 2 RBI; Ty Marshall 1-3 RBI; BJ Etheridge 2-4 RBI; Jordan Gibbs 2-3 RBI; Jordan Wise 2-3
Gilbert 10, Battery Creek 2
WP: Cooper Burkett. Hitters: G: Chance Jennings 2-3 HR, 4 RBI; Cooper Burkett 2-3 RBI; Nathan Reynolds 3-3 2 RBI; Dylan Massey 2-3 RBI;
Waccamaw 2, Camden 0
Class 2A
Abbeville 13, Batesburg-Leesville 3
Gray Collegiate 4, Crescent 2
WP: Brent Stukes SV: Peyton Starkey. Hitters: GC: Savion Smith 1-4 2 RBI
Christ Church 7, Saluda 5
Chesterfield 7, Newberry 2
North Central 7, Silver Bluff 6
Woodland 14, Pelion 3
Class A
CA Johnson 1, Cross 0
SCISA 3A
Cardinal Newman 11, Augusta Christian 6
WP: Mitchell Risinger Hitters: Parker Hocutt 3-4; Matthew Haffner 3-4 5 RBI; Hardt Rowland 2-4 RBI; Will Kirk 1-4 2 RBI; Austin Laughlin 1-3 RBI
Girls Soccer
Class 5A
TL Hanna 4, Blythewood 0
Chapin 4, Fort Dorchester 0
Goals: Brooke Dudley, Caroline Carter, Kyia Tucker, Darcy Ahern
Wando 1, River Bluff 0
Lexington 2 Ashley Ridge 1
Goals: Bryce Powers, Rosie Kennamer
Class 4A
AC Flora 3, Greenville 0
Eastside 4, Dreher 0
Class 3A
Bishop England 9, Gilbert 0
Camden 6, Brookland-Cayce 0
Class 2A
Buford 10, Columbia 0
Gray Collegiate 2, Dixie 1
Regular Season
Hammond 2, Cardinal Newman 1
H: Logan Rivers, Briana Pinasco. CN: Mariah Hoover
Boys Soccer
Regular Season
Hammond 1, Cardinal Newman 0
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 11:16 PM.
