Three Midlands baseball teams earn trip to state championship
It’s going to be an all-Midlands final in the Class 5A high school baseball championship series.
Blythewood and River Bluff both punched their tickets to the title series in thrilling fashion on Wednesday.
The Bengals rallied from four runs down to defeat Boiling Springs, 8-6, in the Upper State championship.
The Gators dropped their first game against Summerville but bounced back in the deciding game to win 4-3 in the Upper State championship.
The best-of-3 championship series begins Saturday at River Bluff. It’s the third championship appearance for both teams.
Gray Collegiate also earned its second straight Class 2A championship appearance by beating Mid-Carolina twice to win Upper State championship.
Blythewood rallies past Bulldogs
This might have not been the year many were expecting Blythewood to play for a state championship. The Bengals lost their coach Banks Faulkner and several talented players from last year’s No. 1 ranked team.
But the Bengals have battled under interim coach Dolan Crolley, winning several close games in the postseason including Wednesday night’s game against the Bulldogs.
“The theme of the year was to not let last year’s guys overshadow us,” Crolley said. “We worked our butts off to build what they have done and it showed. We got punched early but we stayed in it.”
Blythewood trailed 6-2 in going to the bottom of the fifth but scored four times to tie it up. Harrison Collins had a two-run double and Luke Duncan had an RBI double in the inning.
Collins and Duncan each had two hits and two RBIs. The Bengals’ No. 6-9 hitters, John Rollings, Collins, Duncan and Xavier Cuevas, had seven of the team’s 11 hits.
With the score tied 6-6 in the sixth, Rollings’ squeeze bunt scored Camden Watts, who led off the inning with a double, to make it 7-6. The Bengals added another on a wild pitch to make it 8-6.
Rollings picked up the win in relief on his birthday, allowing one hit in 2.1 innings.
“This is special. We have had people doubting us all year,” Rollings said. “But we have believed in each other through everything.”
Landon Penfield hit a solo homer for the Bengals, who are making their third championship appearance and first since 2019.
Gators bounce back, knock off Green Wave
Thomas Powell hit two homers and Andrew Vaughan shined in relief as the Gators defeated Summerville, 4-3, to earn their first championship appearance since 2018.
“I’m so proud of them and they deserve this,” River Bluff coach Mark Bonnette said. “Summerville is an extremely talented team. ... But our guys stepped up. Thomas Powell, Beau Hollins and Andrew Vaughan who has had some amazing outings for us but also had some heartbreaking outings. I am so happy for Andrew to be the guy on the mound to finish it.”
Summerville defeated River Bluff, 11-7, to force a deciding game behind two homers and six RBIs from Maddox Webb. PJ Morlando also had four hits in the opener.
The Green Wave jumped out a 2-0 lead in the first inning in the second game.
But the Gators responded with three in the bottom of the first. Beau Hollins had an RBI triple and then Powell hit a two-run homer to make it 3-2. Powell made it 4-2 with a solo homer in the third. The Gamecocks signee has 11 homers on the season.
“I was so happy just to come through for the guys,” Powell said. “I hadn’t been producing lately. ... It is the best feeling in the world.”
Powell had three hits and four RBIs in the two games. Hollins added three and a homer in the first game. The junior has a state-high 17 on the year. Walker Mitchell had three hits and Weston Grant had two RBIs.
Summerville got it to 4-3 in the fourth and had runners on first and third with one out. But Vaughan came in and got a double play to end the threat. The right-hander didn’t allow a hit, struck out two and walked one in 3.2 innings of relief of Powell.
“I just went out there and did my thing,” Vaughan said. “I knew nothing was going to hurt me as long as I threw my pitches where I knew I could it it.”
War Eagles win in dramatic fashion
Gray Collegiate trailed 6-0 going into the top of the seventh but scored seven times, including the go-ahead grand slam by Blaine Redmond to win it 7-6 to force a deciding game.
London Spires, William Eshaak and Blake McKoy each had RBIs in the inning.
In the deciding game, Gray Collegiate scored in the bottom of the seventh on an error for a 4-3 win and earn its second straight trip to Class 2A championship. The War Eagles will host Oceanside Collegiate in Game 1 at 8 p.m. Saturday at Midlands Sports Complex. Oceanside defeated Andrew Jackson, 2-1, on Tagger Tyson’s walk-off homer.
“I have been on the other side of these,” Gray coach Charles Assey Sr. said. “But the word to describe it was unreal.”
Andrew Lloyd was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs for the War Eagles. McKoy pitched the 1.1 innings to get the win in relief. He picked up the win in both games.
Bearcats rained out
The Class 3A Lower State championship between Brookland-Cayce and Hanahan was rained out and will be played 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Hanahan. B-C needs to win twice to make it to the state championship.
The winner will play Clinton in the state championship series.
Softball
Chapin 3, St. James 2 (8): Alyssa Bulport’s walk-off single kept the Eagles alive in the playoffs. Chapin goes to Summerville on Friday in the Class 5A Lower State championship, needing to win twice.
Maddie McMillion was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, including game-tying one in the fifth to make it 2-2. Leah Cabe got the win, allowing two unearned runs on five hits while striking out five.
Dorman 4, Lexington 3: The Wildcats’ season ended in the Class 5A Upper State semifinals. Dorman led 4-0 before Lexington scored three times in the fourth on Gracie Scott’s three-run homer to cut it to 4-3.
Mid-Carolina 3, Strom Thurmond 1: Gabi Riddle and Nora Cutler each had RBI singles as the Rebels advanced to the Class 2A Upper State championship. M-C is at Gray Collegiate on Friday at 6 p.m. Amber Hughes pitched a complete game to pick up the win.
This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 11:37 PM.
