River Bluff baseball faces tough climb in Class 4A playoffs
With South Carolina baseball playoffs getting under way Wednesday, here are some of the story lines for Midlands teams:
1. River Bluff builds on record season
In the program’s third year, the Gators have set a school record with 21 victories and won the Region 5-4A championship.
River Bluff’s lineup features Brandon Tillmon (signed with Liberty), Aaron Adams (College of Charleston), Treyce Bouknight (North Greenville) and Ryan Reynolds (USC Lancaster).
The second-ranked Gators face defending state champion Wando on Wednesday. Sixth-ranked Summerville and 2014 champion Sumter also are in River Bluff’s district.
2. Other 4A contenders
River Bluff isn’t the only 4A school starting at home in the postseason.
Region 4-4A champion Dutch Fork and runner-up Blythewood, and Region 5-4A champ White Knoll also start the playoffs at home.
Dutch Fork won its second straight region title and features South Carolina signee T.J. Shook and Clemson commit Ward Hacklen.
Blythewood made it to the state championship in 2013 and opens up against Mauldin. Aiden Massey and Jordyn Adams are two of the Bengals’ leaders on offense, while the pitching staff is led by Justin Greider.
With 12 seniors and six college signees on the roster, White Knoll is one of the most experienced teams in the Midlands. The Timberwolves started 13-0 and were nationally ranked at one point this season.
Lexington also is one to watch. The Wildcats won the NaturChem Classic to begin the season. After an 0-4 start in region play, the Wildcats won five of their last six region games.
3. Midlands 3A teams hope to continue trend
At least one Midlands team has played for the 3A title in all but two years since 2007. In two of those years, it was an all-Midlands final with Brookland-Cayce beating A.C. Flora in 2008 and Flora beating Airport in 2013.
This year, Chapin, Camden and Gilbert begin the postseason ranked in the top 10, and Airport and A.C. Flora were ranked at one point during this season.
At 23-2, Chapin was No. 1 in the state at one point this year. The Eagles are led by Tyler White and Evan Estridge, who won the region-clinching game Saturday against Camden.
No. 5 Camden has a strong pitching staff with Brandon Dow, Devin Beckley and Will Abbott.
No. 8 Gilbert has a strong roster, led by pitcher Jacob Rye and hitters Daniel Graves and Caleb Watkins.
4. Unfamiliar spot for A.C. Flora
For the first time in a while, A.C. Flora begins the playoffs out of the top 10 and will start the district round on the road for first time since 2011. Still, the Falcons have won five state titles since 2001, including three in a row (2012-2014). Flora opens district play Friday at Eastside.
5. Strikeout pitchers key 2A teams
Four of the top nine strikeout pitchers in the Midlands are from Class 2A teams, and will be a factor if Pelion, Mid-Carolina and Newberry are to make deep postseason runs.
Pelion’s Quinton Driggers, a Newberry signee, is tops on the list with 111 strikeouts for the Panthers, who open the playoffs against Indian Land.
For Mid-Carolina, Corey Stone leads the team in strikeouts and is backed up by Ryan Stoudemire and Trey Huber. Stoudemire, a Charleston Southern signee, threw a no-hitter in his last outing.
Newberry has a pair of aces in Clemson signee Ryne Huggins and Trey Kinard. Huggins threw back-to-back no-hitters earlier this year.
This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "River Bluff baseball faces tough climb in Class 4A playoffs."