By Thomas Grant Jr.
Dutch Fork was one of three teams with an opportunity to claim a share of Region 4-5A softball title.
The Lady Silver Foxes visited Lexington last Friday looking to sweep the season series. Just a week earlier, they rallied from a 6-0 deficit with 10 unanswered runs to defeat the Lady Wildcats 10-9.
This time around, Haley Manz drew 6 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out five in defeating Dutch Fork 8-3.
Ayanna Russell had a 2-out, 3-run home run to end the shutout bid by Lexington, which earned a share of the region title with Chapin.
The loss, coupled with Chapin’s win over River Bluff, dropped Dutch Fork to third place in the region. They opened the Class 5A playoffs Wednesday at Gaffney.
In baseball, Dutch Fork snapped a five-game losing streak by ending the season with a 4-3 win over Lexington in eight innings. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Ethan Offing tied the game with a single.
In the bottom of the eighth, Matthew Rollison hit a walk off RBI double to end the game.
The Silver Foxes finished third in Region 4-5A and faced Boiling Springs Tuesday on the road. The game went into extra innings until the Silver Foxes erupted for four runs and held on for the 6-3 win.
Jarvis Jackson went 2-5 with three RBI, including a home run, and Ethan Offing had an RBI for Dutch Fork.
The soccer season ended for both Dutch Fork teams. The boys were defeated 6-1 by Stratford on Monday and the Lady Silver Foxes fell 7-0 to Wando the following night.
IRMO
The Yellow Jackets opened the Class 4A baseball playoffs with an 8-2 loss at May River.
Ty Rivers and Sam Turner both drove in runs for Irmo, who played host Wednesday to Bluffton in an elimination game.
The Lady Yellow Jackets opened the softball playoffs Tuesday with a 4-0 victory over Lucy Beckham.
Lele Bennett struck out 14 batters, allowed two hits and went 2-4 with an RBI. Lauren Casey drove in two runs and University of Georgia signee Precious Bross went 3-4 with an RBI.
The Irmo girls faced either West Florence or Berea Thursday.
In Class 4A boys soccer, Irmo had a first-round bye and played host to Lucy Beckham on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Lady Yellow Jackets were shut out 3-0 by North Myrtle Beach in the opening round.
