By Thomas Grant Jr.
The River Bluff baseball team were two outs away from suffering its first Region 4-5A loss.
With Irmo leading by a run in the Top 7th, Banks Alexander belted a walk off 3-run homer for a 7-5 victory. The win gave River Bluff the season sweep over Irmo.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top 1st. Elliott Graham and Hunter Parson had back-to-back RBI singles and Kyler Baker hit a sacrifice fly.
River Bluff loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning. Tripp Hutto and Zed Ortiz each had RBI sacrifice flies to get within 3-2.
After the Gators tied the game with a Maddox Free RBI double in the Bottom 2nd, Irmo regained the lead in the Top 3rd on an RBI walk by Baker.
In the Bottom 6th, Free tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI fielder’s choice. Irmo reclaimed the lead in the Top 7th on a Baker RBI single.
The Bottom 7th started with back-to-back singles by Walker Godwin and Mac Raines. After a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Rye moved the runners over a base, Alexander ended the game with the home run.
On Saturday, River Bluff posted its 10th straight win. Peyton Hewitt allowed four hits and struck out four in a 1-0 win over Class 2A top-ranked Mid-Carolina.
The lone run came off a fielder’s choice by Banks Alexander in the second inning.
Lexington
The defending Class 5A champions kept pace with River Bluff in the region standings.
Following a 1-0 win over Chapin last Tuesday, the Wildcats completed the season sweep with a 6-2 victory.
Lexington jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. After back-to-back singles by Toby Sobieralski and Brandon Cromer, Christian Spivey cleared the bases with a 3-run homer.
After Greg Kissler reached on an error, Logan Blight drove him home with an RBI double.
Bryce Mobley stole home in the second inning to make it 5-0.
Chapin got on the board on a solo home run in the fourth by Weston Plotner. Sobieralski drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the Bottom 4th to make it 6-1.
Charlie Todd hit an RBI fielder’s choice to close out the scoring.
It was a busy weekend for the Lady Wildcats’ softball team. After defeating White Knoll 11-7 last Thursday led by Robyn Craig’s 3 RBI and six strikeouts by Haley Manz, Lexington went to Summerton for the Swamp Fox Invitational.
In the opener Friday, the Lady Wildcats rallied for two runs in a 4-3 win in five innings over May River. With two outs, Alaina Harry scored on a wild pitch and Sam Craig hit back-to-back RBI singles for the victory.
Craig went 3-3 and Payton Gonce and Shay Scott each had an RBI.
The next game saw Lexington fall 9-6 to Hanahan. After taking a 3-2 lead in the third on back-to-back RBI doubles by Livi Warren and Craig, the Lady Hawks erupted for six runs in the Bottom 3rd.
Lexington rebounded Saturday with two wins. It defeated Bamberg-Ehrhardt 11-1 in five innings as Payton Gonce drove in two runs and Peyton Melinauskas went 2-2 with an RBI.
The trio of Little, Peters and Fonseca combined for six strikeouts and allowed just one hit.
The Lady Wildcats closed out play with a 11-0 shutout win over Dorman in four innings. Livi Warren went 2-3 with five RBI, including two home runs and L Taylor drove in two runs.
S.C. BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION TOP 10 POLLS
(Class 5A)
Division I
1. Blythewood, 2. Summerville, 3. Dorman, 4. James Island, 5. River Bluff, 6. Stratford, 7. Dutch Fork, 8. Lexington, 9. J.L. Mann, 10. Clover
Division 2
1. T.L. Hanna, 2. North Myrtle Beach, 3. West Florence, 4. Indian Land, 5. Fort Mill, 6. Chapin, 7. Eastside, 8. St. James, 9. Lucy Beckham, 10. Berkeley
Class 4A
1. Fountain Inn, 2. Daniel, 3. Airport, 4. A.C. Flora, 5. Gilbert, 6. Laurens, 7. Seneca, 8. Hartsville, 9. Westside, 10. South Florence
Class 3A
1. Oceanside, 2. Southside Christian, 3. Woodruff, 4. Hanahan, 5. Fox Creek, 6. Swansea, 7. Georgetown, 8. St. Joseph’s, 9. Aynor, 10. Walhalla
Class 2A
1. Mid-Carolina, 2. Cheraw, 3. Clinton, 4. Batesburg-Leesville, 5. Landrum, 6. Buford, 7. Barnwell, 8. Phillip Simmons, 9. Strom Thurmond, 10. Saluda
(Photo by GoFlashwin.com) – Feature photo: Dutch Fork’s Banks Alexander
