The order of finish in Region 3-AAAA baseball was completed after points were counted on Monday to determine which four teams are going the Upper State playoffs on Thursday.
York and Northwestern finished tied for first with 9-5 region records and are co-champions. But York got the region's top seed on the head-to-head tiebreaker, courtesy of two wins over Northwestern.
Clover, Lancaster and Rock Hill finished in a three-way tie at 8-6 for third and fourth place and points -- a weighted system based on wins against the other region teams -- had to be used to break the tie because the three split their head-to-head games against the other two.
Lancaster ended up third and Clover fourth. Rock Hill (13-10) had a better overall record than Northwestern (11-13), Clover (12-12) and Lancaster (10-9), but did not qualify.
Region 3-AAAA is matched up against Region 2-AAAA in the opening round. Unofficial pairings are: York hosting Gaffney, Northwestern hosting Mauldin, Lancaster traveling to Dorman and Clover traveling to Boiling Springs.
• SCHOLARSHIP: Great Falls catcher Philip Greenleaf has signed a national letter-of-intent to play baseball at Lander.
Greenleaf has started every game since the eighth grade and has played in more baseball games than any Red Devil to this date. He has been part of more victories than any player in school history.
Great Falls begins the Class A playoffs on Thursday. Heading into the postseason, Greenleaf has a career batting average of .291, with 80 RBIs, 17 doubles and seven home runs in five seasons.
• SOCCER POLLS: Spring Valley was still No. 1 and Northwestern No. 2 in Class AAAA going into their game at Northwestern on Monday. But there were some changes, including another local team jumping into the girls' Class AAAA poll.
After losing to Fort Mill 3-2 on 26 penalty kicks last week, Clover's girls moved into the S.C. Soccer Coaches Association's rankings at No. 13. Nation Ford, previously No. 15, dropped out. The Lady Falcons travel to No. 5 Fort Mill at 7 p.m. today for their first-ever meeting on the soccer field.
In the boys' rankings, South Pointe fell from No. 9 to No. 14 after losses to Spring Valley and Fort Mill last week. Rock Hill, No. 15 in the last poll, dropped out.
Indian Land, No. 3 last week, fell out of the Class A poll.
• SOFTBALL: The Region 3-AAAA schedule was completed Monday with the Rock Hill-Clover game, and it was a big one as far as the playoffs go.
Region champ Clover, Nation Ford and Lancaster are in. The Rock Hill-York game determined the fourth spot. According to Rock Hill Athletics Director Billy Parker, Rock Hill gets in with a win. York gets in with a Rock Hill loss.
The playoffs begin on Thursday.
• NAME GAME: Congratulations to South Pointe's boys golf team for winning the Trojan/Bearcat/Stallion Invitational Golf Tournament.
It was the second year for the Stallions in the tournament and they won by a comfortable margin, beating second-place Boiling Springs, 619-629.
Apologies to South Pointe's Joey Quiminer, who had the Stallions' second-lowest score with a 156. His last name was spelled incorrectly in the story.
Leading South Pointe was Will Graves at 149, four shots off Boiling Springs medalist Brian Horton at 145.
South Pointe's other scorers were Morgan Brown at 156 and Miles Curley with a 158.
• NO SPIT: The South Carolina Tobacco Quitline has selected Gaither Bumgardner of Great Falls as the South Carolina "No Spit" All-Star of the Week as a high school baseball player in the state who has pledged not to use tobacco.
Bumgardner hit .667 last week with four runs scored, one double, one home run and seven RBIs. On the mound, Bumgardner earned a victory, pitching five innings and recording 12 strikeouts. As a weekly winner, Bumgardner is eligible to win the South Carolina "No Spit" All-Star of the Year Award.
Nominees pledge not to use smokeless tobacco, understanding that smokeless does not mean harmless, as spit tobacco contains more than 28 cancer-causing agents. These cancer-causing agents are present in cigarettes, cigars, smoke and all forms of smokeless tobacco, including spit, snuff and chew.
Coaches, parents and fans can nominate any player for the South Carolina "No Spit" All-Star of the Week. To download a "No Spit" pledge, visit TheSportsFlash.com for information.
