York Comprehensive High baseball team gaining respect

Seeking to rebound from a loss to Gaffney, the York Comprehensive High School baseball team derailed the Chester Cyclones 10-4 on March 18.

Chester moved ahead in the early innings of the game to build a 3-0 lead, but the Cougars stayed close.

Senior Hunter Horne got the York bats going with a home run. He was 3-for-4 at the plate for the Cougars.

Adam Hoffman joined the rally with two hits in three at-bats while scoring two runs.

Harrison Childers, John Moorefield and Caleb Clayton each had two hits for the Cougars, and Moorefield and Clayton each drove in three runs.

“We fought back tonight for the win,” said first-year head coach Eddie Tisdale.

“They know this is tough, especially for young kids,” Tisdale said after the Chester game. “We lost a tough one last night 6-4 to Gaffney. We got on the bus, rode over there and played a tight ballgame. They came back and beat us.”

Tisdale said big nonregion games between regional contests are tough to play. “It was just as tough for them as it was for us,” he said. “They jumped on us early.”

Tisdale made an effort to praise the pitching of senior Will Prince.

“I thought Will Prince did a phenomenal job,” Tisdale said. “He came in when they were up 3-1 and shut the door. He battled them and was successful tonight.”

Tisdale talked about the Cougars putting hits together, which has been part of the team’s winning formula.

“Hunter stepped up,” he said. “I think he had three hits tonight, a home run and a couple big singles.”

Tisdale said Hoffman makes the Cougars batters go at the top of the lineup.

“When he gets on base, he gives Hunter a chance to swing the bat. He gives John and Eric Harper, those three or four guys in a row,” he said.

“They’re all tough outs. They may not always get hits but they always make for a tough out.”

Tisdale said that even when the hitters the team counts on to make contact walk or strike out, they sometimes see 10 or 12 pitches during the at-bat, increasing the pitch count of opposing pitchers.

“If our key hitters continue to hit the ball the way they’ve been hitting and producing for us, they’re gonna see the same individual success, and we’re gonna see continued team success,” he said.

Tisdale said the Cougars came out the first week of the season ready to go.

“Everybody’s fired up. Everybody’s geared up,” he said.

“Rock Hill is coming back from a tournament in Georgetown.

“Northwestern’s coming back from the beach. We stayed local.

“Everybody’s coming off their preseason tournaments. They’re fired up and ready for the region.”

Tisdale is certain of balance in the tough region alignment.

“This region’s gonna be a dogfight every night out,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you play.”

Tisdale said the first week was big for the Cougars, while recognizing that so much can happen in the weeks to come to shape the Region 3-AAAA standings.

“It was unfortunate that we couldn’t put Gaffney away,” he said. “We were in a position to put them away early and let them back into the game.

“That’s gonna happen in our region. With the quality of the coaches and players in our region, that’s gonna happen from time to time.”

Tisdale said the Cougars have to find a way to come back from tough losses.

“I told our kids, all eyes are on York baseball,” he said. “Everybody looks at the box score. York beat Rock Hill and York beat Northwestern.

“Fist time Northwestern’s lost in a while. Everybody’s looking at us. And that means everybody’s thinking York must have something.”

“We’re gonna have to bring our A game and find a way to compete the rest of the way,” he said. “That’s kind of where we’re at. We’re gonna have to play a high level of baseball, high-quality baseball and find a way to get the job done.”

The Cougars continue their region slate Thursday with a trip to Rock Hill to face the Bearcats at 7:15 p.m.

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 4:38 PM with the headline "York Comprehensive High baseball team gaining respect."