Region-leading Cougar baseball to host Gaffney

The York Comprehensive High School baseball team was sitting atop the Region 3-AAAA standings entering this week’s play.

The Cougars were slated to play at Northwestern Tuesday, after the Enquirer-Herald deadline. The next home game will be against Gaffney Friday, with junior varsity action at 6 p.m., followed by the varsity game.

The Cougars began last week with a 9-2 win at rival Clover.

John Moorefield got the Cougars on the board with an RBI single in the first inning against Clover on a two-strike pitch.

The Cougars pushed across two runs in the second inning. Desmond Golden scored on an errant throw and Path Edwards scored on a ground ball by Charlie Jackson, staking the York team to a 3-0 lead.

The Cougars sealed the win with a productive fourth inning, beginning with Harrison Childers’ solid double.

Ryan Gilbert, who had a strong mound performance, doubled home Childers. Will Prince had an RBI single and Adam Hoffman delivered an RBI double.

Though he was proud of the win, YCHS head coach Eddie Tisdale also lauded the Clover team.

“That’s a great baseball team,” Tisdale said. “Clover is a very well-coached team. They are fundamentally sound. They’re not going to beat themselves.”

Tisdale added: “If you don’t bring your A game and you don’t come ready to play, you’ll look up and it’ll be in the fifth inning and you’ll be down.”

Tisdale said the Cougar players almost view what they are challenged to do as a job.

“We had a job to do today,” he said. “I could tell when they came to the ball park that they were focused and they were ready to go.

“Obviously, the Clover-York rivalry is big. It elevates everybody’s game, theirs and ours. If you get another road win in the region, that’s big for us.”

Tisdale said being perched atop the region standings is a source of pride.

“Looking at the scope and the grand body of work that goes with our region, I’d much rather be the hunted than the hunters,” said the first-year coach.

Tisdale is aware of the balance in Region 3-AAAA.

“Right now, the seventh-place team could make the playoffs as easy as we could,” he said. “If we don’t do our job and we don’t bring our A game every day, we know the season is far from over.”

York center-fielder Aaron Harper’s catch when Clover had the bases loaded in the third inning changed the game.

“It felt good making the catch,” Harper said. “What I do in practice is what I try to do in the game. I wanted to make the catch and support my team every way I can.”

Harper said the Cougars played as a team and pulled out the win. “It’s not just me,” he said. “I have confidence in my outfielders backing me up.”

Tisdale said Harper’s defensive gem was a do or die play.

“It was 3-0 at the time, two outs and they’re running on contact,” he said. “If he pulls off and lets it bounce, it’s two runs for Clover.

“If he misses it, it’s three runs. That’s a time right there when I don’t mind Aaron taking a chance.”

Tisdale spoke in glowing terms of Gilbert, who was the winning pitcher, and Hunter Horne, who picked up the save.

“They are versatile players,” he said. “Ryan can play some first and third and he’s our bulldog on the mound.

“Hunter loves the late-game situations. He’s the kind of kid that wants the moment when the game’s on the line.”

Tisdale said the Cougars are in a position to reach the top. “If our kids continue what they’re doing, they have a chance to do something special,” he said.

The Cougars also shut out Lancaster 6-0. Moorefield was dominant on the mound, shutting out the Bruins.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Region-leading Cougar baseball to host Gaffney."