Fort Mill Post 43 takes two of three from No. 1 Rock Hill
In a battle between two top 10 teams in the state, the sixth-ranked American Legion Fort Mill Post 43 team took two of three games from No. 1 ranked Rock Hill Post 34 squad last week.
Fort Mill won the first and second games, while dropping the third game in the series.
“I am very proud of our guys for going out there against a very good Rock Hill team and taking care of business and winning the series,” said Post 43 head coach Tom Skula.
In the first game of the series, Fort Mill won 8-7 on a walk-off home run by Daniel Gueldner, who went 3-5 with two RBI. The game started on Monday, but not finished until Thursday after being suspended in the third inning due to rain.
Post 43 scattered 13 hits in the first game and besides Gueldner, was led by James Mulvaney, Justin Kerosetz and Joey Tepper, all of who had a couple hits at the plate. Isaac Beirne got the win on the mound pitching three innings of relief allowing two runs on three hits, while walking three and striking out a couple.
“Daniel’s homerun was huge for us,” Skula said. “We continue to battle as team and believe that we can come back from any situation.”
The second game was played at Rock Hill and Post 43 rallied to score four runs in the top of the seventh to get a 7-5 win as Greg Izzo led at the plate going 3-4 with a double and six RBI. Trailing 5-3 in the seventh, Fort Mill scored four runs on two hits and was aided by three hit batters and a walk in the inning.
The third game, back at Fort Mill, was played after the completion of the first suspended game, Post 43 struggled at the plate getting just three hits in the game in a 6-3 loss. Post 43 was led at the plate by Tepper, who hit a solo home run in the third inning. The other hits came from Kerosetz and Lawson Otte.
Post 43 made four errors in the game, which hurt them as well. As a team, Fort Mill struggled in its pitching, allowing eight hits, to go with six walks and the errors.
“We have to clean some of the little things on defense such as run downs to be a complete team moving forward,” Skula said.
Post 43 sits at 5-1 on the season and 4-1 in League V play putting them on top of the standings by a half game over Rock Hill. The top two teams in the league make the playoffs.
Fort Mill will now have a three-game series against Lancaster this week.
Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM
This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Fort Mill Post 43 takes two of three from No. 1 Rock Hill."