Post 43 loses a game but moves to No. 3 in S.C.
Despite a hiccup along the way, the third-ranked Fort Mill American Legion Post 43 baseball team improved to 10-1 last week with a 16-0 win against Clover Post 38.
Post 43 had 20 hits in the game as Clay Helvey and Clay Hunt combined to throw a three-hitter against Clover. Fort Mill had five runs each in the second and fifth innings as Hunt led at the plate going 3-4 with two RBI and two doubles.
Helvey helped his cause going 2-5 with a double and a solo home run, while first baseman Mason Jordan went 2-3 with three RBI. Second baseman Matt Navarro went 3-5 with two RBI as well.
Post 43 players took an 8-0 lead after two innings of play. Then in the fourth inning, outfielder Beau Sluder tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Hunt.
Helvey led off the fifth inning with a home run and Post 43 collected four hits in the inning to go up 14-0.
Earlier in the week, Post 43 dropped its only game of the season 11-10 to Lancaster Post 31. In the top half of the seventh inning, Jordan led off with a home run and Tommy Miller doubled and eventually scored to tie the game at 7-7.
In the bottom half of the inning, Nick Matchunis gave up four runs on three hits in one-third of an inning to allow Lancaster to take a 11-7 lead. Post 43 battled back in the eighth inning by scoring three runs, but couldn’t regain the lead despite leaving four runners on base to end the game in the last two innings.
Post 43 also won 12-2 against York earlier in the week with outfielders Jackson Massey and Sluder leading the way at the plate. Sluder went 2-4 with four RBI and Massey went 2-3 with two RBI and scored twice.
Garrett Leonard went the distance on the mound in the game, shortened because of the 10-run mercy rule. Leonard allowed five hits and two runs, while walking one and striking out five.
Post 43 was rained out against Rock Hill last Wednesday. That game will most likely be made up this week as Fort Mill has four games in three days with key match-ups against Rock Hill and Lancaster.
This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Post 43 loses a game but moves to No. 3 in S.C.."