Fort Mill wins region title. Pride stays in first place. Here’s your baseball roundup

The summer baseball seasons are heading down the home stretch, and the playoffs are just ahead.

Here’s your weekly update.

Piedmont Pride remains in first place

In the Southern Collegiate League, the Piedmont Pride is in first place by a half game over the Carolina Vipers. The Pride turned in a mark of 3-0 last week and is 20-4 on the year.

“We are where we want to be heading down the stretch,” said Pride head coach Joe Hudak. “We had a good week and climbed back to the top spot. We have to keep taking things one game at a time.”

After having four straight games postponed by logistics or rain, the Pride got back to work Wednesday at home and toppled Mooresville, 6-3.

The Pride scored three runs in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead and hung on for the victory. Adam Grob led the hitting attack with a pair of hits and two runs batted in. Hayden Cross added a pair of hits to the offense. Austin Morgan picked up the win. He worked six innings, allowing three hits and only one run.

On Friday night, Piedmont topped the Carolina Vipers, 5-2. The Pride scored three times in the bottom of the first and moved on from there to get the victory.

Devin Buckner, Scottie Lee and Ben Wetenhall each had one hit and one RBI to lead the offense. Dawson Gause got the victory. He pitched into the fifth, allowed five hits and struck out five.

On Saturday, Piedmont won their third straight with an 8-4 decision at home over the Carolina Venom.

The Pride scored four runs in the fourth to erase a 3-0 deficit. After the Venom tied the count in the fifth, the Pride tallied four times in the eighth to put the contest away.

Grob led the way with three hits, including a home run, and four runs batted in. Lee added a double and knocked in three runs. Connor Miller picked up the victory. He entered the contest with one out in the sixth. He finished the game, allowing no runs and striking out three.

As the regular season enters the final week Hudak reflects on his team.

“Summer baseball is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you are going to get,” said the veteran coach. “I knew we would be good on offense, and they have not disappointed me. I also was counting on a good defensive effort this summer. That has also been what I expected.”

The big surprise for Hudak has been the outstanding performance turned in by the pitching staff.

“I thought from the start that we would be pretty good, but they have far exceeded my expectations,” he said. “The starters have done extremely well, and the bullpen has done a great job when called on. As a group they have performed much better than I imagined. That has been a big key to our success.”

Fort Mill wins ABL region title

In the American Baseball League, Fort Mill went 3-0 for the week and wrapped up the regular season region title. Fort Mill is 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the region.

“Our goal was to win the region title, and we have taken care of that,” said Fort Mill head coach Tom Skula. “That gives us some confidence heading into the postseason next week. We need to use our games this week to stay on top of our game in preparation for the playoffs.”

Rock Hill was 2-2 for the week. The team is 5-9 overall and 4-4 in region play. Lancaster was 0-2 for the week and thus move to 1-8 overall and 1-6 in region action.

Fort Mill opened the week with a doubleheader sweep of Rock Hill on Monday night.

Fort Mill won the first game 8-5. They tallied three times in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead and added two more in the sixth to complete the victory.

Patrick Matthews and Xavier Cumbee led the offense with two hits each. Chase Dougherty contributed a hit and drove in three runs. Kyle Rayor earned the win and Mikey Tepper got the save.

Fort Mill completed the sweep with a 14-2 victory in the nightcap. Fort Mill led 6-0 after two innings and cruised from there.

Kolby Crepeau led the offense with three hits and two runs batted in. Connnor Rasmussen, Matthews and Cumbee got two hits and two RBI each. Aaron Pendergast added a solo homer to the winning effort. Blake Sherrill earned the win. He worked four frames and struck out five.

On Wednesday night, Rock Hill swept a twinbill from Lancaster.

Rock Hill won the first game, 4-3. That contest, which was a completion of a suspended game from last week, picked up in the fourth inning with Rock Hill leading 3-1.

Peyton Reel led Rock Hill with a pair of hits, and he drove in one run. Jordan Thurmond, Dylan Smoak and Will Dorrell added one hit each to the winning cause. Luke Harris led Lancaster with two hits. Smoak picked up the victory, while Will Rushing recorded the save.

Rock Hill completed the sweep with a 5-4 extra inning decision in the second game. The contest was tied 1-1 after seven innings. Both teams scored three runs in the eighth for a 4-4 tie headed to the decisive ninth.

Thurmond opened the frame with a triple and scored later in the inning on a wild pitch. Lancaster loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame, but could not score.

Jack Killelea led Rock Hill with two triples, and he drove in one run. Reed Garland, Reel and Smoak added one hit each to the attack. Brandon Smalls led Lancaster with a pair of hits and two runs batted in. Landon Mills added two hits for Lancaster.

Reel got the win in relief. He struck out the last two batters with the bases loaded in the ninth to preserve the victory.

Fort Mill got back in action on Thursday night with a 5-0 non-region road victory over Chapin-Newberry.

Fort Mill scored all five of its runs in the fifth inning. Raynor and Brady Stone had key hits in the outburst. Raynor’s hit plated two runs, while Stone’s single drove in another run.

Magdiel Cotto and Evan Vander Bosch combined for a no-hitter. Cotto worked the first five frames, and Vander Bosch tossed the final inning, before rain halted the contest. They combined for 11 strikeouts.

Fort Mill and Lancaster were rained out of their game on Friday night.

Want to watch summer baseball?

The Pride has seven games on the calendar this week. After a double-header on Monday, the Pride has a noon start time against Mooresville on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the team plays at the Carolina Vipers at 11 a.m., before returning home on Thursday for a noon contest against Concord. The team closes its regular season on Friday at home against the Carolina Venom at 4:30 p.m.

All Piedmont Pride home games are played at Truist Field in Charlotte.

For the local American Baseball League teams, this week is makeup week before the state playoffs begin next week. Many of the teams in the state are currently working to schedule a couple of non-region contests in addition to playing any region games that were rained out.

Fort Mill and Lancaster will make up their rained-out game from last Friday night on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

On Wednesday night, Fort Mill travels to Augusta to take on North Augusta. Thursday night finds Fort Mill playing at Sumter.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 12:52 PM.