Playoff baseball this week: Fort Mill ALB, Rock Hill’s Piedmont Pride take top seeds

The regular seasons are complete, and the playoffs start this week in both of the area baseball summer leagues.

Here’s your weekly update.

Piedmont Pride enters postseason with top seed

In the Southern Collegiate League, the Piedmont Pride is in first place as it heads for the tournament. The team completed the regular season one-half game in front of the Carolina Vipers, marking the fifth time in the last six years the Pride won the regular season.

The Pride is 24-7 on the year following a week which saw the team turn in a mark of 4-3.

“Getting a first round bye is extremely important for us,” said Pride head coach Joe Hudak. “That puts us where we can win on Tuesday and Wednesday to advance to the championship game on Friday. We are definitely where we want to be. We have worked hard to get here.”

Piedmont opened the past week on Monday by dropping both games in the doubleheader against the Lake Norman Copperheads by scores of 5-3 and 3-1. And on Tuesday, Mooresville edged the Pride, 4-3, scoring the winning run in the top of the ninth.

The three game losing streak dropped the Pride out of first place, but the team didn’t panic.

“We kept believing in each other,” said Adam Grob, one of the team’s leading hitters. “We came together more as a team. We did not point fingers or place blame. We just supported each other and let everyone know that we had their backs. We had confidence that we would work through this. It definitely made us a better team.”

The next day, on Wednesday, the Pride broke the three-game losing streak by sweeping a twillbill from the Carolina Vipers.

Piedmont won the opener, 1-0. Hayden Cross drove in the only run of the game in the first, and Dawson Gause earned the win with a complete game performance. He allowed only two hits and struck out seven.

After that, Piedmont’s bats came alive: The team scored eight or more runs in its next three games, capping its week on Friday night at home with an 11-2 rout of the Carolina Venom.

“We have been told from day one that we must play one game at a time,” said catcher and first baseman Devin Buckner. “We are entering the tournament with confidence, but we are not cocky. We know we have to play well to win the tournament. We also know the tradition of this program, and we are going to work as a team to get it done.”

Regardless of what happens this week in the tournament, players say it has been a rewarding summer of baseball.

“This has been an awesome experience,” said Phillip Glasser, a Pride infielder whose father was coached by Hudak years ago in American Legion baseball. “I have improved my game, my fundamentals and approach. This experience has also opened my eyes to life, and I have made a lot of friends.”

The Pride has turned in a team effort all season as different players have stepped up to help win games.

“Our team is composed of players from all over,” said Gause. “We have learned to trust each other and what they can contribute. We were challenged from the start to play every game like it was our last. We are all thankful for the chance to play, and the reward has been great.”

American League Baseball teams eye playoffs

In the American League Baseball season, the region champions, Fort Mill, went 2-0 last week, finishing its regular season 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the region. Lancaster (1-9, 1-7) was 0-1 for the week, Rock Hill (5-9) did not play a game last week.

“The No. 1 seed is huge for us,” said Fort Mill head coach Tom Skula. “If we get to the second round it means not having to face another top seed.”

Fort Mill toppled Lancaster, 10-3, last Tuesday night: Scott Young led the hitting parade with two hits, and he drove in a pair of runs. Magdiel Cotto added a two-run home run, and Aaron Pendergast contributed a two-run single. Kyle Raynor picked up the win on the mound; he worked four innings and struck out five.

On Wednesday night, Fort Mill defeated North Augusta, 5-4, propelled by a run-scoring single by Brady Stone in the top of the seventh: Cotto earned the win with another notable performance. He allowed no hits and struck out seven in the five innings he worked. When he left, Fort Mill was in front, 4-0. After North Augusta tied the game at 4-4 and Fort Mill took the lead in the top of the seventh, North Augusta loaded the bases with only one out in the bottom of the inning, but Dusty Sanderlin came in and struck out the last two batters to preserve the win and earn a save.

Last Thursday night’s game between Fort Mill and Sumter was called in the second inning because of rain.

Skula said he feels good entering the postseason.

“We are confident because of what we did in the regular season,’‘ added Skula. “However, we are not overconfident. Our players know that it is a new season, and that we must be ready to play and give our best effort in order to win.”

Want to watch summer baseball?

The Pride plays its opening game in the tournament, which is being held in Mooresville, on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. The team will go against the winner of the first round game between the Lake Norman Copperheads and the Carolina Venom. Willie Lumpkin is set to start for the Pride.

The American League Baseball playoffs begin on Monday of this week with a best-of-three series. All three teams from the region made the postseason, which is made up of 16 teams. Fort Mill, which is one of the No. 1 seeds, will take on Lancaster in Lancaster in the opening round at 8:15 p.m. Rock Hill goes against Simpsonville at 8:15 p.m. in Chester in the first round of play.

The Junior League tournament also begins on Monday night. Chester plays at Lancaster at 6 p.m., while Rock Hill takes on Camden in Chester at 6 p.m.

This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 11:06 AM.