SC summer baseball: Rock Hill juniors win title; Fort Mill seniors fall in playoffs
The South Carolina American Baseball League season concluded on Monday, and a pair of area teams were in it until the end.
In the junior division Rock Hill won the state title over Sumter, while in the senior division Fort Mill finished third in the state tournament.
Here’s what you need to know.
Rock Hill achieves season-long goal
Rock Hill turned it up a notch in the postseason and played some spectacular baseball.
After posting a record of 11-4 during the regular season, the team lost only once through two rounds of best-of-three playoff series and six games in the state tournament to end the year with a record of 20-5.
In the title contest, Rock Hill toppled No. 1 seed Sumter, 8-2: The team exploded for six runs in the bottom of the third to break a scoreless tie. Sumter got one back in the top of the fourth, but Rock Hill added two more in the bottom of the frame for an 8-1 advantage, and Sumter scored one in the top of the sixth before the game’s end.
Ethan Belk led the six-hit attack for Rock Hill with two hits. Ben Venables, who was named as the tournament MVP, and Hudson Robinson added one hit each. Both drove in a pair of runs.
Cayden Towell, who started, Cody Craig and Belk combined on the mound to limit Sumter to only three hits.
Rock Hill head coach Kelly Clayton was extremely proud of his team.
“They were awesome all year, but especially in the playoffs,” said Clayton, who completed his second year as the head coach. “They knew what they wanted when we started the year. They worked hard and got it.”
Clayton’s team had a good group of players returning from last year’s team that made its way to the state tournament.
“This team matured as the year went along, and I am extremely proud of every player on this team,” added Clayton. “The experience they got last year really helped us this year.”
Rock Hill was perfect in the first two rounds of the playoffs leading up to the state tournament. The team swept Camden, 14-13 and 15-3, in the opening round and followed with a 10-9 and 15-3 sweep of Greer in the second round best-of-three series.
That put Rock Hill in the state tournament, which began last Thursday at Riley Park in Sumter.
After losing to Hartsville, 17-7, in the opening game of the six-team double elimination tournament, Rock Hill settled down and performed admirably: The team started the run through the loser’s bracket on Friday with a 3-1 win over North Augusta in an elimination game. Rock Hill then defeated Harsville on Saturday, 8-3, before winning a pair of contests on Sunday to make the Monday state championship game.
Throughout that run, Rock Hill was led offensively by Venables, Robinson, Nick Cain, Gage Gaskins and others. Clayton said that the entire season was a team effort.
“We had different players step up all year to help us win games,” he added. “There is plenty of talent on this team. The last two years have really established a great base for the future of Post 34 baseball. We will lose 10 players to the senior team next year.”
Fort Mill title chase features a no-hitter
Fort Mill opened the week by sweeping North Augusta in the second round of the playoffs. That sent the team to the state tournament in Columbia, where it went 1-2 and completed the season with a record of 15-4.
Fort Mill began the week last Monday with an 8-0 rout of North Augusta in Lancaster. Fort Mill scored four runs in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead, and they sailed on from there for the victory: Patrick Matthews led Fort Mill with three hits, and he drove in one run; Nic Curtis and Chase Dougherty added two hits each to the offensive effort; and Magdiel Coltto was superb on the mound, pitching a complete game no-hitter and struck out 14 as he extended his scoreless inning streak to 22.
On Tuesday night, Fort Mill claimed a 9-3 decision in North Augusta, and then played three games in as many days Friday through Sunday: On Saturday, Fort Mill dropped an 8-3 decision to West Columbia, which dropped them to the losers bracket, and then the team lost again on Sunday to end its season.
Despite falling short of winning the state title, Fort Mill head coach Tom Skula reflected on another outstanding season.
“First of all we were able to provide baseball for a lot of young men who wanted to play this summer,” said Skula. “From the top down, the people involved in this league worked hard to make it happen.”
The reaction from the players showed they were happy to play and appreciated the efforts of all involved, he said.
“When the game was over a lot of players came by and told us how much they enjoyed playing and getting a chance to play,” added Skula. “For some of them it was their last chance to play organized baseball. I could look in their eyes and tell they appreciated having the chance to play.”
The veteran coach also reflected on the overall season.
“It was a good year,” he added. “We won the region, advanced to the state tournament, and finished with a good record. Our team improved as the year went on and our younger players really got better during the season. I cannot wait until next year.”