Baseball notes: Nation Ford-Fort Mill rivalry decides SC playoff spot; region standings

The Nation Ford Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings and held off a furious Fort Mill rally to defeat the rival Yellow Jackets 5-3 Friday night at Nation Ford.

The win locked down second place in Region 3-5A and advanced the Falcons to the playoffs — and the jubilation was palpable after the final strike was thrown: Falcon players and coaches stormed the field in triumph.

Fort Mill had taken game one in the series Monday night at Nation Ford and the Falcons came back and got game two Wednesday at Fort Mill to set up the rubber match to see who would earn the second playoff spot from the region. Boiling Springs clinched the region title Wednesday night.

In the bottom of the first, the first two runners reached for Nation Ford via E4 and a walk. Gabe Simmons then doubled to the fence in left-center to start the scoring and make it 2-0. Justin Lehman followed with another double down the left-field line into the corner for a 3-0 lead.

Aaron Pendergast had a run-scoring double in the second inning and scored on a wild pitch to give the Falcons the 5-0 lead that they would make stand up.

“We haven’t jumped out to a fast start in like six or seven games,” Nation Ford coach Mike Lewis said. “And Taylor Sprinkle did good enough to keep us in and get us to Justin. And Eric Yelton standing up in game one and not allowing me to go to the bullpen is huge. Because that keeps Justin fresh. And that keeps our starters fresh. That is a selfless play by a great player, and I love that about him.”

Eli Craddock and Connor Rasmussen had run-scoring base hits in the fourth for Fort Mill as they chipped their way back into the ballgame.

“Our seniors showing up on senior night, that’s pretty special,” Lewis said. “Our kids grow up playing with their kids and play Legion ball together.”

Nation Ford will travel to Catawba Ridge Wednesday and AC Flora Friday.

Scores in York, Chester and Lancaster counties

Friday

Nation Ford 5, Fort Mill 3

Nation Ford won the three-game series 2-1 and in the process wrapped up a playoff spot.

Blythewood 8, Northwestern 0

Blythewood wrapped up the region title with its third win of the year over Northwestern, which will enter the playoffs as the region runner-up.

York 3, South Pointe 1

York swept the three-game series with South Pointe. Their win on Monday wrapped up the region title and a first round home game in the playoffs later this month.

Cooper Parks worked six innings and got the win. He struck out nine.

Indian Land 13, Lancaster 5

The Warriors completed a three-game sweep of Lancaster for the week.

Legion Collegiate sweeps Central

Legion Collegiate swept a doubleheader from Central on Friday at Lake Wylie. The Lancers won the opener 4-0 and got the nightcap 9-2.

Thursday

Catawba Ridge 7, Clover 6

Wednesday

Nation Ford 7, Fort Mill 2

York 8, South Pointe 2

Indian Land 10, Lancaster 1

Tuesday

Northwestern 5, Ridge View 0

Rock Hill 7, Spring Valley 5

Catawba Ridge 5, Clover 1

Legion Collegiate 16, North Central 1

Andrew Jackson 1, Chesterfield 0

Monday

Fort Mill 5, Nation Ford 1

York 6, South Pointe 1

Indian Land 11, Lancaster 1

GAMES TO WATCH NEXT WEEK

Fort Mill vs. Catawba Ridge: These two in-town rivals square off in two contests next week. Catawba Ridge is in the postseason, but Fort Mill did not make the playoffs. These games will be very intense.

All three Northwestern games: The Trojans are already in the playoffs, but these games will be good tests as they prepare for the postseason. The big one is the season finale against the Rock Hill Bearcats.

Clover vs York: The two teams play a two-game series next week. This is a fierce rivalry, and with the teams in different classifications, only bragging rights are on the line.

REGION STANDINGS

The marking of an asterisk means the team has clinched a playoff berth.

Region 3-5A

*Boiling Springs (8-3, 12-8)

*Nation Ford (8-4, 14-7)

Fort Mill (7-5, 13-10)

Clover (5-7, 7-14)

Gaffney (1-10, 1-15)

Region 4-5A

*Blythewood (9-0, 19-2)

*Northwestern (7-3, 11-5)

Rock Hill (4-5, 8-12)

Spring Valley (2-7, 5-11)

Ridge View (1-8, 5-11)

Region 3-4A

*York (11-1, 19-5)

*Catawba Ridge (8-3, 14-5)

South Pointe (4-7, 10-12)

Indian Land (3-9, 7-13)

Lancaster (3-9, 6-13)

Region 4-3A

Mid-Carolina (5-0, 11-9)

Fairfield Central (5-2, 5-4)

Chester (3-3, 5-7)

Lower Richland (2-4, 4-5)

Keenan (0-6, 1-8)

Region 4-2A

Legion Collegiate (10-1, 13-7)

Andrew Jackson (8-1, 11-4)

Chesterfield (6-4, 14-5)

Buford (4-4, 7-8)

Central (4-7, 5-8)

Cheraw (2-7, 4-7)

North Central (0-10, 0-13)

Region 2-1A

*Lewisville (5-1, 13-6)

*McBee (4-2, 7-7)

Great Falls (3-3, 3-9)

C. A. Johnson (0-6, 1-11)

This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 11:01 PM.