Playoff updates: ‘Bulldog’ keeps York baseball alive; Clover softball survives; more

In the sixth inning, right after an Eastside double sent in a run and narrowed the game’s score to 4-3, York baseball coach Tripper Crisson headed to the mound.

He knew exactly what to say.

His pitcher, senior Britton Adams who Crisson affectionately calls his “bulldog,” started Wednesday night’s home elimination 4A state playoff game with a two-run first inning. Adams settled as the game went on — but in the sixth inning, with the game on the brink of being flung open, Crisson had a decision to make.

And he didn’t hesitate to make it.

“I went out to him on the mound, and I told him that I was not taking him out,” Crisson told The Herald postgame. “I said, ‘I’m not taking you out. This is your game. You’ve been here for four years. You’ve given everything you have to this program. I’m going to let you do everything you can to be successful.’

“And he had no problem. Like I said, he’s an absolute bulldog.”

The York defense didn’t give up another run. And with no one on and two outs in the seventh inning, Adams threw an outside fastball and an Eastside hitter slapped a pop-up to right field.

Then came the game’s final out. The catch. The gloves flying. The York players and coaches swarming Adams, who was already screaming and celebrating to the 100-plus fans on hand who saw the Cougars win on Wednesday.

York will now play AC Flora on Friday on the road. The team will need to win twice — once at 5 p.m. and then again immediately after that — to earn a spot at its district championship and a berth into the Upper State playoff stage.

“Just a great team win for us,” said Crisson, who has only coached at York since 2019. “That is the defending state champion over there. Since we didn’t have a season last year, they’re the last people to win a state championship.”

York’s win on Wednesday wasn’t the prettiest one it’d collected in its 22-win season. But it was a win nonetheless: Entering the bottom of the first down 2-0, the Cougars saw their first two players get on base before lead-off batter Cooper Parks was knocked in for a score by way of a senior Anderson Fulk single. 2-1, Eastside up.

The Cougars would then load the bases — still with no outs — and score on a squeeze bunt but wouldn’t score again in the inning. Eastside escaped the bottom of the first with the score tied. 2-2.

York would chip away throughout the rest of Wednesday’s contest: In the bottom of the fourth, a Trace Thompson bunt would be mishandled by an Eastside fielder and lead to a York run. Then, later that inning, another Fulk single would drive in Thompson. 4-2, York up.

An Eastside double and RBI in the top of the sixth would bring the game’s margin to one. But then Adams refocused and wouldn’t be denied history.

By the end of the game, Crisson said, York’s team saw several milestones:

▪ Right-handed pitcher Adams earned his 10th win, the most wins in a single season of any York pitcher ever.

▪ Fulk notched his 60th and 61st hits, making the senior outfielder the all-time career hits leader in York baseball history.

▪ And the team notched its 22nd win, the most wins in school history.

Needless to say, Wednesday was a special night.

Crisson hopes Friday will be, too.

“I appreciate the support of the fans the past three games,” he said. “It’s been absolutely remarkable. And we are very excited about where York’s program is going. We appreciate the support. And we hope to see everybody at AC Flora on Friday.”

Rock Hill area baseball scores

All area baseball teams besides York and Lewisville — besides Andrew Jackson and Legion Collegiate, which were in the middle of a chaotic turn of events that halted the 2A baseball playoffs earlier this week — were eliminated before Wednesday.

What happened on Wednesday night?

York 4, Eastside 3

Dixie 10, Lewisville 2

The Dixie Hornets defeated the Lewisville Lions 10-2 in an elimination game in the 1A District 2 tournament at Richburg.

Dixie took a 1-0 lead in the third, but the Lions countered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.

The Hornets tied the count with a single tally in the top of the fourth. They got their score without getting a hit.

The fifth inning proved to be the Lions’ downfall as Dixie erupted for eight runs to break the game open. Caleb Simpson capped the outburst with a three-run home run to make it 10-2.

The Hornets moved on from there to claim the win and move to the title round on Friday.

Lewisville finished its season with a overall mark of 17-9.

Wednesday’s area softball scores

Earlier this week, the softball teams at Catawba Ridge, Andrew Jackson and Indian Land advanced to their district title games. Each one will take place on Friday.

This left four teams from The Herald’s coverage area — Lewisville, Legion Collegiate, Clover and Fort Mill — to play in elimination games on Wednesday night.

So what happened?

Fort Mill 7, Hillcrest 1

The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets toppled the Hillcrest Rams 7-1 in an elimination game in the 5A District 1 tournament at Hillcrest.

The Jackets took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second. They added three more in the fourth and one in the fifth for a 6-0 advantage.

The Rams scored once in the home half of the fifth to make it 6-1. Fort Mill added its final run in the top of the sixth.

Ally Hall led the Jackets’ nine-hit attack with two hits and two RBI. Sydnie Spears added a hit and drove in a pair of runs. Emma Tisdale got one hit and drove in a run, while Maddie Drerup contributed a pair of hits.

Drerup was dominant in the circle. She pitched a complete game to earn the win. She allowed only one hit and struck out 10.

Fort Mill improved to 15-4 with the win. They will travel to Dorman on Friday for the championship round. They need to win twice to earn the district title.

Clover 2, Mauldin 1 (8)

The Clover Blue Eagles edged the Mauldin Mavericks 2-1 in extra innings in an elimination game in the 5A District 2 tournament at Clover.

The Mavericks scored a run in the second frame for a 1-0 lead. Clover countered with a score in the bottom of the fifth to tie game.

The Blue Eagles won the game with a run in the bottom of the eighth.

Clover improved to 16-9 with the win. They will travel to Byrnes on Friday for the championship round. The Blue Eagles will need to win twice to earn the district crown.

Legion Collegiate 7, Gray Collegiate 2

The Legion Collegiate Lancers defeated the Gray Collegiate War Eagles 7-2 in an elimination game in the 2A District 2 tournament in Rock Hill.

The Lancers improved to 19-6 with the win. They will travel to Ninety Six for the championship round on Friday. They need to win twice to claim the district title.

Lewisville 8, Wagener-Salley 7

The Lewisville Lions edged the Wagener-Salley War Eagles 8-7 in an elimination game in the 1A District 2 tournament at Wagener.

Lewisville scored five in the third, but the War Eagles scored once in the bottom of the frame and added two more in the fourth to trim the deficit to 5-3.

The Lions rallied for two in the fifth and one in the sixth, before Wagener-Salley got a pair in the bottom of sixth to make it 8-5.

The War Eagles scored twice in the home half of the seventh, but the Lions escaped with the victory.

Alyssa Rollings pitched a complete game and got the win. She allowed only three earned runs and struck out four.

Malaurie Martin and Sydney Rollins led the Lions’ 10-hit attack with three hits each. Abby Furr added two hits, while Saleena Rollins added a hit and drove in two runs. Lewisvile took advantage of five War Eagle miscues in earning the victory.

The win improved Lewisville to 15-11. They will travel to Dixie on Friday needing to win two games to earn the District title.

Dixie edged Lewisville 1-0 in the opening round of the tournament last Saturday.

What happens now?

The first round, which is being played now, will provide eight “district” winners in each classification throughout the state.

The following teams will play on Friday and must win once to win their district’s championship and to earn a spot in their classification’s Upper State playoff stage:

▪ Indian Land softball (4A)

▪ Catawba Ridge softball (4A)

▪ Andrew Jackson softball (2A)

The following teams will also play on Friday but will have to win twice (against the same opponent) to win their district’s title and earn a berth to the Upper State playoff stage:

▪ Fort Mill softball (5A)

▪ Clover softball (5A)

▪ York baseball (4A)

▪ Legion Collegiate softball (2A)

▪ Lewisville softball (1A)

Once these district champions are established, these four teams from each classification will play a double elimination tournament to determine their classification’s Upper State champion. Then that team will play a best-of-three series with said classification’s Lower State champion for a state title.

For a visual representation of what this looks like, visit the South Carolina High School League’s website.

This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 10:56 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.