Fort Mill American Legion baseball teams each finish 1 win short of state championships
The 2021 American Legion baseball season is over for all area teams, and Fort Mill Post 43 enjoyed tremendous success at both the senior and junior level.
“With the success that both teams had this year, the future looks very good for us,” Fort Mill senior head coach Tom Skula told The Herald. “We added the junior program this year, and it will pay huge dividends as we move forward. I am so proud of the accomplishments of both teams.”
Here’s what you need to know.
Seniors update
In the senior division, Fort Mill finished as the runner-up in the double-elimination South Carolina state tournament, which ended this past Sunday.
Fort Mill had to play two games on the final day of the tournament. The team lost to Florence 10-6 in the state title game after topping Camden 12-4 earlier in the day to reach the final contest.
Post 43 pounded out 15 hits and scored early and often against Camden. Harrison Wilson and Gabe Simmons led the offense with three hits each. Jacob Boyna picked up the win with a little more than four innings of work.
In the state title game, Florence came from behind in the last two innings to win the championship: Post 43 scored single runs in the first and third for a 2-0 lead, but Florence rallied for four in the bottom of the third to take a 4-2 advantage. Fort Mill added a run in the fourth, and when they scored three times in the fifth they led 6-4.
Florence then added a run in the fifth and erupted for five runs in the sixth to take a 10-6 lead and held on for the victory. Patrick Matthews led the Fort Mill attack with three hits.
Fort Mill finished the year with an overall record of 20-6.
Before Sunday — the day of the two games, one of which being the state championship — Post 43 suffered a loss to Greer and notched wins over Inman, Lexington and Florence (who they eventually lost to on Sunday for the title). Some leaders over the course of those games: Nic Curtis (who notched a two-run double against Greer); Keenan Sumner (who added an RBI against Greer); Brayden Kurtz (who worked in relief and earned the win against Lexington); and Connor Rasmussen and Chase Dougherty (who added three hits and one RBI each against Florence on Saturday).
Juniors update
In the junior division, Fort Mill finished the 2021 season as the state tournament runner-up, too.
The team lost in the state title contest to West Florence by a score of 4-3: Fort Mill took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Lane Ross. West Florence rallied for four in the bottom of the frame.
Post 43 then cut the deficit to 4-2 in the third on Paul Solari’s run-scoring double. It stayed that way until the top of the seventh.
Fort Mill rallied for one run, but could not pull it out. They took advantage of four walks and a passed ball to get the run. The game ended with the bases loaded.
Post 43 finished its inaugural season in the junior program with a record of 19-2.
Before Sunday: Fort Mill opened the state tournament at Riley Park by defeating Sumter 4-3. Sumter led 3-2 after four innings, but Post 43 tied the game at 3-3 with a run in the home half of the fifth, and won it in the seventh. Carter Cox opened the frame with a triple and scored the game-winning run on a single by Connor Griffin.
Fort Mill then routed North Augusta 13-1 in a winner’s bracket game in the second round. The team took a 5-0 lead after one inning and finished it off with a six-run outburst in the fifth. Lane Ross led the offense with three hits and four RBI. Rylee Ashworth added a pair of hits and drove in four runs. Drew Brink pitched a complete game and earned the win. He scattered four hits and struck out six.
The third day of play saw Fort Mill pound out 18 hits and rout West Florence, 13-4: Post 43 took a 6-0 lead after one inning and never looked back. Solari led the attack with four hits and five RBI. Ashworth added three hits and drove in three runs. Fort Mill used four pitchers with Ross getting the win.
After rain moved the tournament back one day, Fort Mill suffered its first loss of the year with a 3-2 setback against Hartsville. Cole Winburn pitched a complete game and got the win. Both teams scored two runs in the first inning. Fort Mill’s runs came on base hits by Solari and Ashworth. Hartsville broke the 2-2 tie with a run in the bottom of the third. Both teams threatened several times the rest of the game, but could not score.
Despite the loss, Fort Mill advanced to the aforementioned title game on Sunday and lost to West Florence.
This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 1:56 PM.