Clover Post 38, Rock Hill Post 34, split American Legion baseball doubleheader

Clover Post 38 took the first game of an American Legion baseball doubleheader Wednesday night, beat Rock Hill Post 34, 6-3.

Jonathan Brakefield was excellent on the mound for Clover, allowing four hits and three runs, with two of those unearned, and taking advantage of a limited and fatigued Post 34 roster. The hosts started the game with nine players, and though one extra showed up late, they struggled to get energized for the two games. Brakefield played a big part in that in the first game, getting 11 pop-fly outs, including all three in the bottom of the seventh.

“That team right there, they’re geared up for a guy probably throwing in the mid-80s, upper-80s. They see it all the time,” said Clover coach Hank Wofford. “What a great job he did of keeping them off balance.”

The second game of the two-game bill didn’t finish in time for The Herald’s print deadline. Visit heraldonline.com for more from the second game.

While Brakefield – mixing in a change-up and a knuckle ball at times – retired Post 34 batters in a row the first two innings, Clover took the lead that it never relinquished in the first. An infield error, the first of three by Rock Hill, was seized upon by Davis McCarter, whose RBI double opened the scoring.

With the bags full in the top of the fourth, Clover’s Cameron Tolodziecki burned a double just inside third base and into left field, scoring two runs to make it 3-0. Cody Payne’s ground ball scored another run to make it 4-0.

Rock Hill came to life briefly in the bottom half of that same inning, scoring three runs to scythe into the visitors’ lead. Cameron Smith and Josh Alley singled before Clover recorded both of its two errors in the game to allow the two hitters to score, a double-steal producing the third run for a 4-3 score.

But Post 34 only mustered one more base-runner the rest of the game. Clover tacked on two more runs for insurance in the sixth. Tolodziecki again doubled, scoring on an error, before Kyle Kalick’s ground-out scored Payne for a 6-3 tally.

All five teams from League 5 make the American Legion postseason. Fort Mill Post 43 has already wrapped up the regular season title, with Lancaster sitting in second. York and Rock Hill are jammed up in third, with Clover hot on their heels. Post 38’s win in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader was a big step toward a possible leapfrog of Rock Hill and York.

“We’ve got one more game with Rock Hill and got two against Lancaster, and like we told them before the game started today, we’ve got an opportunity with four games left, maybe we can move up a seed in the playoffs,” said Wofford. “That’s what we’re trying to do these next couple of days.”

Rock Hill cruises in Game 2

That optimism would be tempered quickly in the second game, though.

Caleb Hamilton was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI, and also pitched a complete game in Rock Hill’s 11-1, five-inning victory. Hamilton struck out six on the mound as Post 34 regrouped with a more concerted effort to salvage a split against Clover.

“The guys all got together and basically just said, ‘we’re all gonna play to win,’” said Rock Hill coach Mike Scott. “They put a good effort in.”

Scott’s team scored five runs in each of the third and fourth innings to blow the game open. Josh Alley and Daniel McClurkin had RBI doubles in the third, five Rock Hill (6-7) players scored consecutively in the fourth, the hosts taking advantage of several bases-loaded situations to run up the score.

Hamilton was giving Clover (4-10) nothing, setting his team up for a 10-run-rule opportunity in the bottom of the fifth. Dupree Hart sped to first for an infield single, then got to second when Cameron Smith walked. Josh Alley’s sacrifice fly allowed Hart to sneak into third and he scored the winning run on another deep fly ball from Trent Autry.

This story was originally published July 1, 2015 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Clover Post 38, Rock Hill Post 34, split American Legion baseball doubleheader."