High school softball playoff tracker: 5 Rock Hill-area teams advance to SC semifinals

The Fort Mill Yellow Jackets, the Clover Blue Eagles, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads, the York Cougars and the Lewisville Lions picked up district championships on Wednesday and advanced to the Upper State title bracket.

These five teams join three baseball teams from York, Chester and Lancaster counties with their state championship dreams still alive.

Here’s what you need to know.

Fort Mill downs Woodmont to win the district championship

In 5A, Fort Mill defeated the Woodmont Wildcats, 5-1, in Fort Mill to earn the District 3 championship.

Trista Reid gave the Jackets a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a run-scoring single, but Wodmont tied it in the fourth. Fort Mill rallied for four in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-1 cushion.

Maddie Drerup’s two-run single and Ava Balsinger’s run-producing single were the key hits in the outburst.

Drerup pitched a complete game and picked up the win. She allowed only four hits and struck out eight.

The Yellow Jackets are now 14-5 on the year. They will be at home on Friday.to take on Dorman in the first round of the Upper State tournament.

Clover seals district title with win over Hillcrest

The Clover Blue Eagles had to play two games against Hillcrest to earn the District 1 title in Clover.

The Blue Eagles lost the first game 9-8 in nine innings, but they rebounded in the second game for a 4-2 victory to advance to the next round.

In the first game Hillcrest took a 7-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth. The Blue Eagles battled back with four in the fourth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh to send the contest to extra innings.

In the second game against Hillcrest, the Blue Eagles took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third — scoring two runs on back-to-back singles from Emily Wodecki and Maddie Bruining — and never relinquished the lead after that.

Amelia Mason pitched a complete game and got the victory. She scattered six hits and struck out four.

Clover is now 20-6 on the year They will open the next round on Friday at Byrnes.

Catawba Ridge back to Upper States again

In 4A, the Catawba Ridge Copperheads routed Westside 9-1 to claim the District 3 title in Fort Mill.

Catawba Ridge pounded out eleven hits in earning the win. The Copperheads got one in the home half of the first and then struck for five more in the second. Audrey Wilson’s three-run homer highlighted the outburst.

After Westside got one run in the third, the Copperheads tacked on three more runs in the fourth for a 9-1 advantage and coasted on from there.

Chloe Burger tossed a complete game to pick up the win. She allowed only two hits and struck out six.

The Copperheads improved to 23-4 with the victory. They will play at Greenwood on Friday in the first round of the Upper State.

York wins at home to advance to 4A Upper State bracket

In other 4A action York made the most of three hits and toppled the Greer Yellow Jackets 5-4 to claim the District 4 title in York.

Greer scored in the first for a quick 1-0 lead. York tied the count with a run in the fourth, and took a 4-1 lead with three in the fifth. They used three walks and a pair of Greer errors to get the runs.

The Cougars added an insurance run in the sixth. Jaimee Kirkendoll opened the inning with a double and scored later in the frame on a double by Peyton Brooks.

Layla Clayton pitched a complete game and got the win for York. She scattered four hits and struck out five.

York improved to 12-5 overall with the win and will travel to Easley on Friday to open the Upper State tournament.

Lewisville breezes to district championship and shot at Upper State

In 1A Lewisville topped Whitmire 10-1 in Richburg to win the District 3 crown. Lewisville led 3-1 after three innings. They tacked on two more in the fifth and put the game away with five runs in the sixth.

Saleena Rollins led Lewisville with a pair of hits and two RBI. Sydney Rollins added three hits and drove in a run, while Alyssa Rollins contributed a hit and knocked in one run. Savannah Rollins added three hits, and Jordyn Miller had two.

Sarah Owens pitched a complete game and earned the win. She allowed only three hits and struck out thirteen.

Lewisville is now 20-7 on the year. They will play at RidgeSpring-Monetta in the opening round of the Upper State tournament on Friday.

What else to know

Three other area teams played for District titles on Wednesday, but fell short and saw their seasons end.

In 5A, the Nation Ford Falcons dropped a 2-0 decision to the Dorman Cavaliers in the District 4 contest in Spartanburg. The loss left Nation Ford with a record of 8-19.

In 4A, the Lancaster Bruins had to win twice to earn the District 2 title. They won the opening contest 9-5, but dropped the championship game 12-1. The Bruins finished with a record of 19-8..

In 1A, Ridge Spring-Monetta defeated the Great Falls Red Devils to capture the District 4 title. Great Falls finished the season with a mark of 7-9.

This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 10:29 AM.