American Legion playoffs: Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Lancaster have more baseball to play

The first round of the 2022 American Legion baseball playoffs is in the books, and five area teams are advancing to the second round best-of-three series this week.

When the second round is complete, the remaining eight teams in the senior division will travel to Segra Park in Columbia for the double-elimination state tournament. The third round of the junior division will assemble in Greenwood for the double-elimination state tournament.

Here’s what you need to know.

Rock Hill advances

In the senior division, Rock Hill Post 34 leads the way having received a first round bye because of its outstanding regular season. Rock Hill takes an 18-3 overall mark with them into the second round of play when they host Anderson.

Post 34 head coach Jeremy McCoy is hoping the week long layoff does not hurt his team.

“We got a chance to get some rest, but we also kept in shape with practice sessions and one game,” he said. “I feel pretty good going to the second round.”

McCoy knows the key for success as the playoffs enter the second round.

“Pitching is the big thing when you get this far,” he added. “Our pitchers have been overlooked all year, but they have a cumulative ERA of 2.20 right now.”

The home field advantage is also important in a three game series..

“You always want to win game one to get a leg up,” he said. “That way you know if it comes down to the third game it will be at home, where we have been very good the past two seasons.”

Lancaster squeezes by Gaffney

Lancaster Post 31 moved to the second round by beating Gaffney two games to one..

Lancaster won the first game in Lancaster by a count of 6-2. Gaffney evened the count with a 7-4 decision, but Lancaster regrouped and won game three by a score of 7-1. Lancaster used excellent pitching and timely hitting to win the first round series.

In game one, Ron Robinson picked up the victory. He worked six strong innings, scattered five hits, and struck out nine.

After losing game two, Lancaster regrouped behind a complete game performance on the mound by Landon Deese. He allowed only two hits and struck out seven.

“We got outstanding efforts in this series from our pitching staff,” said Lancaster head coach Jimmy Jackson. “Getting that type of effort on the mound is going to be the key for us as we move forward.”

Jackson credited numerous players for the offensive production in the series. Landon Peavy, Brody Sanders, Brady Jackson, Zane Cook and Buddy Howard got key hits for Post 31 in the three game set.

“We got clutch hits, and we got some key bunts to move runners along,” he added. “We really concentrated at the plate, especially in game three. That was huge for us.”

After losing game two on the road, Lancaster bounced back to win the series at home

“This team has been resilient all year,” added Jackson. “They knew they did not play their best in game two, so they were very determined to turn things around in the deciding game in the series.”

Lancaster takes an overall record of 11-8 with them on the road to face Greenwood on Monday in the opening game of the second round series.

Fort Mill sweeps Inman

Fort Mill swept its first round series against Inman. After a rain out forced the series to be pushed back a day, Fort Mill won the opening game 6-5 on Tuesday. They picked up a 9-1 decision on Wednesday in the second contest.

In game one Fort Mill was led by Eli Craddock, who got two hits and drove in a run. Trevor Testerman added a pair of hits and knocked in one run. Scott Young got one hit and one RBI.

Kyle Knoll, who came on in relief of Dusty Sanderlin, picked up the victory.

In game two Fort Mill was led at the plate by a quartet of players. The key inning was the top of the seventh when they tallied five runs to break the contest wide open.

Testerman led the second game charge with two hits, including a home run, and a pair of RBI. Alex Steckler added two hits and drove in one run. Craddock contributed a hit and drove in two runs, while Sanderlin added a home run.

Greyson Wild recorded the win for Post 43. He worked five frames, allowed only two hits and struck out six.

“I told our team again this year that when the playoffs start it is a new season,” said veteran Fort Mill head coach Tom Skula. “You can forget the regular season, because every team starts over.”

He was extremely pleased with the response his team had in the opening series.

“We executed well in beating a very good Inman team,” he added. “We had some quality at bats in both games, and we need to continue that.”

Fort Mill, which is now 7-9 overall on the year, is set to play Lexington in the second round.

“Lexington is another quality team,” he added. “We need to stay focused, and do the little things correctly. We need to continue to get good pitching. We also need to continue to be patient at the plate, and continue to execute.”

York eliminated

Greer eliminated York Post 66 in the first round by winning two of three games, Greer won the first game 5-1, but York rebounded and tied the series at home with a 4-3 decision. Greer won the third and deciding contest 11-1. The series loss ended York’s season with an overall record of 6-11.

Junior division American Legion baseball

In the junior division, Buford won its first round series 2-0 over Greenwood.

Buford won the first game 3-2 on Monday, and was victorious in the second game on Tuesday by a count of 2-1.

Buford head coach Hank Harris credited timely hitting and clutch pitching as the keys for the two wins.

“Our pitching in the two games was outstanding,” he said. “We got good starting and relief pitching.”

Gavin Lowery came on in relief in both games and earned the wins.

Offensively, Buford used the small ball approach to win both games.

“We got hits when we needed them,” he added. “We did a good job of base running and moving runners along with bunts and sacrifices. They have bought into playing this type of game if we need to do it.”

Trey Ewing scored the winning ruin in the opening game, while Will Rape got the decision maker in the second contest. Harris also cited Eli Sistare, Hunter Gainey, Hunter Sellers, and Brady Morgan with key hits and bunts in the opening series.

The defense aided in the two wins as Buford committed only two errors combined in the two games.

Buford will host Greer on Monday to begin the second round.

“We are pretty confident right now,” he added. “However, we are very humble, and we know that we must continue to play well and stay focused.”’

Fort Mill also advanced by winning its first round series in two games.

They toppled York 13-2 in the first game, and claimed a 7-5 win in the second game.

In the opening contest Fort Mill took a huge early lead on their way to the win.

Reid Kazmierczak led the hitting assault with three hits. Braydon Hampton added a hit and drove in three runs. Brady Owens and Justin Brink each contributed a hit and knocked in a pair of runs.

Carter Cox pitched a completed game and recorded the win. He scattered four hits, struck out eight and walked five.

In the second game Kazmierczak was again the leader at the plate. He collected three hits and drove in a pair of runs. Bradyn Deaton added a pair of hits.

Owens, who came on in relief, picked up the victory.

“We got 19 hits in the two games,’ said Fort Mill head coach Mike Lewis. “We concentrated more at the plate and cut down on our strikeouts. We put the ball in play, and that is important.”

Fort Mill will take a record of 10-4 with them as they travel to Inman on Monday in the opening contest in the second round.

“I feel good about where we are right now,” Lewis added. “We have got some cleaning up to do on a few things, but we are getting back on track in all areas of the game.”

The two losses eliminated York from the postseason. They finished the year with an overall mark of 5-11.

Rock Hill was also eliminated in the first round. They lost to Greer by scores of 8-0 and 9-0. Rock Hill finished its season with an overall record of 11-7.

This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 9:00 AM.