By MONTE DUTTON
There’s some place I’d rather be.
A ballpark.
The plan was to get the taxes done – I wait till the last minute every year, dang me – in time to make a ballgame. I missed it. I would have had to go unshaved and unshowered, in such a hurry that I’d surely forget something important, like my wallet or a camera or my cell.
I look rough enough already.
I’ll be following as closely as electronics allow. It’s a lot more nervous that way.
Out on the diamonds, particularly the ones in Clinton and Laurens, it was nervous live, too.
Blue Ridge scored three runs while some fans were still getting out of their trucks and led Clinton on a frantic chase that never quite caught the Tigers by the tail.
The tying run was on third when Blue Ridge’s 5-4 win went final.
The Red Devil looked hexed – via cell phone — from the beginning. Blue Ridge scored three runs, and it would have been worse had not a runner been picked off second base. Jaydon Glenn and Bryce Young both made errors, five batters walked, and the only hit, a single by Tucker Upton, drove in the final two runs with two out.
The game had more runners than a relay race, and most never got the batons.
In the top of the second inning, Camden Finley caught a liner in left field and threw out the Tigers’ Levi Powell at third base.
The bats awakened in the Red Devils’ half. Luke Young rocked a single to left, and Camden Finley doubled to the same region. With runners on second and third, Jaydon Glenn’s grounder brought courtesy runner Owen Glenn home.
Freddy Lopez walked, but Bryce Young popped out and Brett Young grounded to short, and Clinton (10-8) had to settle for one.
The Tigers got a two-out double from Mason Tompkins in the third, but Lopez, who had relieved Tanner Kyko in the first, struck out Upton this time.
Zane McLendon led off the bottom half with a double to left. Once more a fielder’s choice, this one a sacrifice by Harrison Moore in which the runner was out at third, produced the run.
Camden Finley extricated Clinton from a fourth-inning jam when he relieved Lopez and retired Alex Kiniry on a fly ball to center with the bases full.
Two reached base for naught in the Clinton fourth, and R.J. Cammarotta led of the Blue Ridge fifth with a double. With one out and Upton at the plate, Cammarotta advanced to third on a passed ball. Upton walked, bringing pitcher Gabriel King to the plate. Upton stole second, and Cammarotta scored on an error charged to catcher Luke Young.
Upton put Blue Ridge (13-4) up, 5-2, on a sacrifice that scored Upton.
At the time, both teams had six hits and three errors. Clinton got the last three, and the Tigers made another error.
The Red Devils’ last chance was as ill-fated as all the other frustrations. With one out, Jaydon Glenn walked. Owen Glenn ran for him. Tanner Finley, third to bat in the order’s eighth spot, grounded out, but Owen Glenn advanced to second on the play and to third on a wild pitch.
Bryce Young struck out on a full count to end the would-be Halloween.
King, the winning pitcher, was the only Tiger with two hits. Jackson Murray gave up two runs and earned a three-inning save.
McLendon, Carson Glenn and Luke Young all had two hits for the Devils.
Tanner Kyko took the loss.
While disappointing, it wasn’t a Region 4-3A game. A big one against Emerald is at CHS Tuesday evening at 6.
Wade Hampton (7-12, 2-7 Region 2-4A) dealt Laurens a costly 4-2 setback.
The Generals staked Jack Stepp to a four-run lead in the first inning, and it was more than enough for him and Andrew Brandt, who pitched the seventh inning.
Meanwhile, Greer (15-5, 7-3) was hammering Riverside, 11-1, meaning that the Yellow Jackets tied Laurens (15-5, 7-3) for first place in the region.
The Raiders scored two runs in the bottom of the six but ran out of steam in the seventh when Brandt retired them in order.
The top of the first seemed bottomless for Laurens. It began with a Stepp double hiding in the middle of four walks, two of which walked in and two more that arrived via error.
In the bottom half, Zay Pulley led off with a double, then was doubled off second on Hunter Nabors’ popup to short.
Wade Hampton left the bases loaded in the second.
Finally, the Raiders put together a two-out rally in the sixth. It took Asher Goss reaching on a dropped third streak to make it happen. The former run scored on Ben Willis’s single, the latter when Zee Williams reached on catcher interference.
Ryland Paxton (L) didn’t make it out of the four-run first and walked five batters while allowing only one hit. Grayson Ledford held the line, giving up three hits in 6-1/3 innings and striking out 12.
The Raiders visit Taylors for game two on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and face the Generals at home again on Friday at 6:30.
Woodruff handed Laurens a 14-1 softball loss and the Raiders’ fifth loss in the last six games.
The Wolverines (11-4), who defeated LDHS 16-3 on March 28, added insult with an eight-run fifth inning.
Mary Ellis Mitchell led Woodruff with a 3/4 night, scoring two and driving in three. Two of her hits were double.
Kaitlynn Jackson stopped the Raiders on three hits and a walk, fanning seven. The run was unearned.
Summer Nations took the loss for Laurens (6-7).
Elsewhere, all was great.
Braydon Burke’s three-run bomb in the first inning set the tone for Laurens Academy’s 13-7 victory over Wardlaw in Johnston.
He later singled in a fourth run and got the win with six innings on the hill.
Five Crusaders – Burke, Evan Asalone, Caleb Hardy, Nathan Bell and Ethan Colllins – had two hits each, and Hack Hardy cracked a double.
LA (5-5, 2-2 SCISA 4-A) sprayed the diamond with 12 hits and gladly accepted 12 walks.
Addison Faust singled three times and drove in three runs for the Patriots (2-9, 2-4).
In McCormick, Thornwell (5-13) battered the Chiefs, 18-4 in softball, behind Camden Nelson’s power in the circle and at the plate.
The circumstances dictated that Nelson had only five innings to pitch, but she allowed only a hit and a walk, striking out 11. One of the four runs was earned.
The four batters at the top of the Saints’ order – Madi Porter, Adrienne Anderson, Nelson and Karleigh Porter – each had two hits. One of Nelson’s was a double, as was the case with Anderson. Nelson had three runs batted in, Anderson three scored.
Clinton tennis (7-1, 6-0) kept rolling along, defeating Woodruff, 4-2, on Monday after taking down Emerald, 6-0, on Friday.
Clinton 4, Winthrop 2
# 1 Singles, Nathan Meade defeated Cohen Lyda 6 – 1, 6 – 0; # 2 Singles, Edwin Orr defeated Jacob Thompson 6 – 0, 6 – 0; # 3 Singles, Matthew King defeated Owen Edmondson 7 – 6 (5), 6 – 0; # 4 Singles, Jacob King defeated Louis Phelps 6 – 0, 6 – 1; # 5 Singles, Malakye Brewer lost to Bryce Collins 6 – 0, 6 – 2.
# 1 Doubles DID NOT PLAY; # 2 Doubles, Brady Mason & Ethan Wargo lost to Jayden Lanford & Benjamin Martin 6 – 3, 6 – 1.
Clinton 6, Emerald 0
# 1 Singles, Nathan Meade defeated Brady Lloyd 6 – 1, 6 – 2; # 2 Singles Edwin Orr defeated Jason Dunton 6 – 0, 6 – 2; # 3 Singles, Matthew King defeated Gavin Jenks 6 – 0, 6 – 0; # 4 Singles, Jacob King defeated Tatum Bonaca 6 – 0, 6 – 0; # 5 Singles Malakye Brewer defeated Hayden Bell 6 – 2, 6 – 2.
# 1 Doubles DID NOT PLAY; # 2 Doubles Brady Mason & Ethan Wargo defeated Davis Sherrer & Wilson Trent 6 – 7, 6 – 2, (10 – 6).
Justin Dawkins, long a Laurens assistant who loves the game, is the new boys’ basketball coach at Thornwell Charter.
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