By MONTE DUTTON
On Sunday night, I watched my favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, play for the first time this season.
Anyone who picked the Red Sox, who have won more World Series than anyone else in the current century, to finish anywhere other than last in the American League East has been declared feebleminded and spirited under darkness of night to an asylum in Maine.
I’m leery of the Sox’ ability to persevere throughout the arduous season, but they edged the Cubs on Sunday night in a game marred by a full inning of conversation between three ESPN broadcasters and a Japanese pitcher with a translator in between.
While the game was going on!
For decades, I watched about 100 Red Sox games a year because I subscribed to “the MLB package.” I no longer get the games on account of I’m, (a.) busy as a Trump lawyer on sports close to home, (b.) a bit nonplussed by the Red Sox paying its players less than the Ole Miss football team, and (c.) broke a good bit of the time.
I am, however, getting dangerously enthused. The Red Sox are 16-13. There exists a smattering of evidence that the young players are actually developing.
Fortunately, almost every baseball game at Clinton High, Laurens High and Presbyterian College is exciting. I expect I can do without the Red Sox for a while.
It was a rare shot on Sunday of the Elton Pollock Field infield without runners on its bases.
Presbyterian claimed its series against the first-place baseball team in the Big South Conference, USC Upstate, 10-8, two out of three and come from behind.
Two PC outfielders, Noah Lebron and Jay Wetherington, went 3/4 at the plate. Two of the latter’s safeties were doubles, leading to three RBI.
The Blue Hose managed to win in spite of home runs by USC Upstate’s Jace Rinehart, Koby Kropf and Daniel Gernon.
The Blue Hose scored four runs in the first inning, but after the Spartans put up three in the sixth, the score was tied, 7-7. Both added a run in the seventh.
PC’s two best hitters, Brody Fahr and Joel Dragoo, led off the bottom of the eighth, but both flied out. This was a day for less likely Blue Hose heroes. Fahr and Dragoo were a combined 2/9, though Fahr scored a run, and Dragoo scored two and drove in one.
With no one on base and two out, Presbyterian (22-22, 12-6) went to work anyway.
Lebron kicked off the two-run rally with a single and advanced to second base on a passed ball. After Randolph drew a walk, putting runners on first and second base with two out, Ryan Becker delivered an RBI single up the middle, giving the Blue Hose a 9-8 lead. With runners still on first and second, Wetherington hammered an RBI double to left, extending Presbyterian’s lead to two runs.
Jake Cubler (3-3), the fourth Spartans hurler, took the loss, giving up two runs in 1-1/3 innings for Upstate (28-16, 13-5).
The Blue Hose face the Charleston Southern Buccaneers for another Big South Conference series next weekend in North Charleston with the first game beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday.
USC Upstate’s edge at the top of the conference standings is down to a half game over High Point (24-21, 11-4). PC is third, a game out, and Charleston Southern (18-23, 9-6), two games behind. Only the top four teams qualify for the conference tournament (May 23-250. UNC Asheville (18-23, 8-10) is fifth.
The Blue Hose have six conference games left and a four-game lead on fifth place.
Take a look at the box here.
Presbyterian got swept again in softball, but on Sunday in Boiling Springs, N.C., the Blue Hose gave it a decent shot.
Gardner-Webb (33-19, 9-9 Big South) came from two runs down to hand Presbyterian (14-34, 4-11) its 10th consecutive defeat, 6-3.
Second baseman Kaitlyn Tucker and catcher Logan Grice each went 2/3 at the plate, and PC racked up doubles by Tucker, Kasey Wolfe, Kendall Owens and Mallory Fletcher.
Gardner-Webb, after trailing 3-1, score two runs in the third inning, one in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Adrienne Visintine, Aracell Pesqueira and Ella Christopher each had two hits for the Bulldogs, who also collected four doubles by the same three plus Taylor Dreher.
Andrea Lyon (12-7) was the winning pitcher. Jenna Greene (7-14) took the loss.
GWU has won five straight games over the Blue Hose since PC captured a walk-off in last season’s opener.
The season ends next weekend in Virginia, where the Blue Hose visit Radford (22-22, 5-10) for a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday.
I’d like to thank Steamers Restaurant, which I will miss for many reasons, for its longtime support of this site. It’s been one of my hangouts as well as one of my advertisers.
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