County Signs: Beat Catawba Ridge … check

By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. PROLOGUE Sometimes it rains. Sometimes it doesn’t. I like it better when Mother Nature makes up her mind. I’ve watched the weather. Laurens and Clinton have crucial high-school baseball games Friday night. The Raiders are (or by the time you read this, maybe were) undefeated in the …

County Signs: A mostly bleak night on the diamonds

By MONTE DUTTON Zane McLendon has that sinking feeling. (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. A Furman release revealed that the Paladins have signed two “rising juniors.” I thought, Thank God, they aren’t falling juniors. Yes, I know, “rising” refers to someone in the next class. It’s spring, and those two promising athletes are sophomores now, …

County Signs: Old home night in the valley

By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. It’s hard to beat fun at the old ballpark. Somehow, in addition to snapping over 300 photos – deleted about 200, used 15 or so, saved the rest for future use – I managed to engage in friendly conversations with friends and foes alike. Furman assistant football …

Red Devils nail down another region title

By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. The games that begin next week mean everything, but the one played Friday night at Clinton High School was pretty darn close. The Red Devils’ 2-0 baseball victory over Union County was pretty darn close in general. By winning, Clinton (13-10, 6-2) won Region 4-3A for the …

County Signs: A race to the finish

By MONTE DUTTON It took nine innings to settle the rivalry at Ed Prescott Field (Monte Dutton photos). Click here. Many years ago, a colleague asked me to read his column and “see what you think.” I didn’t think much of it. The author expressed his view that playoffs ought to be held for the …

County Signs: Next … Red Devils visit Raiders

By MONTE DUTTON Coleman Coker (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. It wasn’t a bad weekend. I found out who Nelly Korda is. By some miracle, the Boston Red Sox are 13-10. I’m trying to keep optimism at bay. It’s early. Talladega ended with a crash at the finish line. Who knew? I hoped Brad Keselowski …

County Signs: How sweet it is

By MONTE DUTTON Bennett Edwards drove in six runs. (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Laurens accepted the key to Region 2-4A on Friday night, and Clinton has a locksmith on retainer. I was at Ed Prescott Field, even though the Raiders had already clinched the top seed but needed a victory over Wade Hampton to …

County Signs: Big Red steps up

By MONTE DUTTON Luke Young (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. I was back in my right mind Tuesday, taxes begone, getting ahead, watching part of a movie that I’ve watched part of three times in the last month, playing a little guitar, having something I hadn’t had at Steamers and trundling off to a ballyard. …

County Signs: Raiders, Red Devils jockeying for playoff position

By MONTE DUTTON Luke Young (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Baseball is a funny game. Joe Garagiola named a book that. The first person who said it was probably in the first game. Garagiola gets credit because he wrote the book. Kids go to baseball games to play. They’ll take up any vacant space and …

County Signs: Red Devils quiet Cyclones, 3-1

By MONTE DUTTON Carson Glenn was perfect in relief. (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. This is how I’ve changed on social media. I let more go. For instance, just a minute ago, I read a post that expressed this view in the form of a question; “What grown man still eats peanut butter and jelly …