Josh Hughes handcuffed Greenwood on four hits in a complete game. Right fielder Jaedon Goodwin crashed a home run. First baseman Jackson Martin yanked a triple. Center fielder Zay Pulley made two spectacular catches.

Heroes were prevalent in Laurens’ 5-1 victory on Saturday evening, boosting the Raiders into a best-of-three matchup at Catawba Ridge (22-6) for the Upstate Class 4A baseball championship. Laurens (18-9-1) visits the Fort Mill school on Tuesday evening for the first game, at 7 p.m., with a return to Ed Prescott Field set for Thursday.

Righthander Hughes fired 82 pitches, 61 for strikes. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out five.

Martin’s triple provided the game’s first run in the Raiders’ first bat. Pulley, who had reached on a dropped third strike, scored.

In the second inning, both runs occurred with two outs. Hunter Nabors singled to center. Jack Yarbrough’s grounder eluded Greenwood shortstop Matt Murray, Nabors scored on a wild pitch and Pulley followed with a line single to left, driving in Yarbrough.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Goodwin led off with a home run to left. Nabors drove in the final run with another single, also to center, that drove in Bennett Edwards, who had led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to right.

Laurens has won four consecutive playoff games and 9-10 overall. It was the Raiders’ fourth game against the Eagles, who defeated them, 5-1 and 15-5, in the regular season. Laurens has since won, 11-9 and 5-1, in the playoffs, and they will play no more this season.

Greenwood (23-6) had been scheduled to play Laurens on Friday night, but weather postponed it to early Saturday evening. Had the Eagles won, another game would have been required for the Raiders to advance.

Luke Godwin, Greenwood’s starting pitcher, was also its leading batter with two hits in three at-bats. Godwin took the loss, pitching five innings and allowing all five runs, three of which were earned. He walked two and hit two batters, striking out four.

Center fielder Jayden Adams had the Eagles’ only extra-base hit, a double in the fifth that produced the only run.

Pulley made a diving catch of Evan Avery’s bloop in the seventh, then, after a Godwin single, robbed Adams of a hit on a scorching liner. Greenwood had two hits in the inning before Hughes struck out Reid Guy to end the game.