Whatever happened to slow-pitch softball? The dirtiest game I ever played in was church softball.

Undoubtedly, it gradually died out, but seems sudden to me. I went off to write about NASCAR … and it was gone. Like textile baseball before it.

Whatever happened to horse shows? Whatever happened to horseshoes?

They tell me a heap of folks are getting pickled on pickleball.

Time marches on. It’s a privilege to be one of millions, maybe billions in one language or another, to have written the previous sentence.

Man, we’re halfway to Star Wars since I’ve been to college.

Laurens County and Furman keep me grounded.

What would be more of a miracle than Presbyterian College defeating the University of South Carolina in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament?

Let me consult my Bible.

What do you know? The Blue Hose are playing against Sacred Heart on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in order to get a shot at the Gamecocks. The tournament has 68 teams, with four play-in games to reach a standard field of 64. One matches Presbyterian against the Pioneers of Fairfield, Conn.

The games are at Columbia’s Colonial Life Arena.

Sacred Heart (24-9) won the Northeast Conference tournament on the heels of a 15-1 regular season.

Making that tournament is already the promised land for the Blue Hose. Great honor resides in PC’s presence. With a play-in game, PC has a shot at making some preliminary noise.

The Blue Hose take on Sacred Heart on Wednesday night at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia.

“We kind of anticipated playing in the Columbia region and I love that because we can have a great following and great fan support,” Sharp stated. “Just seeing our players faces as they found out, and adding it to the memory box of all the stuff that we’ve been through. We are still hungry for history and still have some peak performance.”

Maybe they’ll fall to the national champion. There’s that. PC gets some TV time, and that earns money. USC is 32-0, and PC is 20-14, and that’s the least of the measures. PC won the Big South Tournament after entering it as the fifth seed.

Injury-ravaged early. Losing streak in the midst of the Big South schedule. Wound up dominating the big tournament before this one. Alaura Sharp, her staff and players did a fabulous job. Oops. Are doing a fabulous job.

Has a team ever played in the NCAA tournament a team it beat, 99-29, in the same regular season?

Now there’s going to be this vast, national extravaganza, announcing the brackets and showing highlights of all the teams as they are ceremonially and ceremoniously unveiled, and the smallest school in the whole Division I shebang is part of the celebration.

PC has not been battle-tested against this level of competitition, but it has been battle-exposed. Kansas State, also hosting a regional as a fourth seed, defeated the Blue Hose in the season opener. Eastern Washingon (29-5) defeated PC, 92-51.

Three Blue Hose – Bryanna Brady (12.4), Tilda Sjokvist (12.4) and Mara Neira (11.3) – score in double figures. Brady shoots .507 from the field and averages 4.6 rebounds. Sjokvist averages 3.5 assists. Neira averages 1.7 steals.

Incredibly, it was actually planned for the first-place team in the country to play the last-ranked team left in the tournament, one of which is either Presbyterian or Sacred Heart.

Ain’t that America?

PC and George Washington exercised each other in baseball frustration on Saturday until the Revolutionaries broke a bubble with three runs in the top of the 11^th inning and stopped the Blue Hose in the bottom half.

Charlie McDaniel held the pitching line through seven innings, allowing three hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts. Sean Hollister (0-1) worked four to take the loss.

A triumvirate of Teddy Brennan, Brayden Kurtz (1-2) and Andrew Cutler combined to solve the PC bats, allowing among them, three hits, two walks and 13 strikeouts. Cutler earned his first save by retiring the Blue Hose in order.

Only the top of the PC order – Eli Lazio, Brody Fahr and Joel Dragoo – had hits, all singles.

Leadoff batter Sam Gates stroked a single and doubled for George Washington (10-8). Tuffy McGuire doubled.

The Revolutionaries threatened in the first and third innings while the Blue Hose never put a runner on until the fourth. Presbyterian (9-10) put the first two with a walk and hit batter, but Brennan put down the rally with a strikeout, a caught stealing and a flyout.

Fast forward to the 11^th inning, when Gates homered to lead off. Steve DiTomaso singled. A pitch hit Brett Young. Tim Nicholson reached on an error. Ellis Schwartz singled. Only one run off Hollister was earned.

The teams close out on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Look at the box here.

The Revolutionaries overran Elton Pollock Field on Sunday, thumping the Blue Hose, 11-1, and outhitting them, 11-1.

All of PC’s eight pitchers allowed at least a hit. George Washington (11-8) got another home run from Gates, as well as another from Robby Wacker, who also doubled and went 4/5.

Schwartz stroked three singles.

Graham Jeffries (2-0) won, giving up only three walks and fanning seven. Cade Davis, Shugy Klein and Max Haug each worked an inning.

Presbyterian (9-11) turned to, in order, loser Felix DiGiacomo (1-2), Robbie Boykin, Mason McDaniel, Yechiel Saint, Jeffrey Hays, Kyle Mueller, Brooks Chamberline and Boone Cartee.

PC’s lone run crossed in the bottom of the ninth inning, driven in by Jackson Hugus.

Take a look at the stats here.

Visiting Winthrop and Presbyterian split a Saturday softball doubleheader nearby with the Blue Hose taking the former, 5-2, and the Eagles the latter, 2-1.

Jenna Greene limited the Eagles just enough in her sixth complete game of 2024 and 61^st of an exceptional career, acquiring personal win number 54 to start off the Big South twinbill.

The Eagles put their first run up on a solo, inside-the-park homer by Paige Rivas.

Greene struck out eight without yielding a walk.

Leadoff infielder Kelby Goodrum expanded on a team-high in the hits department by going 3/4 in the first clash.

PC (9-18, 1-1 conference) fell to Winthrop (11-15, 1-1) in game two, in which all the runs scored in the third inning.

Kendall Owens drove in the PC run with two out in the bottom half.

No PC player collected more than one of its five hits.

Kasey Wolfe (2-7) took the loss. Megan Powell (4-6) earned the win.

Third baseman KaDedra Temple singled and doubled for Winthop in three at-bats.

The Blue Hose (3-2) won,  242.710-234.920, at Long Island University.

The Blue Hose scored, 33.60-33.25 in the Compulsory Event. Presbyterian posted a score of 9.50 in the Pyramid heat. PC put up a score of 24.50 while LIU posted a score of 23.80 in the Acro Event.
In the Pyramid Event, the Blue Hose collected a score of 26.75 with a high of 9.20 in the Open Heat. LIU scored 27.05 in the Event. In the Toss Event, PC outscored LIU, 25.20-24.90. In the Tumbling Event, the Hose scored 48.35 to LIU’s 47.65. Presbyterian posted a score of 84.31, topping LIU’s score of 78.27, in the Team Event.

Presbyterian returns to Templeton Center to play Morgan State on Friday at 7 p.m.

Will work for food, but contributions would be better. They’re both good and good for me.

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