By MONTE DUTTON

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 would win. He was champion the last year I toured with the gypsies. He’s one of the few left I used to know.

Sometimes in sports the truth is so evident that no one wants to confront it.

Here’s one about NASCAR. The drivers who maintain their skills are the ones who stay active. Bobby Allison and Mark Martin jumped in every race car with an unclaimed cockpit. The risk is getting hurt, as happened in Allison’s case.

The popular notion is that the young driver needs to be active. The old driver needs it more. The slow decline of many great drivers can be traced to cutting back to Cup races only.

Now let’s go to the usual bats and balls.

Third baseman Coleman Coker’s seventh-inning homer gave Laurens (17-6) breathing room in its 5-3 victory over Greenwood on Monday night.

The Raiders kept on taking advantage of the deep breaths.

After Coker’s leadoff blast, center fielder Zay Pulley doubled and second baseman Hunter Nabors walked. Bennett Edwards grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Pulley scored on an error by Eagles pitcher Caden Poore.

In the top of the first inning, Edwards’ one-out single drove in Pulley, who had led off with a single and stolen second.

Greenwood tied it in the bottom half on Marnarian Chamberlain’s RBI single up the middle.

Landen Still’s steal of home put the Eagles up 2-1 in the third.

Pulley was 3/4 for the Raiders. Coker was 2/3. Edwards drove in two. Jireh Brown doubled.

Connor Rice earned the win in relief of Ryland Paxton. Rice gave up a run over the final 3-2/3 innings, allowing five hits and fanning two.

Poore (L) turned in a complete game for the Eagles, allowing nine hits and five runs with seven strikeouts.

Seven players had a hit apiece for Greenwood (13-10).

The game ended when Jireh Brown fielded Poor’s double in deep left field and relayed the ball to Coker, who threw out Rylee Latham at the plate.

In Greer, Blue Ridge defeated Clinton for the second time in a week, 6-3.

Clinton scored an unearned run in the top of the second after Jaydon Glenn led off with a single. With one out, Tanner Kyko singled. Jaydon Glenn advanced to third base on Bryce Young’s groundout and scored when Brett Young reached on an error.

Starter Camden Finley (L) walked the bases loaded to open the Blue Ridge third inning. Zack Lawson came on in relief.

The Tigers scored three times on A.J. Cammarota’s sacrifice fly, Alex Kiniry’s single and a wild pitch, then added two more in the fifth inning, compliments of an error and a passed ball, and a final run in the sixth on Cade Norton’s sacrifice fly.

Cammarota allowed seven of the Red Devils’ nine hits, along with all three runs, in 5-2/3 innings.

Clinton (12-9) scored two runs in the sixth inning when left fielder Brett Young, who drove in all three runs, singled the final two home with a two-out single, driving in Jaydon Glenn and Tanner Finley.

All nine of Clinton’s hits were singles: two by Brett Young and one apiece by Zane McLendon, Carson Glenn, Harrison Moore, Luke Young, Jaydon Glenn, Tanner Finley and Kyko.

This much is known. Laurens, the champion of Region 2-4A, is going to open the playoffs next Monday, April 29, against the No. 4 seed from Region 3.

Clinton is at home on Tuesday, April 30, versus either the No. 4 or 3 seed of Region 2-3A, or, on the road at the 2 seed, The Red Devils need only a victory over Union County to take the top seed.

Clinton (12-8) is playing at Laurens (17-6) on Tuesday, then takes on Union County for the top seed in Region 4-3A on Friday at home.

Woodruff and Union County have a makeup game Tuesday. If the Wolverines win and the Yellow Jackets defeat the Red Devils on Friday, it drops Clinton to the 3 seed.

If Woodruff wins, the Union-Clinton game is for the outright title. A Union win makes Friday’s game decide the region’s top seed, but the Yellow Jackets and Red Devils share the title if Clinton wins, and if Union wins, Clinton has to settle for No. 3 because it lost to the Wolverines twice.

Got that? Didn’t think so. Perhaps the best course is to let them play and see what happens.

A junior varsity game between the Raiders (16-6) and Red Devils (9-4) is at 5 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the varsity showdown. Laurens won the earlier games, 4-3 in varsity and 3-1 in JV.

Clinton (10-8) also visits Laurens (7-9) on Tuesday in softball on the Raiders’ home field. Laurens won, 4-1, in extra innings, earlier. The game is at 5 p.m.

On Monday, in Columbia, in the first inning of Thornwell’s baseball game against Clear Dot Academy, the Saints’ Zach Crowe walked and then, according to the game’s live report, scored all the way from first base on a passed ball. Was there no backstop?

Having seen the two teams play earlier this season, I can believe this occurred.

Thornwell (6-14) scored four times in the top of the first and breezed to a 20-5 victory over the Bats.

Clear Dot (3-4) scored three in the bottom half, and after an inning, the teams had combined for seven runs off one hit, six walks, four hit batters … and no errors.

Thornwell steamrolled the Bats from there.

Tejada (L) had one of Clear Dot’s two hits while allowing nine to the Saints. Eighteen of the 20 runs charged him were earned. He walked nine, struck out eight and hit six.

K.J. Thompson pitched 2-1/3 innings in relief of Crowe. He allowed two hits, struck out four, gave up two runs and hit a batter.

Neither team committed an error.

Center fielder Parker Workman went 3/3 with a double and a triple, three runs scored and two batted in. Logan James was 2/4 with a double and four RBI. Johannes Holford tripled and drove in three.

Thornwell won the previous game with Clear Dot, 11-1, on March 4.

On Friday, Greenwood Christian edged Thornwell, 6-5, in softball, scoring two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

In fact, none of the Hawks’ runs was earned. Olivia Huck (L) allowed five hits but didn’t walk any and struck out 11.

Thornwell rapped 11 hits to the Hawks’ five but committed seven errors and left 11 runners on base.

Morgan Bolding led the Crusaders with three hits in four at-bats.

Clinton (8-1) opens the Class 3A boys’ tennis playoffs on Tuesday at 5 p.m. versus Fountain Inn at the Red Devils’ Clinton Middle School courts.

Laurens (6-6) visits Catawba Ridge (Fort Mill) in the opening round of the 4A playoffs at 4:30.

The Raiders couldn’t fend off Woodmont in their regular-season tennis finale. The Wildcats pulled out the 4-3 match via Crew Leham and Pietro Heyde’s victory over LDHS’s Bates and Price Turner, 6-4, at No. 1 doubles.

“I cannot be more proud of my team this season and how hard they have practiced and played in their matches,” stated coach Lynne Todd.

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