By MONTE DUTTON

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 worst teams, not just best.

Far be it from me to lobby against another person’s opinion.

I just said, “I have one question.”

“Oh?”

“These playoffs, for the losingest teams … how would one advance in such a mechanism? By losing?”

The column ran. I wish I still had a copy of it.

On Wednesday at 5 p.m., Presbyterian College’s final home lacrosse match is against Winthrop.

The Blue Hose are 2-12. The Eagles are 1-13.

This is a really small game, not to the kids playing, their parents and the coaches, but to the general public, most of which doesn’t understand the historical significance. Or much else about lacrosse.

The Blue Hose beat the Eagles last season.

Winthrop must lose to hang on to the top seed in the imaginary bottom playoffs.

The moon was shining down the right-field line, looking twice as bright and thrice as large, hovering above the tree line Tuesday night. A Carolina moon was bright as day while the night turned deep blue around it.

You know what “they say” about a full moon. “They” said it about Laurens’ 5-4 victory over Clinton, too.

The Raiders claimed the Laurens County baseball championship, which was obviously of utmost importance because of the way the teams played the game.

All the at-bats were tense. The Laurens batters walked eight times, the Clinton batters five, so lots of batters didn’t get to. Bennett Edwards scored the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning on a passed ball.

Edwards was also the winning pitcher. He caught six innings and pitched three.

Laurens’ Tori Patterson sent three hurlers – lefty Grayson Ledford and righties Noah Hughes and Edwards – to the hill. Clinton’s Sean McCarthy dispatched four: Carson Glenn, Tanner Finley, Jaydon Glenn and Zane McLendon.

Jaydon Glenn (L) was gallant in defeat. He toiled 3-1/3 innings, only allowed a hit and an unearned run – the winning run – but ran out of gas and wasn’t on the mound when the run scored.

He walked the first batter – Edwards, naturally — in the ninth. He struck out Landon Trevino but walked Myles Ray and Ben Willis to load the bases. McLendon took the mound. Avery Madden arrived at the plate. The third ball evaded the catcher, and the game ended when Edwards crossed the plate.

The Red Devils had spotted the Raiders a 4-0 lead after four innings before roaring back with three in the sixth and one in the seventh. Brett Young set of the sixth-inning uprising with a leadoff home run.

Trailing by one in the seventh, Bryce Young led off the inning by reaching on an error after bunting. Brett Young struck out and McLendon walked. Carson Glenn popped up for the second out. Harrison Moore lined a single to right that drove in Bryce Young with the tying run.

Asher Goss doubled twice for Laurens before leaving the game. When Edwards took the mound, Coleman Coker moved from third base to catch, and Trevino entered at third in Goss’s spot in the batting order.

Only one of Laurens’ five runs (Willis) and two of Clinton’s four (Brett Young, Moore) were driven in. Luke Young and McLendon doubled for the Red Devils.

Clinton escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the eighth inning and threatened in the top of the ninth, but the Raiders turned a double play when Madden fielded McLendon’s fly ball in right and threw out Bryce Young at third base.

Laurens won the first game in the rivalry, 7-6, on March 20.

Laurens (19-6) is the Region 2-4A champion. Clinton (12-10) is playing for the Region 4-3A title on Friday at home against Union County.

But that’s not all, as they say on late-night ads.

Laurens also won the county championship in softball and also by a run, 3-2, down the bank at the Raiders’ smaller diamond.

Laurens (8-9) also broke on top and thwarted a Clinton (10-9) rally.

Summer Nations held on as the Red Devils scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings but no more. She allowed six hits and one earned run, yielding nary a walk and striking out three.

Me-Me Smith took the loss.

Laurens won the earlier game, 4-1, on a three-run homer by Carly Edwards in extra innings. This time it was Ashlyn Messer and Azaria  Johnson who collected two hits apiece.

Taylor Davis led the Red Devils with two hits, one of them a triple, in three at-bats. Smith also tripled in three at-bats, driving in a run.

On Monday, Clinton (10-9) couldn’t hold a three-run lead and fell, 6-4, at Whitmire.

Halleigh Luke and Me-Me Smith laced doubles. Singles by Sierra Templeton, Taylor Davis and Sophia Sullivan accounted for the Red Devils’ other three hits.

Only two of the six runs charged Cat Wilkie (L) were earned. She walked three and struck out four.

Third baseman Autumn Gilliam singled and tripled in three at-bats, driving in two runs.

Kenleigh Epps gave up five hits, four runs (three earned) and three walks, with eight strikeouts, for the Wolverines (14-6).

Newberry Academy (6-3) blanked Laurens Academy, 8-0, as the Crusaders managed only singles by Evan Asalone and Elijah Hornberger.

The Eagles gradually pulled away, scoring a run in the second inning, two apiece in the second and third, and three in the seventh.

Braydon Burke took the loss for LA (5-9),

Newberry’s Jackson Montgomery drove in three runs. Bradley Fulmer struck out nine in six innings.

Laurens Academy’s softball team took a day trip across the lake and clobbered Emerald, 14-2.

Morgan Bolding went 2/4. Madison Loe doubled and drove in four runs.

Olivia Huck dropped a one-hitter on the Vikings (1-15), allowing no walks and fanning 10. The runs were unearned.

The Greenville Hurricanes, a home-school softball team, defeated Thornwell Charter, 11-7, on Tuesday in Clinton.

The Hurricanes scored seven runs in the third inning.

Madi Porter, Adrienne Anderson and Lydia Hefner each had two hits for the Saints (5-17).

Emily Husband was the winning pitcher, doubled and drove in two runs for the Hurricanes. Camden Nelson took the loss.

Braden Yarbrough allowed just one hit in 4-2/3 innings, striking out six, as Laurens (17-6) defeated Clinton, 6-0, in junior varsity baseball.

Tristian Buzbee and Yarbrough each had two hits, and Wyatt Pinson drove in three runs.

Owen Glenn and Clayton Kyko had the Clinton (9-5) hits. Rhett Gilliam took the loss.

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