By MONTE DUTTON

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 Class 4A playoffs, but they face Catawba Ridge, which eliminated them in two games in last season’s Upstate finals.

The Red Devils face elimination unless they defeat Wren, which they couldn’t in their first game on Tuesday.

I’m perfectly happy to be at either game, but what I don’t want to be is getting rained on at one while the other is being played.

It’s going to rain, but it’s not going to rain everywhere. For this I have to watch three different weather reports in the same half-hour show.

Then there’s my phone, which informs me it’s going to stop raining in six minutes and start again seven minutes after that, and I walk outside, and it’s not true.

I could drive to Laurens, and if it starts raining, hightail it to Clinton. It could rain there, too, and I could go back.

Fortunately, the reverse jinx worked. I may have felt a drop once. All didn’t go well, but all was played.

Laurens’ 4-3 victory over Catawba Ridge on Friday night was a long time coming and doubly sweet as a result.

The Copperheads of Fort Mill took down the Raiders twice in the Class 4A Upstate finals a year ago and in the finals of a Georgetown tournament this year.

Not this time. It got tense in the top of the seventh inning, when Catawba Ridge (24-4) scored twice, but Laurens (23-6) held on and won its third straight playoff game.

The tying run was on second base and the go-ahead on first when Grayson Ledford struck out Britton Nash and preserved the victory for Asher Goss, who exited after the first two Catawba Ridge batters reached base in the seventh.

In six-plus innings of work, Goss threw 107 pitches, faced 28 batters and allowed six hits, three runs (two earned), three walks and a hit batter. He struck out eight.

Catawba Ridge second baseman Owen Noonan plagued the Raiders, stroking three singles in four at-bats with two runs batted in.

Only center fielder Zay Pulley had two hits for the Raiders. Catcher Bennett Edwards and third baseman Coleman Coker laced doubles. Hunter Nabors and Goss added more singles. Nabors also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Peyton Dhien (L) gave up all four Laurens runs – three were earned – in four innings. Bryce Meil toiled for the final two.

Catawba Ridge struck first in the top of the third inning. With one out, Dhien and Noonan singled back-to-back, the latter scoring Dhien, who had stolen second base. Noonan, however, was caught stealing, and Jackson Mullen grounded out to Goss to end the inning.

The Raiders responded immediately. Jireh Brown walked, Pulley singled and both scored on an error after Nabors’ bunt single.

Coker doubled to right to lead off the fourth. Owen Pridgen walked. Coker scored on Avery Madden’s sacrifice. Pulley singled and Pridgen scored on Nabors’ sacrifice fly to center field.

The Copperheads had runners on second and third when pinch-hitter Caden Glauber struck out to end the top of the sixth inning.

Laurens will be rested when it plays again next Friday.

On Monday and Wednesday, the losers’ backet will be resolved. Next Friday, Laurens takes on whichever survives between Catawba Ridge, Greenwood and Northwestern, the three the Raiders have defeated in the playoffs so far. Whichever team survives must defeat Laurens twice in order to advance into the Upstate finals.

Catawba Ridge is the reigning 4A state champion.

Clinton (14-12) has no future plans as the Red Devils’ defense of the state 3A crown ended Friday when Wren (14-14) won for the second time in three nights, 7-4.

With staff ace Carson Glenn unavailable for mound duty as a result of the Red Devils’ shutout of Travelers Rest the night before, Clinton couldn’t keep up.

Clinton led 2-1 after an inning, but the Golden Hurricanes tied it in the second and added three runs in the fourth.

Greyson Austin doubled and Cooper Sanders homered in the inning.

Two runs in the sixth inning got the Red Devils back within two, but Wren scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh.

Carson Glenn, who played right field, and Camden Finley each had two hits. Finley, who doubled and homered against TR, tripled against Wren. He hit for the cycle, but it took two games.

Kamden Jowers and Austin Vinson didn’t walk a batter between them. Jowers gave up five hits and three runs in 5-2/3 innings, and Vinson gave up three hits and an unearned run in 1-1/3.

Tanner Kyko started for the Red Devils but only retired one of the five batters he faced. Jaydon Glenn (L) toiled the next 5-1/3 innings, allowing six hits and five runs, and Zack Lawson finished up.

The Red Devils played errorless ball.

Austin was 3/3 for the Hurricanes, driving in three runs.

As for finishing up, prep softball ended with Southside Christian’s 17-7 victory over Thornwell (5-17).

The Saints made it somewhat respectable after the Sabres scored nine runs in the first inning.

Six Thornwell batters provided hits – and Hayden Brogdon, Madi Landrith and Madi Porter doubled – but the Saints committed eight errors. Only two of the 17 runs charged Camden Nelson were earned, though she walked seven batters and hit another.

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