You win some. You lose some. The baseball games were rife with drama on Friday.

At the top of the list was Laurens’ 5-4 walk-off victory over Westside at Ed Prescott Field on Friday night, giving the Raiders the series and an early one-game lead on the Rams in Region 1-4A.

Laurens (5-6, 2-1 region) pulled away with two runs apiece in the second and third innings, but Westside matched that with a similar output in the fifth and sixth.

And it was literally a walk-off. Tristan Buzbee’s bases-loaded, two-out walk determined the outcome.

Bennett Edwards led off the seventh with a fly ball to left field. Logan Martin then walked, amd Coleman Coker singled, advancing Martin to second. Avery Madden struck out on a full count, but Jireh Brown coaxed a walk that loaded the bases.

After Buzbee took the first pitch for a strike, losing pitcher Peyton Milford failed to find the plate with his next four offerings.

Westside’s Jace Haynes had tied the score with a two-run blast in the top of the sixth. After a rough beginning, Grayson Ledford earned the win by retiring the Rams in the seventh. Ryland Paxton started on the mound for the Raiders and gave up only two unearned runs in five innings, allowing four hits and walks but striking out 13 Westside batters. He struck out the side in the third.

The Rams (6-2, 1-2) made more errors (8) than they collected hits.

In the week ahead, Laurens visits Wren on Monday and Friday and hosts the Hurricanes on Wednesday.

Clinton fell, 7-6, to Mid-Carolina in Prosperity after taking a 4-1 lead in the third, but a Red Devil rally in the seventh fell just short.

Clinton (5-4, 0-2 Region 3-2A) loaded the bases on Camden Finley’s leadoff double and walks by Brett Young and Jaydon Glenn. Owen Glenn struck out, but Finley and Brett Young scored when Mid-Carolina’s Davis Ruff couldn’t contain the third strike to Tanner Finley, who was retired at first.

Rhett Gilliam’s ground ball to third ended the game with the tying run perched on that base.

Third baseman Colby Livingston did most of the batting damage for the Rebels, going 4/4 at the plate with a homer and four RBI.

Jared Willard, Camden Finley and Luke Young all doubled for the Red Devils.

Luke Milling was the winning pitcher. Jaydon Glenn took the loss.

Mid-Carolina (7-2, 2-0) won the first game between the two on Tuesday in Clinton, 3-0, on Kaden Myers’ one-hitter.

Presbyterian College (10-13, 2-2 Big South) opened a home series against Gardner-Webb (11-12, 1-3) with a 7-5 victory on Friday night.

Jake Randolph, Andrew Albertus, Aaron Hobson and Brody Linker each collected three hits, Hobson in as many at-bats.

The Hose broke on top in the second inning. Jackson Hugus led off with a single to center field before Matthew Rollison took his spot on a fielder’s choice. Ryan Ouzts then drew a walk, setting the stage for Linker’s RBI single through the left side to plate Rollison.

Randolph’s RBI single padded the lead in the third.

First baseman Tanner Thomas had two of Gardner-Webb’s five hits, though two, by him Lawson Knight, were home runs.

Kyle Mueller (2-2) lined up a row of fives — innings, hits, earned runs – and twos – walks, strikeouts – and neither of the hurlers who followed him, Tyrell Williams and Jacob Fields, surrendered a run. Fields notched his fourth save.

The teams played again on Saturday at 3 p.m., with the series concluding on Sunday at 1.

Whitmire edged Thornwell, 12-10, in spite of three hits from Parker Workman, who scored twice and drove in three runs in four at-bats.,

A Saints rally fell short after they entered the seventh inning trailing by nine runs.

Three Wolverines – Ashton Alexander, Jaden Clark and Crue Keller – stroked two hits apiece.

Keller was the winning pitcher, giving up just two runs in four innings.

Sam Robertson took the loss. He was the first of five who took turns on the mound for the Saints (3-6, 0-4 region).

Ware Shoals visits Thornwell on Tuesday.

King defeated Laurens Academy, 12-8, in Batesburg, flipping the script on the Crusaders with seven runs in the sixth inning.

Cason Buzhardt went 3/4 for the Knights.

Hack Hardy drove in three runs for LA (3-2). Caleb Hardy stroked three hits. Garrett Murphy doubled.

The Saints visit Oakbrook Prep on Tuesday.

In softball, Presbyterian defeated Charleston Southern, 4-1, in North Charleston.

Junior pitcher Peyton Duncan (9-6) cruised to her ninth win of the campaign with a single run, while sophomore Kasey Wolfe collected her third save of the spring as PC won its fourth straight game.

Seniors Kendall Owens and Mallory Fletcher have now combined for 41 RBI after driving in three runs on Friday, sending the Blue Hose to a 3-1 mark in the Big South entering a doubleheader with the Buccaneers on Saturday.

PC is 18-13 overall. Charleston Southern (10-16, 0-1) got two hits from first baseman Carsten Sandvig.

Mid-Carolina defeated Clinton, 12-1, limiting the Red Devils (3-5, 0-2) to singles by Halleigh Luke, Kamryn Campbell and Me-Me Smith at the top of the batting order.

Ninety Six visits on Monday, followed by a trip to Chester on Tuesday.

I feel as if the world has passed me, not to mention my abdomen, by. As much as the surgery took a physical toll on me, I wouldn’t have missed Asheville and the Southern Conference Tournament for the Final Four.

I’m still recovering from surgery and a month in the hospital. I still easily. I can walk fine, just not very far. My endurance, in terms of getting work done, is much better. I’m not nodding off in the chair as much. I’m getting better at staying up late to watch ballgames.

At the moment, Liechtenstein is playing North Macedonia, presumably in soccer. I doubt I can handle that.
Most of my books are available at Amazon and other online bookseller sites. The most recent, The Latter Days, is a baseball novel, which you may enjoy in part because, well, the Paladins no longer play it. If you’d like to sample my fiction, Longer Songs is a collection of short stories derived from songs I’ve written.
Thanks for putting up with me.