Laurens crossed the lake as if it was Washington crossing the Delaware on Wednesday night, defeating Greenwood, 8-6, behind three hits from third baseman Coleman Coker and a leadoff homer from second sacker Zay Pulley.

Pulley’s blast and Avery Madden’s double staked the Raiders to a 4-0 lead, but the Eagles kept up a merry chase, tying the game with two runs in both the second and third innings.

Greenwood (10-12) loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Bennett Edwards arrived from behind the plate to strike out Jayden Adams to end the game.

Laurens (16-9) has won its last seven games.

Connor Rice, who toiled two innings in relief of starter Noah Hughes, picked up the decision, and Edwards nailed down the save. Four Raider hurlers combined to allow only five hits. Rhett Brown had two of them. Triston Lewis homered for the the Eagles.

Hamp Johnson took the loss.

What a fantastic baseball game was played in the Clinton valley Tuesday night.

I remember when my boyhood friend, Dillard Young, took guitar lessons. The only song I ever heard him play was:

Down in the valley/ The valley so low / Hang your head over / Hear the wind blow.

Since the valley opened, home runs have been rare. I only recall seeing five. Luke Young hammered one in Tuesday night’s 7-3 victory over Ninety Six. I wasn’t there. I regret it.

One night after his older brother, Brett, went 4/5 with three doubles in a 14-3 victory over Saluda, Luke went 2/3 with the aforementioned homer and a triple.

Where the game really turned was in the top of the fourth, when the Wildcats loaded the bases with two out, trailing, 4-2. Clinton pitcher Zack Lawson picked Carter Patterson off second base, tossing to Red Devil shortstop Jaydon Glenn. The crisis thus averted, Luke Young then led off the bottom half with a blast to left and some breathing room.

Five of Clinton’s 10 hits went for extra bases. Camden Finley and and Lawson also tripled. Tanner Finley doubled.

All five of Ninety Six’s hits were singles. Carter Davis got two of them.

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 11-6. Clinton (17-6, 8-2) was scheduled to complete its Region 3-2A slate on Wednesday with a home doubleheader against Eau Claire (4-8-1, 2-6).

Lawson was the winning pitcher in relief of Tanner Finley, Camden Finley pitched the seventh.

Trenton Singleton took the loss.

Clinton has won 11 of its last 13 games. Apparently, the Shamrocks forfeited the twinbill.

Both Clinton and Laurens are to enter the playoffs as region runner-ups. The Raiders (15-9, 10-5) clobbered Union County, 10-0, at Ed Prescott Field.

In a big night for catchers, Laurens’ Bennett Edwards was 3/3 with a homer and four RBI. Center fielder Brayden Patterson was 2/2. Logan Martin doubled.

Five runs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth brought festivities to an end.

Grayson Ledford was the winning pitcher with relief from Ryland Paxton. Ledford yielded three hits and struck out five in 4-2/3 innings. Kade Griffin took the loss.

American Leadership Academy, a Lexington charter, whitewashed Thornwell, 14-0, scoring nine times in the fourth inning.

Eli Tucker and Drew Blanchard rapped two hits apiece for the Patriots (9-16).

Griffin Raines had Thornwell’s only hit. Parker Workman took the loss.

Laurens (9-11) polished off J.L. Mann (0-20), 26-2, in softball. The Raiders have scored 68 runs in three straight triumphs.

Shortstop Carly Edwards went 4/4 with seven runs batted in, a double and a triple. Catcher Addison Trevino homered.

Summer Nations pitched the first three frames before yielding in the circle to Zealy Martin.

Clinton High advanced in the boys’ tennis playoffs with a smooth 6-0 victory over Landrum.

The Red Devils next play either St. Joseph’s or Broome on Thursday at the Clinton Middle School courts at 5 p.m.

# 1 Singles Nathan Meade defeated Cale Josey 6 – 0, 6 – 0

# 2 Singles Matthew King defeated Tripp Wheatley 6 – 1, 6 – 1

# 3 Singles Jacob King defeated Benett Edwards 6 – 0, 6 – 0

# 4 Singles Cooper Stinson defeated Grayson Horton 6 – 3, 6 – 1

# 5 Singles Jake Meyerholtz defeated Zach Owens 6 – 2, 6 – 0

# 1 Doubles DID NOT PLAY

# 2 Doubles Malakye Brewer & Ethan Wargo defeated Derek Painter & Ollie Atkins 6 – 1, 6 – 1

Jeramiah Israel, a 6-3 guard from Erlanger, Ky., has joined Quinton Ferrell’s PC men’s basketball program as a transfer from Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights

Israel started two games and played in 31 for the Norse.

Jeep Patrick, the Blue Hose freshman from Hilton Head Island who won the Big South individual men’s golf title, earned a bid to the NCAA regional in Auburn, Ala., on May 12-14.

Emerald edged Laurens in golf, 175-178.

All of the Raiders were tightly grouped. Three – Ashton Wilson, Layden Kernells and Landon Jones – shot 44, while Rich Coggins shot 46 and Michael Hamby 47.

Baseball games have become football games. Football games have become basketball games. When soccer matches become basketball games, I quit.

On Tuesday night, after a fantastic NBA playoff game (Indiana-Milwaukee), I discovered Hoosiers was on TCM. How I love that movie. If your father was an alcoholic, it will make you cry.

I’m nearly finished with a book called The Miracle of Castel di Sangro. It’s about a soccer team in a tiny Italian town, written by an American who gradually learns Italian. In Italy, soccer is not football. It is not futbol. It is il calcio. I have not picked up as much Italian as the late Joe McGinniss.

I read books others wrote. So can you. I’ve got a heap of them at Amazon.