By MONTE DUTTON

Both Laurens and Clinton highs experienced early disappointments in baseball region play. The Raiders lost three straight to Fountain Inn (21-5, 13-2), and the Red Devils fell twice to Mid-Carolina (18-7, 10-0).

Neither has lost in region play since, and as such, optimism rises as playoffs approach. The experienced Raiders and the young Red Devils haven’t lost to either region titlist since April 11. The Rebels last conquered the Devils on March 21.

Laurens has won seven straight. In its last 15 games, Clinton has lost only to Laurens.

It is, of course, probable that Fountain Inn and Mid-Carolina have also gotten better. The playoffs will feature other unexplored dynamos, but both Laurens County powers possess the confidence of history. The Red Devils won a state title two years ago. The Raiders went to the finals last year.

One negative result of the changes in high-school sports is a decline in the level of competitition. In both Region 1-4A (Laurens) and 3-2A (Clinton), quality is located at the top, as with most regions.

Thanks to 10- and 15-run rules, too many games are over almost before they start.

Both county schools are preparing for postseason by playing tougher opposition than they can find within their own regions.

By the way, the latest state coaches’ rankings put the Raiders 10^th in 4A (Fountain Inn is fourth, Westside seventh) and the Red Devils third (Mid-Carolina first) in 2A. Laurens finished a game ahead of the Rams in the standings.

Clinton (18-6, 8-2) gutted out a 3-1 victory over Saluda on Thursday in a game distinguished by one Finley (Camden) getting the win and the other (Tanner) notching the save. Isaac Cane and Angel Vargas took turns in between.

Edouardo Dominguez took the loss for the Tigers (11-10).

Catcher Luke Young and center fielder Owen Glenn, who drove in all three runs, each collected two hits for the Red Devils. Brett Young, Owen Glenn and Talan Campbell all lashed doubles.

Clinton never trailed after Owen Glenn drove in two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Red Devil pitching did not yield a hit in the final four innings.

Clinton’s nine-game softball win streak ended as Whitmire edged the Red Devils, 8-7.

Eight walks doomed Clinton, which outhit the Wolverines, 11-3.

Me-Me Smith doubled twice for the Devils, who also got two hits apiece from Sierra Templeton, Alyssa Young and Addie Watkins.

Clinton advanced another round in the A/2A/3A boys’ tennis playoffs by putting away Saint Joseph’s Catholic, 4-2, in Greenville on Thursday.

# 1 Singles Nathan Meade defeated Whit Wilkins 6 – 1 , 6 – 1

# 2 Singles Edwin Orr defeated Jeremiah Adams 6 – 1, 6 – 2

# 3 Singles Matthew King defeated Hampton Norwood 6 – 0, 2 – 2 Retired Injured

# 4 Singles Jacob King defeated Charlie Walters 6 – 0, 6 – 0

# 5 Singles Cooper Stinson lost to Alexander Millener 7 – 5, 7 – 5

# 1 Doubles DID NOT PLAY

# 2 Doubles Jake Meyerholtz & Malakye Brewer lost to Bryon Webb & Brodie Miller 6 – 1, 6 – 1

Clinton, fourth-seeded, visits top-seeded Chapman on Monday.

Laurens, making its first modern appearance in the tennis playoffs, also advanced another round with a 5-1 victory over Fountain Inn.

Singles: No. 1 J.P. Field (L) def. Noah Franz 6-0, 6-1; No. 2 Price Turner (L) def. Joseph Siliarto 7-5, 6-0; No. 3 Bates Turner (L) def. Davis Keller 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Dylan Brink (L) def. Tom Fowler 6-4, 6-4; No. 5 Corbin Giles (FI) def. Ryland Edwards 7-6, 6-2.

Doubles: No. 2 Carson Jenkins and Gibson Partee (L) def. Jackson Manning and Kellett King 6-1, 6-3.

Daniel visits LDHS on Monday.

I had several moments of clarity this morning at the Waffle House. Seeing my reflection, I thought, for the first time, my gosh, I’m becoming David Letterman. Previously, I envisioned earning big bucks as a department-store Santa (it’ll have to get whiter).

The Miracle of Castel di Sangro can be found on Amazon, as is the case with many books that I actually wrote.

I started reading another non-fiction book on a far more familiar topic. My friend Mike Hembree has written Petty vs. Pearson: The Rivalry That Shaped NASCAR.

What can I do to get you to sample my fiction? How about a cheap sample of short stories, Longer Songs? The stories all originated in songs I’ve written. It’s been a few years since I published it. Not too long ago, I read it – before that, I merely wrote it – and, amazingly, I still thought it was pretty good. Remember, most people don’t write crap on purpose.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is about a group of people who get themselves unwittingly entangled in a conspiracy of politicians, businessmen (I didn’t write business persons because the ones in the novel are all men), law-enforcement personnel and the intelligence community.

Two of my novels, Lightning in a Bottle and Cowboys Come Home, are available in audio versions.