Well, here we go. The playoffs are underway.

It doesn’t mean that all the games are fraught with tension, but the tension is going to rise as the process that determines state championships runs its course.

In baseball, both Laurens and Clinton closed their regular seasons with an upgrade in the competition. Clinton, in fact, opens the Class 2A playoffs on Tuesday against a school, Saluda, it has already played twice and defeated, 3-1, in its most recent game.

Most of Laurens County’s schools are still active in a variety of sports, and the Red Devils have reached the Upstate finals in boys’ tennis, where, in spite of their 2A classification, they eliminated the top seed – and 3A rival – on Monday. The bottom three classifications are all mixed up in the tennis smorgasbord.

In the playoff baseball opener at Ed Prescott Field, catcher Bennett Edwards drove in four runs, and three other Raiders had multiple hits in Laurens’ 13-0 runaway against Travelers Rest.

The Devildogs’ center fielder, Colby Epps, also had multiple hits. His single and double were all Travelers Rest (11-16) got.

In another odd occurrence, the first inning was scoreless. Laurens (17-8) atoned quickly with five runs in the second and eight in the third.

Two of Edwards’ three hits were doubles. Tristan Buzbee also scored a perfect 3/3, scoring two runs and sending one home. Coleman Coker doubled in his only official at-bat – he also walked and was hit by a pitch and scored twice – and Ben Willis and Avery Madden each singled twice.

Noah Hughes quieted the Devildogs though he did suffer four bases on balls. He more than made up for them by fanning seven.

Twelve came to the plate in Laurens’ eight-run third. The Raiders had a walk, a hit batter, three singles,two doubles and a sacrifice fly.

Laurens is on the road at Daniel (19-7) on Tuesday at 6:30. The Lions have won 11 of their last 12 games. The Raiders have won seven straight.

In Inman, Clovis Simmons’ fourth-seeded Red Devils knocked off Chapman, 4-2, setting up a Wednesday matchup at either Walhalla or Christ Church.

# 1 Singles Nathan Meade defeated J P Davis 6 – 1, 6 – 0

# 2 Singles Edwin Orr defeated Hank Zimmerman 6 – 1, 6 – 3

# 3 Singles Matthew King defeated Nate McMillan 6 – 1, 6 – 1

# 4 Singles Jacob King defeated Ian Coates 6 – 2, 6 – 2

# 5 Singles Cooper Stinson lost to Elijah Mandlove 6 – 2, 6 – 0

# 1 Doubles DID NOT PLAY

# 2 Doubles Jake Meyerholtz & Malakye Brewer lost to Owen Walker & Sam Slater 6 – 0, 6 – 2

Daniel ended Laurens’ unprecedented run through the 4A tennis bracket on Monday by a 5-1 score.

Laurens placed fifth in Region 1-4A golf, shooting 375. Wren won at 296, led by Dylan Park, who shot 65 at Carolina Springs Golf Club.

The Raiders’ scores were Ashton Wilson 91, Landon James 92, Michael Hamby 95, Rich Coggins 97 and Layden Kernells 106.

The Presbyterian College softball complex is going to be all over the CW 62 this week as the Upstate channel is televising the Big South softball tournament. Unfortunately, the Blue Hose team will not be in the field.

Clinton native and Newberry College outfielder Wilson Wages made the South Atlantic Conference’s All-Defensive team.

I like college basketball start to finish. I like pro basketball once the playoffs start.

While men are often larger and stronger, it is obvious that women are better athletes because they can wear high heels.

I just finished another non-fiction book, a brand-new one, on a far more familiar topic. My friend Mike Hembree has written Petty vs. Pearson: The Rivalry That Shaped NASCAR.

Most of my books are available on Amazon.

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.

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.