Laurens kept its hopes alive in Class 4A baseball and softball. Clinton flexed its Class 2A muscles in baseball, while its softball team’s fate depends on a Friday home game against Landrum. The Red Devils lost their playoff opener, 10-1, to Ninety Six.

Thornwell is no more in the Class A baseball bracket.

The Raiders (18-9) never trailed but were tied after four innings in what became a 7-3 victory over Blue Ridge (12-13), thus eliminating the Tigers from the 4A bracket on Thursday at Ed Prescott Field.

That earned the Raiders a Saturday return to Central, where Daniel (20-7) defeated them, 3-2, on Tuesday.

The green, grass of home was kind to Laurens, which broke on top with two second-inning runs on Logan Martin’s RBI groundout and Avery Madden’s double to center field. Then, on an 0-2 count, second baseman Zay Pulley padded the lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the third.

Blue Ridge’s Hudson Poirer returned that favor with a blast to left in the fourth, and the Tigers subsquently tied it on Brady Smouse’s double and Justin Gilpin’s sacrifice fly.

Thankfully, for Blue Ridge, that was it.

Laurens swiftly answered the challenge. Ben Willis led off the fifth inning with a line single to right. Pulley bunted his way on. Incredibly, the Tigers intentionally walked catcher Bennett Edwards to load the bases. Laurens retook the lead when Coleman Coker and Jireh Brown walked unintentionally.

The inning’s first out, a Logan Martin fielder’s choice – at least a fielder had a choice – put the Raiders up, 6-3, and Madden’s single provided Laurens its final run.

Willis opened the game with three scoreless, if not unmarred, innings on the mound. He gave up four hits and two walks but was aided by three strikeouts.

Winning pitcher Tristan Buzbee started poorly but settled down despite allowing three runs, five hits and a walk. He retired nine of the last 11 batters he faced.

Starter Roper Pittman took the loss for the Tigers.

Both teams had nine hits. Eight of Laurens’ came in groups of two by Willis, Pulley, Coker and Madden.

Smouse collected three of Blue Ridge’s hits in as many at-bats and also walked.

Clinton (20-6) distanced itself, 14-5, from Chesnee (17-11) on the Eagles’ home diamond.

The Red Devil catcher, Luke Young, had the next best thing to a cycle. He singled, doubled, homered and drove in a run via the sacrifice fly.

Camden Finley doubled to lead off the Clinton third inning, whereupon rain delayed the game with Young, younger of two brothers, up in the count, 2-0, to aptly named Chesnee pitcher Brysen Sprinkle. After the sprinkle ended, the Eagles reliever Reid Smith entered, and Young took him deep to put the Red Devils’ up. After Smith struck out Clinton pitcher Jaydon Glenn, first cousin Owen Glenn homered on Smith’s sixth pitch, and Clinton led, 6-1.

Chesnee then provided some power of its own, scoring four runs in the bottom of the third to pulled within a run at 6-5.

But the Red Devils, who scored in every inning, bounced back quickly with four more scores in the fourth, not to mention one in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh.

In addition to Luke Young’s three hits, Jaydon Glenn, Talan Campbell and William Addison each added two of the Red Devils’ 13 against the Region 1 champions.

Reliever Isaac Cane put a stop to Chesnee’s aluminum, throwing 4-1/3 innings of one-hit, two-walk, five-strikeout relief.

Sprinkle, the first of four unfortunate Chesnee hurlers, took the loss.

The elder Young, Brett, stole two bases, as did Camden Finley and Campbell. Eight different Clinton batters had hits.

Clinton needs only a victory in two tries on Monday against either Chesnee or Pageland Central to advance.

Laurens (10-12) clung to playoff life in softball with a 5-4 win over Travelers Rest.

Makayden Livingston went 2/3 as Laurens protected an early 4-0 lead in spite of being outhit 9-6 by the Devildogs.

Summer Nations held Travelers Rest (9-13) scoreless in the final two innings.

Calhoun County (6-10), also the Saints, eliminated the Thornwell Charter (7-15) variety, 15-3, in Class A baseball played in Saint Matthews.

The more southerly Saints scored four runs in the first inning, six in the second, four in the third and one in the fourth. Chris Glover, with three hits, was the only batter for the winners with more than a hit. One was a grand slam. Nine walks hurt Thornwell just as much.

Zach Crowe had all three of Thornwell’s hits.

I spent about an hour at the Big South Softball Championship and enjoyed it. I caught the end of the first game and the beginning of the second. It’s a pretty rocking event, and it would really be great if Presbyterian was playing in it. Ah, these things happen.

I stopped by the press box because the public-address announcer, David Bishop, is someone I only knew through social media, and the TV announcer, Pete Yanity, always has time to say hello but works so hard that there’s no time for much more. I see a little of him a lot.

I talked to a Radford fan on whether her team is the HIGH-landers or the High-LAND-ers (the former) and commiserated with a couple PC baseball players on their run of bad luck. I really do hate it for them.

Then I celebrated an American pope with two slaw dogs from Whiteford’s as I watched Winthrop and Radford go extra innings on TV back at the house.

As you know by repetitive mention, I have written many books that are available on Amazon.

The most recent is The Latter Days, which is about an old scout and a young baseball phenom.

Some are about sports and most have a connection. I like ‘em all because I wrote them. If you’d like some samples, check out my collection of short stories, Longer Songs.