By MONTE DUTTON

I have been remiss in overlooking what may be the sports story of the year.

It’s been happening across the lake, where Lander University is playing on Sunday afternoon for the NCAA Division II national championship in men’s basketball against Gannon.

Who is Gannon? It’s in Erie, Pa., where fans are asking, “Who is Lander?”

I have been watching Lander from afar, which is ironic since Greenwood is a half hour away.

The Bearcats haven’t lost a game since Feb. 7. Clinton’s Wil Stewart, who starred in basketball and baseball here, has been out all season recovering from back surgery, though he will be in the house – Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse – when Lander takes on Gannon on national TV, WSPA locally, at 1 p.m.

Lander (30-5) has won 15 straight games, including the Peach Belt Conference finals over North Georgia and playoff victories over Lenoir-Rhyne, Daemen (Amherst, N.Y.) and Nova Southeastern (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

The Golden Knights (33-3) lost to California (of Pennsylvania) in it tournament finals but beat that school and Oklahoma Baptist in the playoffs.

No South Carolina school has ever won the Division II title. Many D-II schools once competed in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), where USC Spartanburg (now Upstate) and College of Charleston won titles in 1982 and 1983.

Clinton (9-4) went on the road Thursday and defeated Laurens, 14-3, in softball, piling up a 12-1 advantage over the first four innings.

Taylor Davis, Me-Me Smith, Sierra Templeton and Lila Kuykendall each had two hits in the middle of the Red Devil lineup. Smith double and homered, scored three runs and drove in a like number.

Myleigh Robertson doubled and homered for the Raiders, driving in three runs.

Cat Wilkie ably handled the pitching duties, limiting Laurens (7-10) to six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Summer Nations took the loss.

Clinton (7-1) won its latest boys’ tennis match, 6-0, over Woodruff on Thursday. The Red Devils’ Senior Night is Tuesday at 5 p.m. versus Mid-Carolina.

# 1 Singles   Matthew King defeated Owen Edmondson  6 – 0, 6 – 1

# 2 Singles    Edwin Orr defeated Ben Martin  6 – 0, 6 – 0

4

# 3 Singles    Jacob King defeated Maddox Young  6 – 1, 6 – 1

# 4 Singles    Jake Meyerholtz defeated B. Grantz 6 – 0, 6 – 0

# 5 Singles    Cooper Stinson defeated Kohen Murphy  6 – 3, 6 – 4

# 1 Doubles     DID  NOT  PLAY

# 2 Doubles    Malakye Brewer & Ethan Wargo defeated William Harrison & Partner 5 – 7, 6 – 4, 10 – 7

Laurens Academy (6-4) prevailed, 13-0, over Wardlaw in baseball on Thursday, behind two Elijah Hornsberger doubles.

Caleb Hardy and Mason Cooper also collected two hits.

Braydon Burke, Robert Roper, George Sherer and Riley Whitaker took turns on the mound. The Crusaders have won five of their last six games.

Thornwell (5-9) defeated Greenville Tech Charter, 8-5, led by leadoff hitter and center fielder Truman Kinard Shelton, who had three hits and scored three runs.

Jaden Wilson tripled and drove in two runs. Starter Griffin Raines was the winning pitcher.

Many thanks to the advertisers who keep wellpilgrim.com going. If you’d like to join that number, contact me. Supplies are limited. The site is also supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports).

Or, if you’d like to make a contribution by check or cash, my mailing address is: Monte Dutton, P.O. 221, Clinton, S.C.  29325 (hutdut@outlook.com).

It means a lot to me that you enjoy what I write.

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