By MONTE DUTTONg

Clinton High got off to a strong start at the Hanahan Invitational, a spring-break tournament near Charleston.

The Red Devils began with a 10-7 victory over Hickory Grove Christian (Charlotte, N.C.), led by red-hot catcher Luke Young.

Young, who had homered twice in his previous game, went 2/3 with a double and three RBI. The score was 4-4 until Clinton put up five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Outfielders Owen Glenn and Camden Finley opened the frame with singles, followed by doubles by Jaydon Glenn, driving in Owen Glenn, and Young, driving in Finley and Jaydon Glenn. Tanner Finley’s two-out single drove in Talan Campbell, and Tanner Finley stole home before the inning ended on Logan Johnson’s ground-out.

The Lions (6-7) scored three times in the top of the seventh, highlighted by Nathan Dowdy’s two-run homer. Dowdy, Dean Colson and Dallas Tucker each collected two hits.

Tanner Finley collected three hits and stole four bases. Both Glenns had two hits. Angel Vargas homered.

Isaac Cain was the winning pitcher. Ty Rhodes took the loss.

Tuesday night brought a 5-3, eight-inning victory over Berkeley (9-5-1).

Camden and Tanner Finley combined for a win and a save, respectively, on the mound. Camden did the heavy lifting. He went seven innings, allowing two hits, one earned run, a hit batter and a walk. Oh, yeah. He struck out 15.

Tanner pitched the eighth, allowing a hit and protecting Clinton’s recently acquired two-run lead. Ten of his 11 pitches were strikes.

The winning rally commenced with Luke Young’s leadoff double. Young scored when Vargas reached on an error with one out. There were two out when Vargas scored on Logan Johnson’s single.

Young homered, his ninth, and went 2/4. Tanner Finley also went 2/4 and drove in two runs.

Easton Little, Henry Montgomery and Lucas Porcelli divided the Stags’ three hits among themselves. Eli Matthews took the loss.

Ashley Ridge (6-7-1) defeated Laurens, 10-1, in spite of a double and a triple by Raiders shortstop Brayden Patterson.

Noah Hughes had the only other Laurens (4-13) hit. Brodie Tuthill had three of the Swamp Foxes’ eight.

Braxton Sherrouse struck out eight in six innings for the Summerville school. Hughes, the Laurens starter, took the loss.

Pinewood Prep, also of Summerville, edged Laurens, 5-4, on Tuesday. The Panthers (10-1) overcame a 4-1 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Wyatt Pinson led the Raiders with a single and a double in four at-bats. Max Poulakis had the same for Pinewood.

After Logan Martin retired the first two batters in the seventh, Laurens never recorded another out. Two reached on errors, two walked, one singled, another was hit by a pitch, and the winning run scored on a bases-loaded walk.

Matt Ruhl’s first spring game as Presbyterian College head football coach is at Saturday, April 18, at Bailey Memorial Stadium, commencing at 6 p.m.

PC’s roster will be split for the event, playing four full-length quarters with a running clock, and the defense will start the scrimmage with a 28-0 lead.

Gates will open one hour before the on-field festivities. Concessions, season tickets and merchandise will be available for purchase.

Sign-ups are currently open for a Tailgate Contest to be held outside the stadium, where the winner will receive season tickets for the upcoming 2026 campaign. Entry closes on Thursday, April 16. There is a $15 entry fee. Five categories will be rewarded: Blue Hose Spirit (best décor), main dish, sides, desserts and overall winner.

Players are to sign autographs after the game. A free youth clinic in conjunction with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes begins at 4 p.m.

Charleston Southern finished off a three-game sweep of Presbyterian (6-28, 2-7 Big South) on Saturday in North Charleston, outslugging the Blue Hose, 15-11, after shutting them out, 7-0, on Thursday, and 13-12 in 10 innings on Friday.

The Bucs (20-10, 5-4) piled up 17 hits off four PC hurlers and took advantage of four Blue Hose errors.

Matthew Rollison hit his sixth home run for Presbyterian. Catcher Lucas Pringle had three hits for CSU, as did Rollison and Bo Moody for PC.

The fourth-ranked team in the country looked it when the poor Blue Hose visited Athens, Ga.

After an inning, PC led Georgia on Tuesday.

Then the Bulldogs scored 14 runs in the second, and they were off. The final score, concluded in seven innings, was 28-1. Five different Georgia batters slammed homers. Moody had two of PC’s three hits.

Presbyterian (9-5) upended Furman in men’s tennis on Tuesday at Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville.

Furman (6-12) won two out of the three doubles matches. Daksh Prasad won the match for Presbyterian at No. 3 singles with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory versus Walker Allen.

Rounding up the PoWs: Rollison was the Big South baseball player of the week, thanks to four home runs and a .556 average for the week and in spite of PC’s current six-game skid. Hali Duke won freshman honors in softball thanks to a .600 average for the week. James Rhodes was the top freshman golfer, and Matija Samardzic was tops in women’s tennis.

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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.