By MONTE DUTTON

Five Blessed Trinity pitchers combined to limit Laurens (4-15) to two runs and three hits as the Roswell, Ga., school defeated the Raiders, 4-2, on Friday in the finale of Laurens’ spring-break trip to the Charleston area.

With the exception of three forfeits over Southside, which suspended its baseball program, Laurens has lost nine consecutive games.

Blessed Trinity (17-10) put up three runs in the bottom of the first inning and added another in the fourth. Third baseman Ryder Register had two of the Titans’ four hits, with the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.

Zach Jansen pitched the first three innings for the Titans, allowing only a walk and a hit batter while striking out three.

Brayden Patterson, Wyatt Pinson and Hunter Richardson had LDHS’s three singles.

Laurens starter J.P. Smith failed to record an out. Elliott Barksdale toiled the rest of the way, allowing all four hits but only an unearned run after Smith walked three and hit a fourth batter in the first inning.

Laurens scored two runs in the fifth after Ke’Allen Blackwell was hit by a pitch and Bryson Redd walked to lead off the inning. Both runners scored on an error by Blessed Trinity second baseman Carson Florence.

In Clinton, the score was also 4-2 as Winthrop dropped Presbyterian College (6-29, 2-8 Big South) to its fifth straight setback.

Tyrell Williams (0-2) took the loss in spite of a 6-2/3-inning start in which he allowed six hits and two earned runs.

Winthrop (23-11, 7-0) got 6-1/3 strong innings from starter Brayden Gilley (5-3), who allowed six hits and a walk, striking out eight. Ben Rehkow earned his second save.

Nick Smith homered for the Blue Hose, as Corey Wouters of Winthrop. Emory Guilford led PC with two hits and four at-bats. Likewise, Gabe Natividad went 2/4 for the Eagles, scoring twice and driving in a run.

The two teams play again on Saturday at 3 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday.

Gardner-Webb (25-16, 5-5) blanked Presbyterian (15-26, 3-7), 2-0, in the opener of a softball series on Friday in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Alli Stidham (10-3) gave up seven hits but nary a run in a complete game. She walked two and struck out six. Avery Robinson (6-7) took the loss despite allowing only one earned run.

Blair Darby and Baxleigh Arnette each collected two hits, one a double in both cases, for Presbyterian. Five different GWU batters had a hit apiece for the Running Bulldogs, who got a double from Lauren Spainhower.

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