(Pixabay photo) By MONTE DUTTON (Monte Dutton photo) In many ways, now is the end of the year. It’s the end of the sports year, especially for those who follow teams fielded by schools. For the athlete, the coach and those who support him or her, Christmas and New Year’s is sort of a break …
It takes a village
(Monte Dutton photos) Any successful team is a many splendored thing, but baseball takes it to the nth degree. Football requires many coordinated actions, but football players do not dash beyond the goalposts to retrieve the extra points. In high-school baseball, the junior varsity completes its game and then prepares the field for the varsity. …
Baseball had a heap of folks talkin’
(Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON In the 1980s, a song called “Talkin’ Baseball (Willie, Mickey and The Duke)” was so popular that its author, Terry Cashman, recorded alternative versions for every major-league team. Talkin’ baseball / Kluszewski, Campanella / Talkin’ baseball / The Man and Bobby Feller / The Scooter, The Barber and The …
And I love them so
(Fletcher Pruitt Jr. photo) (Monte Dutton photo) I’d hate to pick between baseball and football, and basketball is rising with a bullet in this writer’s pop chart. You can dance to basketball. (For those of you too young for Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, it’s an old cliché. The crowds of wholesome youths would rate the …
Devils put spring’s toil on display
(Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON The Red Devils have many holes to fill but ample seeds in the planter. Identifying which of those seeds will sprout is the first task of spring practice, which ended with Clinton High’s spring game on Thursday, pushed back by the unprecedented length of the baseball season and to …
Baseball to brag about
(Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON The first time I heard Asher Goss was injured, Tori Patterson told me about it before a Raider game. I thought, what a shame. I had no idea it was life-threatening. It could be that Tori didn’t know, either. Conditions apparently deteriorated quickly, but Goss pulled through, some dour …
Splendor on the grass of the infield
Sweet victory (Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON This is the way to win a state championship. Bring out the honored heroes of the past. It’s been 62 years since the baseball team won the state. Establish the link because, in a place like this, the team does not just represent the school; it represents …
Red Devils strike baseball gold
Caleb Taylor (8), Wil Stewart (12) and head coach Sean McCarthy celebrate. (Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON Oh, they ringed the baseball stadium on Tuesday night, and ever how many were there, all but a few got what they came for, which was a Class 3A state championship for the Clinton Red Devils, 5-4 …
Raiders show spring in their steps
(Monte Dutton photo) Ira Bedenbaugh was in midseason form on the public address, but the teams wore practice togs, and it was not unusual for players wearing green jerseys to clobber others wearing the same. The occasion was Laurens District High’s spring scrimmage at K.C. Hanna Stadium. As a rule, offensive players wore white and …
Here come Hawks with an attitude
Justin Copeland (Monte Dutton photos) Do not be deluded into thinking Tuesday night’s game at Clinton High School is going to anywhere near as easy as the first game at Hanahan. Clinton won, 17-3, in the first game on the Hawks’ home field and is a victory away from the Class 3A state championship. A …
Nightrider's Lament 