(Pixabay photo) On Saturday, when I awakened, King Charles III was getting his crown. While writing with the TV on, I half-watched the horse races leading up to the Kentucky Derby and then the derby itself. They were a perfect pair. The Coronation and the Derby were British and American versions of Rich People Looking …
Still a long way from over
Clinton's Wil Stewart (Monte Dutton photos) The baseball teams of Clinton and Laurens high schools have won their share of laughers, but now the playoffs have arrived and the going’s gotten tougher. Both the Red Devils and Raiders have proved themselves tough. On Thursday night, Clinton (20-3) spotted Wren six runs and roared back to …
Raiders storm back in late innings
Owen Pridgen (Monte Dutton file photo) NORTH AUGUSTA – Comebacks are in style. Owen Pridgen’s two-run single in the top of the seventh inning gave Laurens an 8-6 Class 4A baseball playoff victory Friday night over North Augusta after the Raiders trailed by five runs after an inning. A night earlier, Clinton came from six …
Clinton comes off the deck like a prizefighter
Brett Young ripped the game-winner (Monte Dutton photos). That moon rising above left-center field wasn’t a bad one at Clinton High School. The Red Devils rose with it in a 7-6 Class 3A playoff baseball victory over Wren on Thursday evening. The ecstatic final moment occurred with two out in the bottom of the seventh …
Continue reading Clinton comes off the deck like a prizefighter
Here and there, in and out, up and down …
Laurens outfielder Jaedon Goodwin. (Monte Dutton photo) Things are looking up in Laurens County. The District 55 school board took an action. Elsewhere, it’s life. Some gotta win. Some gotta lose. What goes up must come down. Once playoffs and tournaments get started, one happy team is eventually going to remain. The dream is very …
Raiders knock off Greenwood, 11-9
Owen Pridgen had a slam. (Monte Dutton file photo) GREENWOOD – Though not in the same Class 4A region, Laurens and Greenwood played for the third time on Wednesday night in the baseball playoffs. The kill shot in the 11-9 upset was a fourth-inning, two-out grand slam by Laurens first baseman Owen Pridgen. Also significant …
McLendon leads way past Broome
Zane McLendon was 4-4 with three extra-base hits. (Monte Dutton photos) Zane McLendon’s smooth batting stroke played particular dividends in Clinton’s 11-3 first-round playoff victory over Broome on Tuesday night. How smooth? Smooth as butterscotch pudding. A first-inning triple, a double in the second, a single in the fifth and another double in the sixth. …
Nabors goes yard in Raider triumph
Mason Hamby had three hits and two stolen bases. (Monte Dutton photo) As first home runs of a season go, Laurens’ Hunter Nabors demonstrated exquisite timing. With one out and one run in, one ball and one strike, the Raider second baseman hammered a blast to right field to give Laurens (15-9-1) a 4-0 lead …
A town of two tales
In the town of Clinton, there are two entities: the Clinton High School Red Devils, who win the games, and the Presbyterian College Blue Hose, who lose them. These are their stories. PC and Clinton used to be damn near one and the same. People in Clinton with no formal means of connection used to …
What it was … was baseball
Preparing to pose for photos are, from left, Caleb Taylor, Justin Copeland, Wilson Wages, Jalen Barnhill and Zach Fortman (Monte Dutton photo). The plan was to watch a baseball game Friday night, but the rains on Thursday, throughout Laurens County, were too severe for play, and I drifted into the Clinton High School cafeteria in …
Nightrider's Lament 