"Why do they [write] for their money? Why do they [work] for short pay? They ain't getting nowhere and they're losing their share. They must have gone crazy back there." — Michael Burton (paraphrased)
Union County's Tanner Hardin steals second ahead of Zach Fortman's tag. (Monte Dutton photos) By MONTE DUTTON UNION – It was hard for Clinton to defeat Union County three times. Obviously. That’s what “they say.” “They” were right. The Red Devils, who won the Region 4-3A baseball championship at the Yellow Jackets' expense, opened the …
Continue reading Red Devils slide out of Union with streak intact
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 …
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
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 …
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. …
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 …
UNION – Clinton put an emphatic claim on the Region 4-3A baseball title with a 6-1 victory over Union County, the only remaining obstacle in its path. Wil Stewart gave up a single and a walk to the Yellow Jackets in the bottom of the 1st but struck out Andrew Latham to end the inning …
GREENWOOD – As a practical matter, Laurens’ Tuesday-night visit to Greenwood was little more than a non-conference workout for the baseball playoffs, but the Eagles and Raiders are familiar rivals. Greenwood (13-2) whipped Laurens (14-9-1) for the 2nd time – the 1st was on Feb. 18 – by 6th-inning run rule, 15-5. The Raiders’ Jackson …
EASLEY -- Behind a gutty performance on the mound by Grayson Ledford, Laurens won for the 4th time in a row with a workmanlike 7-0 victory over Easley on Monday night. Tuning up for the Class 4A playoffs, which begin next Monday, Jackson Martin and Bennett Edwards each collected two hits, Martin scored three times, …
The Pilgrims and the Loggers were headed in opposite directions. It was “getaway day” at quaint Fitzgerald Field. The Pilgrims had won the third of four games the night before, after two rain delays, and were poised for a sweep. They were three games ahead of the Suns, thanks to six wins in a row. …
Nightrider's Lament 