By MONTE DUTTON Jaylen Peterson skies over USC Upstate (Monte Dutton photos). A hearty band of basketball-playing Blue Hose tacked straight into the coming weather full speed ahead. At Templeton Center on Wednesday evening, the men’s team withstood a late Charleston Southern rally to defeat the Buccaneers, 87-83. Led by the reliable Jonah Pierce, who …
Tag: softball
Paladins solve free-throw distance when it counts
Charles Johnston has seven double-doubles in 12 games (Monte Dutton photo). Click here. Alex Wilkins calmly popped a pair of free throws to nail down Furman’s 75-68 victory over Manhattan on Thursday night in Riverdale, N.Y. This would not have seemed so impressive had not the Paladins missed nine of the 12 free throws that …
Continue reading Paladins solve free-throw distance when it counts
Bill Anderson … in my dreams
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. Bill Anderson is one of the great songwriters in country-music history. I dreamed I had a conversation with “Whispering Bill” last night. Back in the NASCAR days, I bumped into well-known figures – Michael Jordan, John Prine, Dick Riley, Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Barney Frank – at airports. This is …
Devils advance past Chesnee, rain, protest, triple play …
By MONTE DUTTON Brett Young went deep (Monte Dutton photos). Click here. And then, in the Upstate, there were were four. Four schools, in Class 2A, to decide the representative to play for a state championship: Clinton in District 1, Batesburg-Leesville in District 2, Mid- Carolina in District 3 and Strom Thurmond in District 4. …
Continue reading Devils advance past Chesnee, rain, protest, triple play …
Raiders headed back to Daniel after Saturday win
Coleman Coker (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Laurens remains alive in the Class 4A baseball as a result of Saturday’s 7-4 victory versus Daniel (20-8) in Central, thus atoning fo a 3-2 loss to the Lions on May 6. In between, the Raiders defeated Blue Ridge on May 8. Monday finds Laurens visiting Daniel for …
Continue reading Raiders headed back to Daniel after Saturday win
Laurens, Clinton both win playoff games
(Photo courtesy John Clayton) Click here. Laurens kept its hopes alive in Class 4A baseball and softball. Clinton flexed its Class 2A muscles in baseball, while its softball team’s fate depends on a Friday home game against Landrum. The Red Devils lost their playoff opener, 10-1, to Ninety Six. Thornwell is no more in the …
Tall order for Devils in tennis finals
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. Clinton High School, undefeated at 11-0, is playing for the state boys’ tennis championship on Saturday in Cayce at 10 a.m. Red Devil teams have already won the Class 2A state title in football and reached the Upstate final in girls’ basketball. This is always a tall order, never more …
Raiders rampage in playoff opener
Bennett Edwards (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Well, here we go. The playoffs are underway. It doesn’t mean that all the games are fraught with tension, but the tension is going to rise as the process that determines state championships runs its course. In baseball, both Laurens and Clinton closed their regular seasons with an …
Baseball hopes rise for county’s best
By MONTE DUTTON Owen Glenn (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Both Laurens and Clinton highs experienced early disappointments in baseball region play. The Raiders lost three straight to Fountain Inn (21-5, 13-2), and the Red Devils fell twice to Mid-Carolina (18-7, 10-0). Neither has lost in region play since, and as such, optimism rises as …
Raiders, Red Devils run wild
Zay Pulley (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Laurens crossed the lake as if it was Washington crossing the Delaware on Wednesday night, defeating Greenwood, 8-6, behind three hits from third baseman Coleman Coker and a leadoff homer from second sacker Zay Pulley. Pulley’s blast and Avery Madden’s double staked the Raiders to a 4-0 lead, …
Nightrider's Lament 