They say in sports that records are made to be broken and on Saturday Boiling Springs' Najee Thompson did just that as he became the new state record holder in the 200m with a time of 21.06 seconds and became the 5A State Champion. It wasn't the only championship that Thompson won on Saturday though as he also claimed the 5A State Championship in the 400m.
"I'm now a two time state champion in my career," Thompson said with excitement after winning the 200m, "It has been one heck of career. God has really blessed me." While Thompson's two state championships were impressive he was just the blink of an eye from being a three time state champion on Saturday as Thompson finished second in a photo finish in the 100m. On Saturday afternoon Boiling Springs also had great performances from their other state qualifiers as Kade Gosnell finished in sixth place in the 1600m and Saben Heenahan finished fourth in the high jump. The Bulldogs 4x100 team, a team that included Thompson, Shamar Wilson, Caden Peeler, and Charles McFadden Jr, finished the 5A 4x100 race in fifth place which was won by fellow region foe Spartanburg. The two state championships for Thompson just adds to his track awards in 2018 as he is also the reigning champion in the 100m, 200m, and 400m in Spartanburg County that he won at the Spartanburg County track meet at Broome in April. With lightning flashing in the distance it was a flash of luck that allowed the Boiling Springs Lady Bulldogs to capture a 2-1 victory on Monday night over JL Mann and advance in the 5A softball playoffs.
"Lightning sure struck right there," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "I felt like earlier in the game I cost us a run when I lost sight of where the ball was during the play so I told Zoey prior to that wild pitch that if the ball got away at all to just score." With the Bulldogs and Patriots tied at one heading into the bottom of the seventh it was a wild pitch by JL Mann with bases loaded that allowed Boiling Springs' Zoey Stewart to score from third base and advanced the Bulldogs to a game against Fort Mill on Wednesday night. Prior to the seventh inning the Bulldogs grabbed the first lead of the game in the third inning when Tori Beland scored from second base on a single by Grace McKinney that saw the ball go into right field on a Patriots throw to first allowing Beland to score and give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The Patriots were able to tie the game up in the top of the fourth inning when Kinslee Hughes scored on an infield hit by Rachael Shepherd. Boiling Springs' Olivia Hall pitched well for the Bulldogs on Monday night as she held the Patriots scoreless through the first three innings and only allowed JL Mann four hits over the complete seven innings. "Olivia really pitched the ball well for us tonight," said Coach Piazza. "It was a great defensive game for both teams tonight and I was really proud of Olivia tonight. In fact I'm really proud of this whole team." With the victory the Bulldogs advance to a game at Fort Mill to see which team will play Byrnes on Friday night for the Upper State championship, a goal that not many people thought was possible when the Bulldogs started out as a four seed in the District playoffs. "We're looking forward to the game against Fort Mill on Wednesday as we always have great games with them," said Coach Piazza."I tell these kids all the time that nobody thought we'd be here but we just keep finding a way." Hall of Fame baseball player Ernie Banks once famously said "Lets play two" and that's exactly what it took for the Lady Bulldogs to capture the 5A District One championship on Wednesday night with a 9-5 victory over Mauldin after falling to the Mavericks 8-4 in game one.
"It was a great day to play two," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "In the first game we got down early and just couldn't overcome the deficit. In the second game we came out a lot better and hit the ball well." After falling to the Mavericks in game one the Bulldogs didn't waste time getting on the board in the second game as they scored the first three batters in the game to claim a 3-1 lead at the end of the first inning. With the teams going to a game two the Bulldogs became the visiting team on their home field and got the opportunity to bat first in the second game. The second game started off with four straight singles by Boiling Springs hitters Ragan Bristol, Grace McKinney, Emily Hill, and Olivia Hall with Hall's single bringing home Bristol to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Natalie Hazzard followed Hall with a sacrifice fly to right field that brought home McKinney giving Boiling Springs a 2-0 lead. After Hazzard's sacrifice fly Abbie Threatt hit a single to centerfield to score Hill giving the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead. In the bottom half of the first inning Mauldin's Tia Beckham reached base on a leadoff double and later scored on a single by Jillian Hewes to make the Boiling Springs lead 3-1 with one out. Bulldogs pitcher Olivia Hall was able to get the next two Maudlin batters to ground out and hit a fly ball to right field to preserve the Boiling Springs lead. While the Bulldogs held on to the 3-1 lead through five innings they added to that lead in the sixth inning as Boiling Springs batted around and scored six runs in the sixth inning. Emily Hill started the sixth inning off with a double and was followed by Olivia Hall with a single of her own. Hill came around to score on a single by Natalie Hazzard and Hall scored on a single by Abbie Threatt to make the Boiling Springs lead 5-1 with no outs in the sixth inning. Zoey Stewart reached base on a Mauldin error which also allowed Hazzard to score making the Boiling Springs lead 6-1. Threatt put the Bulldogs lead at 7-1 after a third strike wild pitch allowed her to score and allowed the batter Hailey Owens to reach base. The Bulldogs scoring would come to an end with the same person it started with as Emily Hill who was batting for the second time in the inning hit a double to left field scoring both Stewart and Owens to give the Bulldogs a 9-1 lead with only six outs left to get. In the bottom of the sixth inning Mauldin was able to add a run when Jillian Hewes singled and came around to score on a groundout by Taylor Williams to put the Boiling Springs lead at 9-2 at the end of the sixth inning. The Mavericks were able to make a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning by scoring three runs but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs captured a 9-5 victory and advanced to the Upper State championship round of the playoffs. After entering the playoffs as a four seed the Bulldogs overcame heavy odds to get to the Upper State championship round, "It is an impressive performance by this team to get here with as young as we are," said Coach Piazza. "This team has seemed to find its way." With the victory the Bulldogs will be hosting a familiar foe as Region III-5A rival Byrnes will travel to Boiling Springs on Saturday for the first round of the Upper State championship. The first pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 7:00 PM. |
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