When the clock struck 8:22 PM on Wednesday night the Boiling Springs baseball team wrapped up their 8-0 victory over Gaffney but it took forty-eight more minutes to claim the region championship.
With the win the Bulldogs needed Nation Ford to defeat Fort Mill to claim the region championship on Wednesday night and as the team along with fans mulled around the field the voice of John Turner of Fort Mill broadcasting echoed through the stadium. As Turner announced the final out giving Nation Ford the 7-2 victory of an extra inning game, the Bulldogs team doused their coaches with water before joining in a dog pile along the left field line to celebrate their championship. "It's a great night to be a Bulldog as these guys persevered throughout the whole year and these guys deserve this," said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lipscomb. "I've never been able to celebrate a region championship like this because you usually have to wait until that last game but to be able to get it like this is a pretty neat experience." Prior to the game the Bulldogs celebrated seven seniors as they honored the contributions of Vance Wagner, Will Holmes, Avery Stewart, Jimmy Rosengrant, Jamison Bagwell, Carter Sloand, and Garrett Willford. Lipscomb says the Boiling Springs senior class has been key to the success of the Bulldogs this season. "We have a great senior class that we recognized tonight," said Lipscomb. "We're as good as our seniors and our seniors are a pretty good group. It's awesome these guys got to celebrate their senior night with a championship." Senior Will Holmes got the started the Bulldogs scoring hitting a double to left centerfield before Riley Douglas replaced him as a pinch runner. Douglas reached third base on a fielder's choice before scoring the Bulldogs first run on a Gaffney wild pitch to give Boiling Springs a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning the Bulldogs added three more runs which started when Luke Compton reached base on a fielder's choice. Compton then came around to score on a double to left field that landed just short of the outfield wall by Jimmy Rosengrant to push the Bulldogs lead to 2-0. Davis Starnes reached base by working a walk before both advanced on a wild pitch and then coming around to score on a single to left field by Tristan Smith to give Boiling Springs a 4-0 lead after two innings. Vance Wagner started the bottom of the third inning with a double to right centerfield before coming around to score on a double to left centerfield by Hudson Wilson. Wilson was followed to the plate by Luke Compton who hit a triple to right field scoring Wilson before Compton came around to score on the next at-bat off a Gaffney error to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. Jamison Bagwell extended the Boiling Springs lead to 8-0 after being hit by a pitch and then coming around to score on a double to left centerfield by Wilson. Wilson finished the night going four of four with two doubles, two singles, and two RBIs. While the Bulldogs bats were busy hitting on Wednesday night their senior pitcher Will Holmes done a great job of keeping the Gaffney batters off base. In the top of the first inning the Indians were able to get a runner to third base but from the second inning on the Indians were unable to get anyone that close to the plate again. Holmes finished the game pitching six innings while striking out seven Gaffney batters. Carter Sloand, another senior pitcher, pitched the final inning for the Bulldogs striking out the final batter of the game. While the Bulldogs celebrated their championship they also accomplished it with heavy hearts as Boiling Springs student Kolson Elliot passed away on Tuesday in a vehicular accident which Lipscomb said was at the front of all their minds on Wednesday. "While we celebrate the championship tonight we're also in mourning for the Elliot family and continue to lift them up in our prayers," said Lipscomb. "In fact our guys are heading right now across campus to join in a candlelight vigil to pray for that family." Boiling Springs will return to action on Friday night as they close out their region schedule with a road game against the same Gaffney team. Comments are closed.
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