Boiling Springs used an impressive pitching performance to go along with a strong defensive effort from their infield to defeat Byrnes 9-0 on Wednesday night, punching their ticket into the district championship game on Friday night at Hillcrest.
"I can't say enough about our guys," said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lipscomb. "The guys were intense tonight and just battled." After dropping a nail biter on Friday night to the Rebels the Bulldogs were determined to not have history repeat itself. In the first inning both teams went scoreless and in the top of the second inning the Rebels tried to get the first run of the game with two outs. With Hunter Lancaster standing at second base for the Rebels, Carson Cassidy hit a ball up the middle that seemed destined for the outfield but a great diving stop by Bulldogs second baseman Jimmy Rosengrant followed by a strong throw to first base kept the game scoreless. Boiling Springs carried the momentum from the strong defensive play into the bottom of the second inning as it led to their first lead of the game. After the first two batters were unable to reach base, the Bulldogs got their first runner on base in the inning when Luke Compton worked an 0-2 count into a walk. Jamison Bagwell followed Compton with a single to left field before Avery Stewart loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded Davis Starnes picked up an infield single to score Compton giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead before Starnes was followed by Tristan Smith who was hit by a pitch to score Bagwell and give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead after two innings of play. Neither team scored a run in the third and fourth innings but in the bottom of the fifth inning the Bulldogs bats got back to work as they scored four runs while also batting through the lineup. Will Holmes started off the fifth inning with a double to the right field corner before Vance Wagner followed with a walk to put two runners on with no outs. Hudson Wilson followed Wagner with a single to left centerfield that scored Holmes giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. Jimmy Rosengrant, who was having a great day in the field including five putouts, followed Wilson with a single to left field allowing Riley Douglas, who was pinch running for Wagner, to score and push the Bulldogs lead to 4-0 over the Rebels. With one out Bagwell was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Bulldogs when Starnes hit a double to right field scoring both Wilson and Rosengrant to put the Boiling Springs lead at 6-0 after five innings. The Bulldogs bats got back to work in the bottom of the sixth inning as Vance Wagner reached base on an infield single before Douglas, who was pinch running for Wagner, moved to third base on a bunt single by Wilson. Rosengrant picked up his second RBI of the game in the inning when he hit a double to right centerfield to score Wilson making the score 8-0 in favor of the Bulldogs, after Douglas scored on a wild pitch earlier in the at-bat. Rosengrant made the score 9-0 when he scored from second base on a single to right field by Luke Compton as the Bulldogs added to their lead heading into the final inning. Boiling Springs got an impressive pitching outing on Wednesday night from Landon Ellis as he pitched six innings while only allowing three hits and striking out four Byrnes batters. "I've got to tip my hat to Landon tonight," said Lipscomb. "He's a man of few words but tonight he just showed what he can do. We knew throughout the year he could do it and his off-speed stuff is as good as anyone's we've seen." Carter Sloand pitched the final inning for the Bulldogs not allowing a hit with the final two outs coming on ground balls to the infield. The Bulldogs infield recorded fifteen of the twenty-one outs on Wednesday night including four double plays which Lipscomb says is a credit to the work his players and coaches have put in to get better throughout the year. "I can't say enough about our guys as they show up everyday and put in the work," said Lipscomb. "They take their groundballs and listen to their coaches, Coach Goodwin does a great job with our infielders and Coach Goff does a great job with our pitchers, and tonight it was just really good. The scouting report on Boiling Springs was 'good pitching but no defense' and that may have been us early but to see how much better we have gotten over this season just gives me chills." With the victory the Bulldogs will head to Hillcrest to play for a chance at a spot in the Upper State championship series but will have to defeat the Rams twice on Friday night to make that happen. Lipscomb says his team is looking forward to the opportunity and hopes the Boiling Springs fanbase continues the great support for his team at Hillcrest that they've gotten all this week. "With those two guys (Tristan Smith and Will Holmes) on the mound if we swing the bats like we did tonight we're in good shape," said Lipscomb. "Those guys are two of the best lefties in the state and we're ready to go to Hillcrest. Our fans have been outstanding this whole week and our guys built off their excitement, with all that combined we know we can beat anyone in the state and we're looking forward to getting back to work." The first game on Friday night will start at 5:30 PM and if necessary the second game will start thirty minutes after the end of the first game. Comments are closed.
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