BOILING SPRINGS, SC - With the bases loaded and a berth in the Upper State championship series on the line, Boiling Springs third baseman Davis Starnes strolled to the plate delivering a RBI single to leftfield giving Boiling Springs a 4-3 victory along with a berth in the 5A Upper State series on Monday night.
Starnes also picked up the win on the mound for the Bulldogs as he came on in relief with one out in the top of the seventh inning forcing a fielder's choice at second base and a flyout to right field giving himself the chance to win the game in the bottom half of the inning. "Davis the last four weeks has been on fire for us at the plate," said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lipscomb. "I'm just proud of him with how he's been playing and his senior leadership this year. I couldn't be any prouder of a kid than I am him this year and especially tonight." The clutch hit situation got started with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when Luke Compton walked before advancing to second base on an infield single by Hudson Wilson. Compton moved to third base on a single by Tristan Smith to leftfield before scoring the winning run on Starnes base hit to left field. "The character of our guys is huge and they just don't quit," said Lipscomb. "I'm just really proud of our guys as they found a way to win tonight after falling in the first game, these guys just never quit." Prior to the game winning situation the Bulldogs got the first lead of the game when Davis Starnes, who had reached on a walk, scored on a groundout by Jackson Reel to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning the Bulldogs extended their lead to 3-0 when Richie Lewis scored from second base on a double to right centerfield by Tristan Smith. On the next at-bat Starnes doubled home Rylee Douglas, who was running for Smith, to give the Bulldogs a three-run lead. Bulldogs senior pitcher Tristan Smith pitched the first five innings for Boiling Springs as he struck out twelve batters in five shutout innings but was forced to leave the game after the fifth inning due to pitch limits. JL Mann was able to add three runs in the top of the sixth inning but Bulldogs senior Ashton Smith was able to limit the damage when he came on in relief with the bases loaded to force a flyout to centerfield and strikeout the final two batters of the inning. "Both Ashton and Davis came up big as they dug deep inside themselves as neither has done much pitching this season," said Lipscomb. "They've kept working at their pitching in practice though and tonight they came up big for us. This game was for a chance at the Upper State series and both came on pitching like they've been doing it all season." With the victory the Bulldogs now advance to the first round of the Upper State championship series where they will host region foe Fort Mill, who defeated Dorman 10-7 on Monday night. "Fort Mill is a quality team playing some great baseball right now," said Lipscomb. "They're a four seed who won their district and that says a lot about them. Their top five hitters are loaded but we're going to do what we do and find a way to win." The Bulldogs victory came in the second game on Monday night as the Patriots defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in the first game on Monday night. Comments are closed.
|
Our Sponsors
If you would like to join us as a sponsor please contact us at: [email protected]
Archives
October 2023
Categories |