On Saturday morning, a play at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning helped Chapman defeat Boiling Springs 8-7 to start the second day of the Steve Sanders preseason tournament in exciting fashion.
Boiling Springs, the preseason ranked #2 team in 5A, was trailing Chapman, the #3 ranked team in 3A, by one run with runners at first and second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Bulldogs hitter Tristan Smith singled to left field. On the crack of the bat the Bulldogs runners were off and as the lead runner rounded third base Chapman left fielder Walt Waddell scooped up the hit and made a spot on throw to home plate that just beat the sliding Boiling Springs runner to grab the victory for the Panthers. "We love playing people like Boiling Springs because it makes us better," said Chapman head coach Steve Fusaro. "I have a ton of respect for those guys over there and if we're going to get to where we want to be, a state championship contender, we need to see the absolute best and I thought we saw that today. I also think people got to see our best as well which is fun." Chapman got the first run of the game after right fielder Ethan Fortenberry scored from third on a single by third baseman Jake Murray to put the Panthers up 1-0 after the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs responded in the bottom half of the inning when left fielder Avery Stewart singled and then scored on a Chapman error to tie the game at 1-1. Both teams traded runs over the next two innings as the teams were tied at 3-3 when the third inning came to an end. After holding Chapman scoreless in the top half of the inning Boiling Springs took the biggest lead of the game when they scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning as Steward, catcher Vance Wagner, third baseman Hudson Wilson all crossed home plate to take a 6-3 lead. The Panthers responded with two runs in the top of the fifth when Jake Murray scored on a errant Bulldogs throw and Johann Rodriguez, who reached on a single, scored on a double by first baseman Cason Owens to put the Bulldogs lead at 6-5. Boiling Springs responded with a score in the bottom of the fifth inning when centerfielder Luke Compton scored from third base on a double down the left field line by Jamison Bagwell to put the Bulldogs lead at 7-5. In the bottom of the fifth inning the Panthers brought in Banks Atkins to pitch and the run in the fifth inning was the only run he allowed for the rest of the game. In the top of the sixth inning the Panthers took advantage of some Bulldogs mistakes in the field as they scored three runs on one hit with the only hit coming on a double to left field by Atkins. "We've known Banks for a long time and we've missed him the last two years out here," said Fusaro. "Every person on this team has talked to him about being out here this year because we knew the kind of impact he could have and I'm glad he got to see that today. He's a special young man and we're glad he's a part of our team." Chapman finished the second day of play in the Steve Sanders tournament 1-1 after defeating Boiling Springs but later falling 5-1 to Mauldin. Comments are closed.
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