INMAN, S.C. – The first two weeks of baseball since March has served as a time for many baseball players across the Upstate to reacclimate, whether it involves pitching, hitting, defense, going over different game situations, and so forth.
The crowd on hand Monday night at Jim Everhart Field was treated to a pitcher’s duel and some great defensive plays. A late rally helped Spartanburg squeak by Inman, 3-2, in eight innings and maintain their perfect record (6-0). Trailing by two runs entering the sixth, Spartanburg got on the board with a Hunter Pruitt double down the left field line, which drove in Jack Renwick to make it a one run game. In the next frame, an Inman error coupled with a Renwick single allowed Spartanburg to tie the game up at two. “We had the ball game won,” said Inman coach Steve Skinner. “We had the ball game won. All we had to do was field a couple of ground balls on the first base side and the game’s over, but we didn’t do our job.” Tray Young smacked an opposite-field single to right in the eighth, plating the go-ahead run from second, pinch-runner Wesley Harper, for a 3-2 lead. “This game had a little bit of everything,” Spartanburg coach Blake Burress exclaimed. “We had a player get caught in the fence. We were down to our last out a couple of times. Inman is very, very good. For our pitchers to keep them off balance the way they did and gave our bats time to get some timely hits, that’s big for us.” Inman southpaw Jake Cothran was staked to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning when ball four on a walk to Clay Cox sailed wide to the backstop, which allowed the two runners on base to score. Cothran had his best start of the season, tossing six superb innings, allowing one run while striking out seven Spartanburg hitters. “Tip your cap to Jake,” Burress remarked. “I’ve seen him pitch a lot (from) being at Broome (and) watching him at Chapman. I feel like he’s pitched a lot against us from Junior Legion to Senior Legion. That is the best I’ve seen him throw.” “Jake pitched as good a game as anybody tonight,” Skinner stated. “He pitched six innings and had them shut down the whole time. You can’t ask for more than that. We’ve got to do a better job of closing a ball game.” Inman (4-2) will have a quick turnaround as they travel up Highway 11 to face Gaffney at Jug Wallace Field on Tuesday night. It will be a doubleheader with the Inman-Gaffney Pre-majors game starting at approximately 5:30 PM, followed by the Majors game 30 minutes afterward. -Justin Mathis UNION, S.C. – After a strong showing the previous evening against Gaffney, Inman looked to keep pace with first place Spartanburg on Tuesday.
The hits came early and often for Inman as they cruised to a 15-1 road victory over Buffalo in five innings. Inman jumped out to an early lead, striking for three runs in the opening frame on a Jack Thompson double and a Jake Cothran two-run single. “We got a lot of timely hits tonight,” Inman coach Steve Skinner said. “(Buffalo) had a little trouble throwing strikes at times, but we hit the ball well tonight and last night. Maybe we’ll get on a streak now where we can score a few runs.” Inman put the game out of reach in the fourth, sending 11 men up to bat and scoring five runs, making a 13-0 advantage at that juncture of the contest. Leadoff hitter Grayson Selepes continued his hot hitting, driving in a game-high five runs for Inman and finished a home run shy of the cycle (two singles, one double, one triple in five at-bats). Selepes has notched eight RBI in two games this week. “He has a lot of speed and makes good contact,” Skinner pointed out. “He can bunt for a base hit if you need him to. He has a lot of (good) things going for him. He’s the ideal leadoff hitter for us.” Ben Hutchins tossed four strong, scoreless innings and earned the win, yielding only two hits to Buffalo. Inman improves to 4-1 on the season and will host undefeated Spartanburg in a Thursday night contest at Jim Everhart Field. The Majors game will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Spartanburg-Inman Dixie Pre-Majors game, which should start at 5:30 PM. - Justin Mathis GAFFNEY, SC - In a matchup of two of the top three Dixie Major teams on Tuesday night Spartanburg used a pair of explosive innings to down Gaffney 17-1 at Jug Wallace Field in Gaffney.
While the game was played in Gaffney on Tuesday night Spartanburg served as the home since the game was originally scheduled to be played at Duncan Park. Garrison Bridges and Ethan McClain combined to give Gaffney a 1-0 lead after the top of the first as Bridges led off the game with a double and later scored on a McCllain single after Brayden Davidson got him over to third base in the previous at-bat. Spartanburg answered back quickly in the bottom half of the inning as they sent eleven batters to the plate while scoring eight runs off the bats of six different players. Russell Perry got the big hit in the inning with a two RBI double before later scoring himself on a passed ball. The other RBI's in the inning came off the bats of Hunter Pruitt, Connor Droze, Matthew Powell, Tripp Cothran, and Jack Renwick. Lightning struck again for the Spartanburg bats in the bottom of the second inning as they added nine runs while sending thirteen hitters to the plate. Perry and Tray Young had the big hits for Spartanburg in the second as Perry added another two RBI double while Young reached base for the third time in as many at bats with a two RBI single. Ryan Foltz had a great night on the mound for Spartanburg as he picked up the win with a complete game effort as he struck out eight batters and scattered three hits with only one coming in the final four innings. Gaffney will travel to Buffalo on Thursday for a 7:45pm scheduled first pitch. -Andrew Eison INMAN, S.C. – Coming off of their first loss in the Dixie Majors league last week to Spartanburg, Inman aimed to rebound against longtime foe Gaffney.
A big fourth inning and solid pitching helped propel Inman to an 8-1 victory on Monday night. Entering the fourth inning, Inman held a two run lead over the visiting Crusaders. After a leadoff walk and a hit batsman, centerfielder Grayson Selepes smacked a seeing-eye single between second and first base, plating a run. The next two batters, Easton Cullison and Paxton Tolleson, drove in three more runs with consecutive doubles, making it a 7-1 Inman advantage. “We hadn’t hit the ball well up until tonight,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner said. “They’ve been off for three months (due to the virus situation) and it takes a little while to get back into the groove. I feel like we might’ve got in it tonight. We have a lot of people that are capable. We just have to find the right combination, find out who’s hot, and go from there.” On the mound, Inman had to dance around several Gaffney threats, including a big one in the fifth. Jack Thompson got the call from the bullpen in relief of Jake Cothran with one out in the fifth and the bases loaded. Thompson picked up a strikeout on four pitches, followed by a groundout to first that ended the threat. “You’ve got to have timely hitting and we didn’t have that,” Gaffney coach Will Raines. “Give credit to Coach Skinner and their team – they’ve got a really good team and lineup. If we don’t come ready to play, that’s a hard team to beat.” “I feel like I’ve been throwing it well,” Thompson remarked. “I’ve never really had much mound time, but I just go out there and grind it out, like I am better than the hitter.” Thompson threw the final two and two-thirds innings, earning the save for Inman, while Cothran picked up the win by holding the Crusaders to their lone run of the game in four and one-third innings of work. Next up for Inman is a road game on Tuesday night against Buffalo, who plays at the Timken Sports Complex. The game is slated to start at 7 PM. -Justin Mathis GAFFNEY, S.C. – The overcast, chilly conditions on Tuesday night couldn’t put a damper on the showdown between Inman and Gaffney on Tuesday night.
A combined effort on the mound and a one out spark in the middle innings propelled Inman to a 7-3 road victory for their second win of the season. After a scoreless opening frame, Inman struck first in the second, scoring twice on a walk, one hit, and a Gaffney error. The Crusaders answered in their part of the inning with a two-run, two out single to tie the score. “We had a couple of key hits early on,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner said. “We just scratched around, got a few hits, and put them together. We had some stolen bases early that gave us a couple of runs and played good defense all night long.” With one out, two runners aboard in the fourth and one already in, Nelson Crooke legged out a bunt single and took second on the throwing error, which also brought home another run. They scored three runs in the frame for a 6-2 advantage. On the mound, three Inman hurlers – Ben Hutchins, Nic Smart, and Tyler Rogers – combined to hold Gaffney to three runs on three hits. Smart was credited with the win, tossing two and two-thirds shutout innings out of the bullpen. Rogers, a southpaw, got the call for the final frame and earned the save. “Ben gave up a couple (of runs) early,” Skinner stated. “He settled down after that. Nic came in and did a heck of a job for two or three innings and then Tyler closed it out for us. Their arms are not in shape at this time (due to the lengthy layoff). We got an extra inning from Ben tonight. We were expecting him to go for three innings. As the season continues to move along, they’ll (hopefully) be able to pitch for five or six innings in a couple of weeks.” Next up for Inman (2-0) is a Friday night contest against Spartanburg (2-0) at Jim Everhart Field. First pitch is set for 7 PM. -Justin Mathis INMAN, S.C. – For the first time in approximately three months, the sound of a baseball popping into a catcher’s mitt was heard on a baseball field in front of a crowd.
It was music to the ears of many on Monday night at Jim Everhart Field for the 2020 Dixie Majors Baseball season. A pair of big innings told the story on this night, as Inman downed Buffalo by a final tally of 10-4. In the top of the first, Buffalo struck first by sending 10 batters up to the plate, which led to four runs on two hits, two errors, three walks, and a hit. After the rough start to the contest, Inman southpaw Jake Cothran responded well, limiting the Buffalo team to just five base runners in three and two-thirds innings of work. “We usually play better,” Buffalo head coach Tommy Ford said. “I think it’s just (because of it being) the first ballgame. I think we walked 12 people and made three or four errors. In the first (part) of the ballgame, we had the momentum going, then we started walking people, had some passed balls… Other than that, I thought we played well, but not as good as we should have.” Inman answered in the second inning with an offensive explosion of their own. Eleven men batted in the frame and scored seven runs on six walks, three hits, and a passed ball on a dropped third strike, which gave Inman a three run lead. “We didn’t start off too well,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner admitted. “Jake struggled to throw strikes in the first, then we had a couple of errors that prolonged the inning. He found a groove there for a couple of innings. Overall, I’m happy with what we did tonight.” There were also a few occasions where some players flashed the leather on defense. In the third inning, Inman first baseman Tyler Rogers chased down a foul ball on the first base side and made an outstanding diving catch, just a few steps from his teams’ dugout. At the plate, Nelson Crooke and Paxton Tolleson each drove in a pair of runs, while Grayson Selepes and Davis Starnes also scored twice for Inman. “I feel good about our team,” Skinner added. “I think we can hit a ball a little bit better than what we did tonight, but they hadn’t played any (games) in three months. It’ll come around.” Next up for Inman is a trip to Jerry “Jug” Wallace Field in Gaffney on Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 7 PM. -Justin Mathis |