INMAN, S.C – Entering Wednesday’s regular season finale at Jim Everhart Field, the League Five championship hung in the balance as Inman Post 45 hosted the Gaffney Post 109 Crusaders.
One big inning, along with a solid pitching performance, enabled Inman to pull away and claim a 12-0 victory over Gaffney in five innings, winning the League Five title. The two clubs were deadlocked in a scoreless tie entering the third inning when the Inman bats came to life. Luke Compton led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a fly out, and scored the first run on a wild pitch. In all, Inman sent 16 batters up to the dish and plated 12 runs. “That’s a lot of batters to bat in one inning,” said Inman head coach Steve Skinner. “We really needed to win tonight. Gaffney’s starter had us off-balance for the first couple of innings, but after we went through the order one time, we hit the ball really hard several batters in a row and extended the inning. We hit and ran the bases well, which was key.” During the inning, Paxton Tolleson reached on an error and later scored on a balk. Grayson Selepes notched an RBI double, which drove in Tyler Rogers. Selepes touched home plate on a Jacob Murray RBI double. Ryan Hall notched an RBI single, Compton added an RBI sacrifice fly, and Hudson Wilson tallied a two-RBI single. Landon Ellis was very efficient on the hill for Inman, as he scattered two Gaffney hits over four innings of work, striking out five Crusaders. Carter Sloand tossed a perfect final frame, notching two more strikeouts for Post 45. “Landon did a heck of a job pitching tonight,” Skinner stated. “He gave up a double on the first pitch of the game, but really settled down and shut them out, which was big for us. We’ve got confidence in all of our pitchers. They go out there, throw strikes, and get people out. If you throw strikes, you’re going to get them out most of the time. They compete every time out and do very well for us.” Inman (10-2) will now have some time to rest and prepare for the American Legion Playoffs, which are scheduled to start on July 12th. Their opponent in the playoffs is TBD. “I think (this season) has proved to the team that we can play with anybody,” Skinner added. “Nobody gave us a chance to win the league this year. We’ve proved that we can play with anybody and I think this will be a momentum builder going into the playoffs.” As more information on the state playoffs is released, you will be able to find it on the American Legion Post 45 Inman, S.C. Facebook page or on Twitter @Post45Inman. -Justin Mathis Just a month ago the Inman Post 45 softball team was preparing for their inaugural season and on Wednesday afternoon they closed out their final home game with a 10-7 victory over Cowpens Post 125 after rallying from a 7-5 deficit in the fourth inning.
The win was the second game for Inman on Wednesday night as they also rallied from an 8-1 deficit in the first game to tie it at 8-8 before eventually falling to Cowpens 9-8 in five innings. "When we got down in the first inning I challenged them to battle back each inning and they did just that," said Inman head coach Todd Justus. "We had a few mental mistakes in the first game but they battled back and showed what they could do which helped us come back and win game two." In game two, after allowing Cowpens to take an early 1-0 lead when Logan Woodruff scored on a wild pitch, Inman tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Sarah Byrd doubled to left field before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Emily Tidd and coming around to score on a groundout to second base by Abbie Threatt. Cowpens took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning when Chelsea Fleming, who tripled to right field, scored on a Taylor Woodruff double down the left field line before she later came around to score herself. Inman answered in the bottom half of the second inning when Jada Sellars reached base on a single before coming around to score on a wild pitch to cut the Cowpens lead to 3-2 after two innings. After keeping Cowpens off the board in the top of the third inning, Inman took their first lead of the game when they scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-3 lead. Abbie Threatt started the inning with a single down the right field line before moving to second when Kayla Dempsey worked a walk. Both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch before Threatt scored on a groundout to second base by Chloe Dunlap which also advanced Dempsey to third base. Morgan Hammett followed Dunlap by working a walk and then stole second base allowing her and Dempsey to both score on a single to right field by Anna Jakcubhak giving Inman their first lead at 5-3. In the top of the fourth inning Cowpens retook the lead scoring four runs to take a 7-5 lead after Camryn Bennett, Taylor Woodruff, Brooklyn Jennings, and Logan Woodruff all scored for Cowpens. Inman responded in the bottom half of the inning retaking the lead by scoring five runs in the inning to grab a 10-7 lead as they batted through the lineup. With one out, Abbie Threatt singled to left field before Sydney Spencer, who was pinch running for Threatt, advanced to third on a double by Kayla Dempsey to right field. With two outs and both runners at second and third base Inman's Morgan Hammett beat out a throw from the shortstop for an infield single allowing Spencer to score putting Cowpens lead at 7-6. On the very next batter, Dempsey scored on a wild pitch to Hope Steadman tying the game at 7-7 before Steadman reached base on a walk. Anna Jakcubhak followed Steadman by reaching base on a Cowpens error that allowed Hammett to score allowing Inman to retake the lead at 8-7. Steadman scored on a single up the middle by Jada Sellars before Jakcubchak also came around to score putting Inman ahead 10-7 after four innings. Hayden O'Neal picked up the win for Inman in the pitching circle as she came in as the relief pitcher in the fourth inning picking up the final six outs of the game. "Hayden has just had bad luck this year because she has pitched really well for us this year to now just be picking up her first win," said Justus. "She battled through some adversity coming in with the bases loaded but she helped us bounce back and pick up the win." In game one Inman fell behind 6-0 in the top of the first inning as Cowpens batted through their lineup to start the game. In the bottom half of the inning Abbie Threatt, who is the first player to ever get a hit in South Carolina American Legion Softball history, set some more history for Inman as she became the first member of Inman Post 45 to hit a homerun when she hit a ball that landed five feet beyond the left centerfield fence cutting the Cowpens lead to 6-1. Threatt said to have the honor of being the first to hit a homerun for Post 45 means a lot to her because of her own families connection to the military. "It's amazing to have this honor of being the first person to accomplish this feat," said Threatt. "It means a lot to me because my grandfather served in the Navy and to get to honor him along with all the veterans of Inman Post 45 is just amazing. This season has been a lot of fun getting to meet all these new girls and getting to see some faces that I haven't seen in a while." Coach Justus was thrilled for Threatt, a player he had coached in the past, to be the first player to hit a homerun for Inman Post 45 and possibly the first homerun in league history. "I knew Abbie had a lot of power from the years I coached her at Boiling Springs," said Justus. "She's just a missed a couple off the fence this year but to get that first homerun she set the tone for us with the comeback in the first game." Cowpens pushed their lead to 8-1 in the top of the third inning but in the bottom half of the inning Inman responded with a fury scoring seven runs in the inning. Sarah Byrd, Morgan Hammett, Jada Sellars, Chloe Dunlap, Emily Tidd, Anna Jakcubhak, and Sydney Spencer all scored for Inman in the bottom half of the third inning. In the top of the fifth inning, Cowpens was able to score the winning run when Daiton West scored on an Inman error to pick up the victory as Inman was unable to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. While Inman still has two games left at Mid-Carolina on Thursday, Justus says it has been an honor for his team to represent Inman Post 45 in the inaugural season of American Legion Softball in South Carolina. "We have been so close in every loss this season but for us to be able to get a win in our final game here at home I hope it's just the start of what this league is going to be in this state," said Justus. "I can't say enough about Inman Post 45 and the administration guys there because they have done a great job of taking care of these girls this year making it fun and enjoyable for them. I hope we have done enough to make the veterans of our area proud and hopefully we can keep building on this year after year." -James McBee SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Tuesday evening at Duncan Park, Spartanburg American Legion Post 28 celebrated 100 years of service prior to their game vs Inman, which included a pregame ceremony to honor military personnel that made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country.
One could definitely say that the Post 28 baseball club played some inspired ball, as starting pitcher Adam Stacy led Spartanburg to an 8-0 shutout of Inman in front of the home crowd. Stacy was wheeling and dealing all evening long, keeping the Inman lineup off balance, particularly with how he worked off of his breaking ball. The Spartanburg right-hander only needed 87 pitches to go the distance on the hill and held Inman to a pair of singles. For Spartanburg, that marks consecutive complete games as Will Long threw all seven innings in a road win over Buffalo on Monday night. The majority of the damage was done in the second and third innings, as Post 28 sent a whopping 16 batters up to bat across the two frames and scored six runs to take command early on in the contest. A Tyler Gist opposite-field triple to right-center in the second provided the big spark for Spartanburg’s offense. Inman (9-2) will close out the League Five regular season slate on Wednesday evening with a home game vs Gaffney Post 109. Game time is scheduled for 7 PM. League Five schedule for Wednesday, June 30th are Spartanburg at Greer and Gaffney at Inman. -Justin Mathis INMAN, S.C. – Friday evening’s twinbill between the Greer Post 115 Warhawks and Inman Post 45 carried hefty implications towards the race for the League Five championship.
It was a late spark in game one that helped propel Inman to a 4-3 victory and a doubleheader sweep, handing Greer their first losses of the season. Trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning, Inman pieced together a rally. Paxton Tolleson led off with a single, followed by a walk to Tyler Rogers. Cooper Gentry sent an 0-1 pitch to the left-center field wall for a two-run double, cutting the deficit to one. “Greer has been the best team in the league for the past couple of years,” said Inman assistant coach Mark Line. “They’re a really good team. You watch what they run out there and see they have good players. We were fortunate to beat a really good team tonight." Gentry took third base on a Greer error and scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Riley McDonald, the courtesy runner for Vance Wagner, advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third with one out. A liner was hit to a Greer infielder, who then fired over to third in an attempt at a double play, but the throw sailed wide and allowed McDonald to score the go-ahead run and give Post 45 their first lead of the game. Will Holmes picked up the win for his four innings of work and Carter Sloand notched a save for Post 45. GAME TWO – Inman 3, Greer 1 Holmes provided some fireworks at the plate by launching a 2-1 offering over the wall in right-center for a two-run homer, staking Inman to an early 2-0 lead. Greer cut the Post 45 lead in half when Brock Myers reached on an infield single, which drove in Braden Buffington from third. In the fourth inning, Cooper Gentry drilled one out to left field for a solo homer, which gave Inman a two run advantage at that juncture of the contest. “That’s one of the great things about Legion ball,” stated Line. “These guys all come from different schools, come together as a group, and pull for each other. I’ve literally told people all summer what a good group of boys these are. They like playing together. They’re not flashy, but were pretty darn good tonight.” Inman southpaw Dylan Anderson held the Warhawks to one run on five hits in three innings of work, striking out four. Landon Ellis tossed the last two innings for Post 45, sitting down four of the six batters he faced on strikes. He and Anderson combined to hold Greer hitless over the last three innings of the game. “Our pitchers kept us in the game all night long,” Line pointed out. “We had four guys who went out there, were very effective, and we hit enough. We didn’t score a lot of runs, but had enough to win.” Inman (9-1) will return to action on Tuesday evening, when they travel over to Duncan Park for a contest with Spartanburg. Game time is slated for 7 PM. -Justin Mathis After dropping their first game 4-1 on Wednesday night the Inman Post 45 softball team rebounded with an impressive victory in the nightcap to defeat Buffalo 5-3 and earn a split in the home doubleheader.
"In the first game we just let one slip away from us," said Inman Post 45 head coach Todd Justus. "Hayden O'Neal pitched an unbelievable game for us in that first game, which was her second straight game doing that, we just left too many runners on base and didn't give her a lot of support. The kids bounced back in that second game though and they were determined to not let Buffalo win that one, the will was there and they were ready to play." In the second game Inman set down the first three Buffalo batters in a row before getting their chance at the plate. Morgan Hammett started the bottom of the first inning for Inman with a single before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Emily Tidd. Burnett advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a groundout to shortstop by Abbie Threatt to give Post 45 their first lead of the night at 1-0 at the end of the first inning. Buffalo responded in the top of the second inning scoring a run to tie the game at 1-1 when the second inning came to an end. In the bottom of the third inning Lexie Brown opened the inning with a single before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Morgan Hammett and then stealing third base. Brown made the score 2-1 in favor of Inman at the end of the third inning when she scored off a hit by Emily Tidd. Buffalo tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning but the lead was short lived as Inman responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. The bottom of the fourth inning started for Inman when Chloe Dunlap singled on a 2-0 count to put a runner on with no outs. After the next two batters struck out Dunlap moved to second base when Keyleigh Brannon worked a walk and both runners came around to score when Lexie Brown hit a triple to left field to give Inman a 4-2 lead. Brown made the score 5-2 in favor of Inman when she scored on a double to right field by Morgan Hammett giving Post 45 a three run lead heading into the final inning. "We talked about quality at-bats all season long and we had a lot of those in that second game," said Justus. "Lexie came up and took an outside pitch down the left field line and got us two runs there then Morgan followed with a really nice hit down the right field line to bring home Lexie and give us a three run cushion. It really helps the pitcher when she walks out to the pitching circle with a three run lead. Buffalo added another run in the top of the fifth inning but were unable to get any closer as Inman pitcher Hayden Kennedy struck out the final Buffalo batter of the game for her fifth strikeout. "Hayden wasn't in her zone last night but tonight she able to just focus on her pitching," said Justus. "She did great as she only walked one batter in the second game tonight and just both our pitchers tonight pitched really well." In the first game Buffalo jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and were never able to catch up as they left six runners on base. The lone Inman run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Hope Steadman, who was on third base, dove headfirst into home plate on a wild pitch just beating the Buffalo catcher to the plate. Inman will look to continue their good play into next week when they host Cowpens for a doubleheader at Chapman on Wednesday night for their final two home games of the year before finishing the regular season with a doubleheader at Mid-Carolina on Thursday night. "Hopefully we'll take this momentum into next week and pick up four wins," said Justus. "If we can do that we'll just let the chips fall where they may." With storm clouds surrounding Jerry "Jug" Wallace Field on Monday night the rains stayed away but their was still plenty of thunder coming off the bats of Inman Post 45 as they defeated Gaffney Post 109, 21-5 for an impressive road victory to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Inman got the game started by loading the bases with no outs when Will Holmes hit a double to right centerfield scoring Grayson Selepes, Jimmy Rosengrant, and Paxton Tolleson to go up 3-0 early. Jamison Bagwell, who was pinch running for Holmes, stole third base before scoring on a single by Cooper Gentry and Gentry later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Murray to give Inman a 5-0 lead when the top of the first inning was over. "We scored five runs their in the first inning and it just kind of snowballed from there," said Inman Post 45 head coach Steve Skinner. "Gaffney hit the ball well there at times but we just kept adding runs there every inning and were able to pull away. We had some big hits tonight and swung the ball well, I'm glad the rain held off and we were able to get this game in tonight." Gaffney added a run in the bottom of the first inning when Alex Phillips scored on a passed ball to narrow the lead to 5-1 but Inman bats quickly got back to work in the top of the second inning. In the top of the second inning Inman was able to score four runs with two outs and it all started when Will Holmes worked a two out walk. Holmes scored on a double by Gentry to left centerfield and was followed in the next at-bat by Murray who singled home both Tyler Rogers and Gentry to give Inman an 8-1 lead. Ryan Hall added another run when he doubled home Murray to make Inman's lead 9-1 after two innings of play. Paxton Tolleson was the only run to score in the third and fourth innings for Inman when he scored on a Gaffney error after reaching base on a single in the top of the third inning. Gaffney narrowed the lead to 10-3 after scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning but soon Inman got back to work on offense. Inman scored four runs in the fifth inning which started when Jimmy Rosengrant led off the inning by hit a towering home run down the left field line. Tolleson, Holmes, and Jamison Bagwell, who reached on a perfect bunt single, loaded the bases and all three came around to score in the inning to give Inman a 14-3 lead. With the game looking to be ending early, Gaffney kept their hopes alive by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to narrow Inman's lead to 14-5. Inman went back to work in the top of the sixth inning as seven of the thirteen batters in the inning scored to put them ahead 21-5 over Gaffney. Carter Sloand ended the game for Inman on the mound as he didn't allow Gaffney a hit in the bottom of the sixth inning while striking out two of the three batters he faced in the inning. Inman got a solid night on the mound from Will Holmes who got the win by pitching four innings and striking out six Gaffney batters while only allowing three runs. "Will gave us a good four innings tonight as we were trying to keep him under eighty pitches which we did," said Skinner. "He also got some big hits including that one in the first inning where he drove in several runs." Inman will hope to continue their strong play on Tuesday night as they travel to Buffalo for a game that is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. INMAN, S.C. – As legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop and Hall Of Famer Ernie Banks famously said, “Let’s play two!”
That’s what Buffalo Post 87 and Inman Post 45 did, as the two clubs collided in a League VI doubleheader at Jim Everhart Field on Thursday evening. In the final inning of game two, it was Post 45 that created some late inning magic, scoring three runs in their last at bat to pick up a 4-3 victory and complete a sweep of Buffalo. Buffalo broke up a no-hit bid midway through the contest and rattled off three straight hits, capped off by an Aidan Strickland three-run blast to left-center, staking Post 87 to a 3-0 lead. Post 45 began chipping away at the deficit in the fourth when Tyler Rogers drove a two strike offering the opposite way to left field for a solo home run, which made it a 3-1 game. The late inning heroics for Inman began when Grayson Selepes and Jimmy Rosengrant notched consecutive one-out singles. Paxton Tolleson smacked a two-run, opposite field double to right, plating the two runners and tying the game at three-all. Tolleson advanced to third on a balk and scored the winning run when Rogers shot a scorching single back up the middle into center field. “Going into the last inning,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner said. “I felt like we had a shot to get a couple of runs and tie the game up. We were fortunate to get the three runs and win. I think they realized how late it was and came up with some clutch hits. We hit it when we had to and that’s a good thing to have happen.” Carter Sloand went the distance on the mound for Post 45, notching four strikeouts and picking up the win. GAME ONE – Inman 2, Buffalo 0 In the first game, hits were hard to come by for either team, largely due to the efforts of starting pitchers Dylan Anderson (Inman) and Garris Hendrix. Post 45 loaded the bases in the fourth inning on two hits with a walk sandwiched in-between. Jacob Murray’s RBI groundout to third allowed Will Holmes to break the scoreless tie. Jamison Bagwell hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Tyler Rogers to cross home plate. Dylan Anderson also tossed a complete game, holding Post 87 to four hits, to go along with six strikeouts. Anderson didn’t allow a hit after the third inning. “Dylan and Carter both want the baseball,” Skinner remarked. “They want to pitch. We were able to set up our pitching that way so they could come back. They did a great job and really kept us in the ball games tonight.” Inman (5-1) will return to action on Monday evening, when they travel over to Jerry “Jug” Wallace Field for a contest with Gaffney as game time is slated for 7 PM. -Justin Mathis In the Wizard of Oz the saying was "there's no place like home" and on Thursday night the Inman Post 45 softball team had a very similar feeling as they played their first ever home games, at Chapman High School, coming away with 14-1 and 13-3 victories over Mid-Carolina.
"I'm proud of our team effort tonight," said Inman Post 45 head coach Todd Justus. "We were able to get some big hits with runners on base including some hits from Emily Tidd, Sarah Byrd, Chloe Dunlap, and Hope Steadman tonight." After keeping Mid-Carolina off the board in the top of the first inning, the Inman bats got to work in the bottom half of the inning batting through the lineup while scoring four runs. Hayden Kennedy, Chloe Dunlap, Jada Sellars, and Lexie Brown all scored for Inman while three batters singled with two others walking and one reaching on an error. In the second inning Inman added to their lead scoring five more runs batting through the lineup again as Sarah Byrd opened the inning with a single before becoming one of the five runners to score in the inning. Byrd was joined by Kennedy, Dunlap, Sellars, and Brown who all scored their second runs in the game in just two innings of play. The third inning saw Inman add three more runs as they took a 12-0 lead when Kennedy, Dunlap and Sellars each scored their third runs of the game. Byrd and Kennedy added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning as they took a 14-0 lead over Mid-Carolina. Hayden Kennedy scored four runs for Inman in the first game while going two for three with a walk along with a single and a double. Chloe Dunlap finished the game three of three with a double and two singles while scoring three runs of her own. Lexie Brown also finished the first game going three of three from the plate with three singles as she scored twice and also reached based on a hit-by-pitch. In game two it took Inman a little extra time to get the bats going as they had to wait until the second inning to grab their first lead of the game but Inman took a 6-0 lead after the second inning. Sydnee Spencer opened the inning working a walk before coming around to score on a single by Jada Sellars. Spencer was joined by Anna Jakubchak, Hope Steadman, Sarah Byrd, Hayden Kennedy, and Sellars to all score a run in the second inning. Sellars, Steadman, Byrd, Kenndey, Kyleigh Brannon, and Emily Tidd all came away with hits for Inman in the inning. Inman added four more runs in the third inning and three more runs in the fourth inning to take a 13-2 lead into the final inning of play where Mid-Carolina added another run but couldn't get any closer. Sarah Byrd and Hope Steadman each scored three runs for Inman in game two while Byrd went two for three with a double, a single, and a hit-by-pitch. Steadman finished the game three for three with a double and two singles. While Inman was getting a strong game from their offense on Thursday night they also got strong games from their pitchers in the pitching circle. Hayden Kennedy picked up the win in the first game pitching all five innings with four strikeouts and only allowing one run. In the second game Jada Sellars picked up the win pitching the first two innings while striking out two batters and only allowing one hit. Kennedy came on in relief in the third inning striking out two more batters on Thursday night. "Our pitching staff had an awesome night," said Justus. "They didn't allow free bases and let our defense make plays behind them." Inman will look to keep up their winning ways at home next week as they host Greenwood on Tuesday and Buffalo on Wednesday night. Both games will be doubleheaders with the first games starting at 6:00 PM. SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Inman Post 45 didn’t have much time to think about their first loss of the season, as they quickly shifted focus to a road game against a tough Spartanburg Post 28 team.
In his first full game with Post 45, Will Holmes led the way and contributed immediately on the mound and at the plate, propelling Inman to a 7-3 victory over Spartanburg. Holmes, fresh off participating in the SCBCA North/South All-Star game on Monday, provided some early fireworks in the opening frame with a two-run single down the right field line, staking Inman to an early lead. Spartanburg quickly answered in their half of the inning, scoring on a wild pitch and passed ball, tying the game at two. “With runners on base, I was just trying to move them around,” Holmes said. “I wanted to give other people chances to drive runs in, as well as do my job and get them around on the bases. I didn’t have my best stuff on the mound tonight, but we were able to manage. I had great teammates behind me to make great plays when we needed them. It felt good to win as a team.” Holmes finished the game with a game-high four runs batted in for Post 45. He notched an RBI single in the third inning, which drove in Paxton Tolleson from second for a 3-2 Inman advantage, and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, allowing Jimmy Rosengrant to tag up and score. Post 45 did the most damage during the third inning, as they sent nine men up to bat and plated four runs. Tyler Rogers smacked an opposite-field double to the wall in left-center, which allowed Holmes and Cooper Gentry to touch home plate. Jacob Murray also tallied an opposite-field RBI single to right, plating Rogers and making it a 7-2 Inman lead at that juncture of the contest. Landon Ellis entered the game in relief of Holmes and tossed four innings of one-run ball, tallying six strikeouts. “For two or three innings there, we really hit the ball well,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner stated. “We had some hard hit balls tonight and played good defense. Our pitchers did well. Will is a tough out at the plate and hits the ball hard almost every time he makes contact. Spartanburg always has a good team. We didn’t beat them last year and have beaten them a couple of times this year. It always feels good to win.” Inman (3-1) will return to action on Thursday evening at Jim Everhart Field, when they host Buffalo at 7 PM. -Justin Mathis INMAN, S.C. – It was a battle of undefeated teams in League Six action on Monday evening as the Greer Post 115 Warhawks hosted Inman Post 45.
Greer came up with hits in key situations, along with a strong start on the mound and emerged with a 7-2 victory over Inman, dealing Post 45 their first loss of the season. Tied at two in third inning, Matthew Mitchell drilled a single to left, which drove in Caleb Freeman and gave Greer the lead. Freeman added a solo home run in the fifth. The Warhawks tacked on three runs in the sixth on three hits and three walks. “We got a great start from Brody (Fowler),” Greer head coach Chad Hart said. “We didn’t walk anybody tonight and only hit one batter. Inman got a couple of great hits off of him, but overall, we played well enough to win tonight. We had some really good at-bats towards the end of the game, watched a lot of pitches, and luckily, it worked out for us by being patient at the plate.” Fowler threw five innings and held Inman to two runs on six hits, while striking out seven. John Michael Watson closed out the game with two scoreless innings of relief, notching four strikeouts. Grayson Selepes led the game off with a bunt single down the third base line and later scored on a Paxton Tolleson single to center field, staking Inman to an early 1-0 advantage. “Grayson is our spark plug,” said Inman head coach Steve Skinner. “If he can get on base anytime that he leads off an inning, we’ve got a good chance of scoring.” Vance Wagner led off the second with a double to left field, moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a wild pitch. “We were hitting the ball well early on,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner stated. “In the middle innings and at the end, we were chasing balls out of the strike zone. We played pretty well and could have played better, but I give Greer all the credit. They have a good ball club.” Inman (2-1) will have a quick turnaround, as they make the trip over to Historic Duncan Park for a league game against Spartanburg on Tuesday night as game time is scheduled for 7 PM. -Justin Mathis |