INMAN, S.C. – Summer time in the Palmetto State means a number of things, depending on who you ask. It could be a week-long camp, vacations, or in this case, the start of the American Legion baseball season.
Two longtime foes – Spartanburg Post 28 and Inman Post 45 – met for the first time this season at Jim Everhart Field on Thursday evening. It was a tooth and nail battle from start to finish, but Inman (2-0) put together a rally in their last at bat and picked up a 5-4 victory. Trailing by a run entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Inman was looking for a spark. Jake Murray led off with an opposite-field double to right field, advanced to third base on a passed ball, and crossed home plate on a wild pitch, tying the game at four. “The last couple of innings were kind of wild,” said Steve Skinner, who began his 42nd season as Inman Post 45 head coach this week. “It was a really good ball game. Our kids played good defense and pitched well. Our hitting can improve, but it’s early. That double by Jake was the big hit that got us started. We got some men on base and put some pressure on the defense. It ended with a walk, but we’ll take it.” Paxton Tolleson drew a walk, followed by a Cooper Gentry bunt single, and a Tyler Rogers free pass to load the bases with one out. Will Holmes was inserted into the game as a pinch-hitter and worked the count full. The payoff pitch missed the mark, walking in the winning run for Post 45. Spartanburg (0-2) jumped ahead in the sixth inning on a Eliar Sanchez two-run double to right-center, which allowed Adam Stacy and Caleb Hodge to cross home plate. “It was a pretty good game for the most part,” stated Spartanburg head coach Blake Burress. “This time of year, it’s about finding something to bring everybody together. I thought we did that in the sixth, but you have to come out in the seventh throwing strikes and making plays. Spartanburg and Inman is always going to be a close game. It usually comes down to a run or two, just like it did tonight.” Inman will play host to Greer (1-0) on Friday evening. Spartanburg returns to action on Tuesday, June 15th at Duncan Park against Inman. Game times are scheduled for 7 PM, unless noted otherwise. STATS Inman · Tyler Rogers: 1-for-1, three BB, Run · Cooper Gentry: 1-for-4, Run · Grayson Selepes: 2-for-4, Run · Paxton Tolleson: 1-for-3, RBI double, Run · Jake Murray: 1-for-4, double, Run · Jamison Bagwell: 1-for-3, RBI single Spartanburg · Eliar Sanchez: 1-for-4, two-RBI double · Adam Stacy: 1-for-3, Run · Caleb Hodge: 1-for-2, Walk, Hit-by-pitch, Two runs Wesley Harper: 1-for-2, Walk, Run, RBI single -Justin Mathis After setting history on Tuesday night by playing in the first ever American Legion softball game in South Carolina, the Inman Post 45 softball team added a little more history on Wednesday night as they walked away with their first ever victory by defeating Cowpens 7-0 in the second game of the doubleheader.
"I'm very excited for these girls and Inman Post 45 to pick up the first win," said Inman Post 45 head coach Todd Justus. "We got the monkey off our back and got rolling there in that second game. The girls saw how much talent that they have and if we just stick to our game plan it will all work out for us." After both teams went scoreless in the first inning, Inman got their first lead of the game in the top of the second inning when Mackenzie Went, who had reached base on an infield single, came home from third base on a bases loaded single to right field by Anna Jakubchak giving Inman a 1-0 lead. In the top of the second inning Inman was able to put some distance between themselves and Cowpens Post 125 as they scored five runs in the inning while batting through the lineup. The second inning started with a single to left field by Morgan Hammett who then came around to score on a triple to right field by Abbie Threatt to give Inman a 2-0 lead. Threatt added another run coming home on a single to centerfield by Mackenzie West to push their lead to 3-0 over Cowpens. With two outs in the inning and the bases loaded Emily Tidd broke the game open for Inman when she hit a triple to centerfield scoring Jada Sellars, Sydnee Spencer, and Anna Jakubchak to make the Inman lead 6-0 after two innings. Justus said that after their losses on Tuesday the team made sure to focus on hitting the ball where it was pitched on Wednesday night. "Cowpens has some strong pitching so we just focused on staying the course and hitting the ball where it is pitched," said Justus. "In our team meeting before the game we preached to the team to stay within our own game and we did just that. Emily stepped up big tonight and I knew all along she could do that because if you just put the ball in play good things can happen." Abbie Threatt added to the lead in the top of the fourth inning when she singled to right field before eventually scoring on a single to right field by Chloe Dunlap giving Inman a 7-0 advantage. While the Inman bats were busy doing work on Wednesday night they also got an impressive pitching performance from Hayden Kennedy who pitched all five innings while striking out seven batters. "Hayden is a young rising ninth grader with all the potential in the world," said Justus. "When she pitches we try to take the bat out of her hands so she can just focus all her attention on pitching. She controlled the game, which is what we're asking of all our pitchers, and she didn't give up anything we couldn't recover from while staying balanced the whole game." Inman almost got their first win in game one as they had a 4-1 lead after the top of the first inning but a seven run bottom of the third inning flipped the game in favor of Cowpens Post 125 as they took an 8-4 lead. Sarah Byrd had a strong game for Inman in game one as she reached base in two of her three at-bats while scoring two of the team's four runs. Abbie Threatt, Hayden Kennedy, and Jada Sellars all came away with RBIs in game one for Inman. Inman will look to extend their winning streak next week when they travel to Buffalo (Union) on Tuesday before hosting their first game at home on Thursday against Mid-Carolina. Post 45 Opens Softball Era Of American Legion Play In South Carolina; Fall To Greenwood Post 206/8/2021
At 6:08 PM on Tuesday night at Greenwood High School, Greenwood Post 20's Carlee Stockman made history in the state of South Carolina as she pitched the first ever pitch of American Legion girl's fast pitch softball in the state and also picked up the first ever strikeout in the same at-bat.
The third batter of the game, Abbie Threatt from Boiling Springs High School and Union College in Kentucky, registered the first ever hit in the league with a single to right centerfield. Threatt said being the first to ever accomplish this feat was a special accomplishment for her. "It's a pretty cool accomplishment," said Threatt. "It means a lot to me to be the first one to get a hit in the American Legion league because my grandfather served in the Navy and because of that it makes it a little more special." Threatt's accomplishment was the one bright spot of the first game for Inman Post 45 as they fell to Greenwood's Post 20 12-0 in game one of the doubleheader. Greenwood jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning before adding ten more runs in the second inning, as Gracie Timmerman became the first girl to ever score a run in the league. "In the first game we came out a little nervous," said Inman Post 45 head coach Todd Justus. "We were competing against a group that was a little older than us and we just didn't play our game." The second game went better for Inman as they rallied late but still fell to Greenwood 7-3 on Tuesday night. Greenwood jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the first two innings before adding three more runs in the bottom of the third inning to put Inman behind 7-0 early of a five inning game. Inman found its fighting spirit in the top of the fifth inning that started with the at-bat by Emily Tidd who worked a ten pitch at-bat into a two out walk. Sarah Byrd followed Tidd with a single to centerfield to give Inman runners at second and first bases. Emily Tidd became the first player in Inman American Legion softball history to score on the next at-bat when she crossed home on a double to left field by Morgan Hammett, who picked up the team's first ever RBI. Mackenzie West followed Hammett by working a walk to load the bases before Abbie Threatt hit a double to right field scoring both Byrd and Hammett to narrow the Greenwood lead to 7-3 but that was as close as they were able to get on Tuesday night. "I told them I don't judge our performance off batting averages but on quality at-bats which we got some good ones there in that last inning," said Justus. "Emily had that at-bat where she fouled off five or six pitches and Abbie came up with a big hit as well. Sarah Byrd also gave us a good game with some strong at-bats including a great bunt for a single in game one." Justus said he knows the talent is there with his team but it's just going to take a little while to build that chemistry as a team. "We've got to learn to be better team hitters," said Justus. "We got to learn some team chemistry and just get better because I know they're all talented as I've watched them all play at their high schools." Inman will look to carry some momentum from their last game into their next game on Wednesday night against Cowpens Post 125 at Broome High School. It will also mark Justus' return to his old stomping grounds as he spent many years as the head coach of the Centurions. "It has been a long time since I've been on that field at Broome and I'm looking forward to it," said Justus. "Coach Cooper does a great job over there and they got a great tradition of winning. We hope that we'll have a good crowd with it being our closest game to home to support these Post 45 girls and see if we can't pick up our first win." The first pitch for game one of the doubleheader is scheduled for 6:00 PM with the second game slated to start thirty minutes after the conclusion of the first game. On June 8, 2021 the first pitch will be thrown out for the inaugural South Carolina American Legion Girls Fast Pitch Softball League game when the Inman Post 45 team travels to face the Greenwood American Legion Post 20 team at Greenwood High School.
The initial idea for the league came three years ago when members of the South Carolina American Legion were at the American Legion World Series in Shelby, NC and were told about the first ever league being started in North Carolina with seven teams, which has now expanded to over seventy teams across the Tarheel state. They hope to see that same type of growth in South Carolina over the next several years. "This program is designed to help upcoming ninth graders to girls that don't turn nineteen before January of the next year to help improve their skills, play on a higher level, get to meet new friends, and to more importantly have fun playing softball," said Bob Scherer, Past Department Commander of the American Legion Department of South Carolina. "We want everyone to join us and show support for this league so that it will be a permanent program of the American Legion, Department of South Carolina." The inaugural season will consist of ten teams, five from the Upper State and five from the Lower State, as the Upper State will consist of teams from Inman, Cowpens, Buffalo, Mid-Carolina, and Greenwood. The top finishing teams in each division will compete against each other to determine the first ever state champions of the league. Inman Post 45 softball will be led into their inaugural season by Spartanburg Christian Academy head softball coach Todd Justus, who has over twenty years of head coaching experience between Broome High School, Spartanburg Methodist College, and Spartanburg Christian Academy, along with a stint as an assistant softball coach at Boiling Springs High School. He says that he is looking forward to the opportunity of being the first ever head coach of the American Legion team. "I'm very blessed to be entrusted with getting to be the first ever coach of Post 45 Inman girls fastpitch softball league," said Justus. "It's overwhelming to be honest that these guys have entrusted me with this honor but I'm looking forward to the challenge. There is some very talented girls that have come out wanting to be a part of this team looking for a chance to play at a high level of competitive softball while growing the game. It's a very overwhelming and humbling experience to be the one leading this team." The Post 45 team will consist of girls from many local high schools including Boiling Springs, Byrnes, Chapman, Chesnee, Dorman, Landrum, SCA, and Spartanburg. Justus said having players from these schools being a part of the team means he knows he's getting competitive players who are well coached. "We reached out to many of the local schools to be a part of our team," said Justus. "There are no really set parameters this season on a map for softball but we know that all these teams have powerful programs and are in the playoffs every year so we know they'll all have well coached girls that are competitive and want to play the game." Justus says that the talent in this inaugural season with all the areas involved will mean a lot of competitive teams which should result in a strong first season for the league. "This area in the Upstate is really booming with softball talent these days," said Justus. "The Cowpens post will be made up of Broome and Gaffney players while the Buffalo (Union) post will have a lot of players from Union High School and you can't say anything but good things about what they've been doing year after year in softball. Mid-Carolina and Greenwood will be a part of our side of the bracket as well with very good players so we'll have to be ready to play night in and night out." When the season comes to an end Justus says he expects his team to be there playing for the championship and wouldn't expect anything less from his team. "I expect nothing less than to be there playing for a championship," said Justus. "That's our goal and we set our goal high. We want to be one of those two teams left standing at the end of the year but we'll have to play really good softball night in and night out to get there." Post 45 will host their first home game on June 17 when they host Mid-Carolina at Chapman High School. Their first local game will come on Wednesday night when they travel to Broome High School to face Cowpens Post 125. All games will be five inning doubleheaders with the first games starting at 6:00 PM. |