INMAN, S.C. – The best-of-three first round series between Fort Mill and Inman Post 45 shifted over to Jim Everhart Field on Wednesday evening, where Inman aimed to even the series at one win apiece.
A couple of early scoring opportunities proved to be the difference as Fort Mill picked up a 9-1 win over Inman and advanced to the second round of the American Legion state tournament. Fort Mill jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on the strength of a Trevor Testerman home run in the first inning, along with two more runs in the third. Post 45 plated a run in the fourth when Jacob Murray crossed home plate on a wild pitch, which made it a 3-1 score. “I think this is a culmination of our entire season,” Fort Mill head coach Tom Skula said. “We play in a really, really good league (against Rock Hill, Lancaster, York, and Chester). We play a lot of quality opponents in our league and I think that’s helped prepare us entering the playoffs. I think everything is starting to come together with our fielding, pitching, and having quality at-bats. Like I told our team tonight, it’s a brand new season.” The turning point of the game occurred in the fifth inning, when Inman loaded the bases on a Corbin Childers single, a Fort Mill error, and a Hunter Lancaster walk. Post 43 managed to escape the jam on a groundout to third, which was aided by a scoop from first baseman Luke Garabedian. “We were down early, but we battled back,” Inman head coach Steve Skinner stated. “We scored one (run) and had a good opportunity (in the fifth inning) to score some more, but their first baseman made a heck of a play to get them out of the inning. I think that turned the game and took the wind out of our sails a bit.” Post 43 scored six runs in the final two frames to provide the final margin of the contest and move on to the second round of the state tournament. Inman concludes the 2022 campaign with an 8-6 overall record and a runner-up finish in League Six. “We had a good group of kids,” remarked Skinner. “They didn’t cause any problems and they were here. We couldn’t ask for a better group. We had fun, had a good season, and we’ll try it again next year.” -Justin Mathis FORT MILL, SC - The Fort Mill Post 43 baseball team defeated Inman Post 45 6-5 in game one of their best of three game first round series to start the South Carolina American Legion playoffs on Tuesday night.
Post 43 scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning with the game tied at 5-5 on a wild pitch which ended up being the eventual game winner. Inman got just three hits in the game as Post 43 helped them out with six walks and two errors in the game. Fort Mill opened the game scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. The lead soon evaporated in the third inning as Inman scored four runs in the top of the inning off an error and three walks by Fort Mill. Inman extended their lead to 5-3 in the fourth inning as Kadan Roach doubled to open the inning and eventually scoring on a Post 43 error. Fort Mill rallied in the fifth inning scoring two runs as Trevor Testerman doubled to open the bottom half of the inning, before eventually scoring on a wild pitch. Scott Young tied the game up with a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Eli Craddock. Then in the sixth inning, Drew Endres for Fort Mill walked and made his way around to third base on a sacrifice bunt from Cooper Wilson and a ground out, before scoring on an Inman wild pitch. Kadan Roach led the way at the plate for Inman going one for two with a double and a walk while also scoring both times he reached base. The series now moves to Inman, as Fort Mill will travel to Inman Mills on Wednesday night for game two in the series. INMAN, S.C. – It was a high stakes League Six showdown at Jim Everhart Field between the Spartanburg Post 28 Mustangs and Inman Post 45 on Friday night, as the winner would move into first place and inch closer to a first-round bye in the SCALB state tournament.
Before the game, Inman head coach Steve Skinner was recognized for his 43 years of service to Post 45. As for the game itself, it featured a number of twists and turns like a roller coaster, but in the end, Spartanburg capitalized on a late opportunity and edged Inman 8-6 in nine innings. In their first turn at bat, each of the first five Inman batters reached base safely and later crossed home plate. Grayson Selepes and Lance Moon scored on a Gabe Rogers two-RBI single to right, followed by a Jacob Murray RBI single that drove in Hunter Lancaster. Rogers and Murray scored on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively, staking Inman to an early 5-0 lead. The Mustangs cut the deficit down to three on consecutive RBI singles from Dalton Crawford and Braxtin Turner in the second inning and later scored three more times in the fifth inning to tie the game at five. Post 45 plated a run in the bottom of the frame as Moon scored on a wild pitch, putting Inman ahead 6-5. Adams Faucett led off the seventh inning with a triple for Spartanburg and later scored on a wild pitch, which tied the game at six. Inman threatened in their half of the inning with runners on the corners and two outs, but a strikeout sent the game to extra frames. The Mustangs capitalized on a couple of opportunities in the ninth inning as they scored a pair of runs on consecutive bases loaded walks to Faucett and Deacon Cox, which proved to be enough and propel Post 28 to the win. Spartanburg moved into first place with the victory, but the final inning of the game was played under protest by Inman due to an ejection that occurred earlier in the contest. The status of the protest was not available as of Saturday morning. -Justin Mathis |