NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the first time in eight days, Inman hit the field, this time to open the Dixie Majors Baseball state tournament against host North Charleston at Collins Park.
After a tough start to the contest, a strong outing from the bullpen and a big inning helped Inman hang on for a 12-9 win over North Charleston. Trailing 5-2 entering the fourth inning, Inman was searching for a spark at the plate after being sat down in order the previous two turns at bat. Ben Hutchins drew a walk, Tyler Rogers singled, and Triton McSwain was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. The next batter, Nelson Crooke drew a walk, forcing in a run and sent it back to the top of the order to Grayson Selepes. Selepes smashed a 1-0 pitch out to the wall in right-center, clearing the bases with a triple, giving Inman a 6-5 advantage. “It had been (a week) since we had seen live at-bats,” Selepes said. “We had to readjust for the first couple of innings and then we got on it in the fourth inning. That was my first time hitting a triple like that in a game. I was just trying to put it in play and hit a hard line drive somewhere to get on base.” Two batters later, Paxton Tolleson drilled a 0-2 offering to the wall in left-center for a double, scoring Selepes and Easton Cullison, making it an 8-5 game. “It felt good,” Tolleson said of the double. “I didn’t put too good of a swing on it. I hit it off of the cap, but it carried. That’s all you can ask for with two strikes against you. We got a little frustrated early on, but we settled down and found a groove.” In the sixth, Hutchins blasted a two-run homer run to left-center, making it a 12-5 margin. Hutchins reached in all four plate appearances, tallying a two-run double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice. He finished with a game-high four RBI. Tyler Rogers entered the game to pitch for Inman with two outs in the first inning and tossed five and two-thirds innings of relief, yielding only one run on three hits to North Charleston to earn the win. Ben Hutchins picked up the final five outs for the save. “(Coach Skinner) had told me to be ready, no matter the situation,” Rogers stated. “I didn’t need to throw the ball hard. I didn’t try to do too much – just throw strikes, make them roll over, make them pop it up, get the ball in play, and the guys behind me will do the job.” “You can’t say enough about what (Tyler) did,” Inman coach Steve Skinner remarked. “He came in, threw strikes, and battled for about five innings or so. He just kept us in the ballgame by throwing strikes and did a really good job. We were fortunate to win the game today after trailing early like we did.” Inman (8-4) will face Spartanburg (11-1) in a winner's bracket game on Saturday at approximately 3 PM. Spartanburg defeated Gaston by mercy rule, 17-0 in five innings, on Friday afternoon. -Justin Mathis Comments are closed.
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