Local High Schools Play At Fifth Third Park

Saturday afternoon, Fifth Third Park continued its first annual High School Baseball Series with a double header. The first leg of the baseball double dip consisted of Boiling Springs taking on Chapman while the 2nd game of the day featured a battle between Landrum and Woodruff.

The high school baseball regular season began this past week with many teams already playing meaningful region games. Boiling Springs is one of those, having continued their trend of using the 10-run rule to their advantage. The Bulldogs scored 16 and 11 runs respectively across their two games against Riverside this week. If you were to go back through their schedule so far, the only time BSHS has played a full 7 innings to this point was in the Steve Sanders Tournament championship game nearly two weeks ago, where they defeated Spartanburg 2-1.

The Chapman Panthers on the other hand, have had a tough go of it out of the gate – albeit against a very tough schedule. Through the Sanders Tournament, they faced some tough competition, going 0 for three in their pool with a 10-0 loss to Boiling Springs, a 7-6 defeat at the hands of Blue Ridge, and an 8-0 shutout to JL Mann. The Panthers did win the consolation game, knocking off Blacksburg in lopsided fashion with a 9-1 triumph. But through the last week of non-region games, the Panthers went on another 4-game losing skid, dropping a 4-2 decision to Riverside, slipping 4-3 against Saluda, taking a 5-3 loss to Bishop England, and most recently suffering another setback against Riverside – this time 8-6.

The 2nd meeting of the season between the Bulldogs and Panthers got off to a pitchers’ duel kind of start. Chapman’s impressive freshman Ashton Moore went up against Boiling Springs’ Macon Camp, but it was Moore who found himself behind the 8-ball early thanks to some manufactured offense by the Dogs.

The speedy second baseman Kai Lee drew a leadoff walk, later stealing 2nd. But, after shortstop Titus Hutchins flew out to right, Lee was thrown out at third on a comebacker for a fielders’ choice, allowing first baseman Cruz Hunnicutt to reach first safely. Catcher JD Moore would follow with a single, and then on a gutsy 2 out call, Boiling Springs head coach Jeff Lipscomb sent Hunnicutt on a delayed double steal that would allow Moore to score to make it 1-0 before the Panthers ever got a chance to come to the dish.

That 1-0 lead would hold as both pitchers settled in until the top of the 5th when the Bulldogs offense blew the game open. A single sandwiched between a pair of walks loaded the bases for Hutchins, who hit a slow dribbler out in front of the plate. The slowly-developing fielder’s choice play came home on a glove flip from Moore, but it was late and BSHS left fielder Austin Baird slid in under the tag. That play ended Ashton’s day after 4 innings, but the book was far from closed on him. A wild pitch from reliever *name* scored center fielder Brock Ratliff. That would be followed by an RBI knock from JD Moore and a run-scoring sac fly from Hunnicutt. With 2 out, Cathen Cole dealt another blow with an RBI double over the head of the right fielder, and Kellan Spencer added the last of a 10-batter 6-spot with a single up the gut, making for a 7-0 Bulldog lead.

“I tip my cap to that freshman”, said Lipscomb of Ashton Moore’s performance against his team. “He is going to be legit. His ball moves 12 inches every time. It starts on the plate and ends up on the outside corner of the plate. He made us look bad.”

Chapman head coach JD Goodwin also gave some high praise for Moore after the game.

“Ashton continues to impress. He has a shot to be really good. He hung in there against a really good 5A lineup and kept them off the board for three innings after starting down 1-0. I am super proud of him. Our Achilles Heel right now is just that we can’t get away from the big inning. I was really proud of the way our guys fought and were able to hang in there. But, we just have to clean some things up.”

With a 7-run advantage, Lipscomb opted to go to his bullpen, taking one Camp down for another.

“Macon is not a guy that is going to overpower anybody”, Lipscomb stated. “He throws three different pitches for strikes. He has not pitched since the Spartanburg game here in the {Steve Sanders} championship. He was a little rusty around the edges. But we know what we will get out of him. He is going to compete and he looked pretty good today.”

Manning Camp was brought on to start the home half of the 5th, and much to the chagrin of the third base dugout, that plan backfired. Manning struggled with his command after getting his first batter to ground out to third, walking the next three to load the bases before he was taken down for the sidearm right hander Trey Godfrey. Chapman was able to do some damage, taking advantage of three straight fielder’s choice plays in which the Bulldogs were only able to record one out, hanging a three spot before Lewis McAllister struck out swinging to end the rally with the deficit cut to four runs.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Bulldogs got all three of those back in the next half inning. Ratliff got the push started with a single. After Lee was hit by a pitch, a delayed double steal moved both into scoring position for Hutchins, who delivered a 2 run double. An errant pickoff throw would give him a free 180 feet, capping the run to make for the final tally. In the end, Josh Kanipe was able to put the bow on the day for Boiling Springs, locking down the 10-3 victory with two shutout frames in which he struck out three, didn’t walk a single batter, and gave up just 1 hit.

“We have started out swinging the bats well”, said Lipscomb about the Bulldogs’ explosiveness at the plate so far.” We had one big inning today where we scored 6. We challenged the guys to compete. We did not swing the bats as great as we have been, but we did enough to score 10 runs and I am proud of that.”

With the experience of playing in Fifth Third Park behind them, both coaches were quick to put some praise on the Hub City Spartanburgers’ top-notch home field.

“There are no words to describe just how beautiful this place is. Just to be able to play here is a highlight for not just the players, but for this old man”, said Lipscomb with a smile. “I love places like this. I have never gotten to coach {at Fluor Field}, so to come here is a treat and I hope we get to come back next year.”

“I am super excited for our kids to get these experiences”, said Goodwin, whose team also got to play a game in Greenville just a few days ago. “Whether you’re in Greenville or Spartanburg, in the Upstate we have a close baseball community. Greenville takes good care of us, but on our first time here, the Spartanburgers’ staff also did a wonderful job taking care of us. Their staff is amazing and we are just excited to have two really great ballparks so close to home and we will gladly give up a home game for our kids to get to have this experience.”

With the Spartanburgers experience behind them, Boiling Springs turns their attention to a huge region rivalry showdown this week – a two game set against the heavy region and upperstate favorite Dorman Cavaliers.

“We are gonna have to be ready to hit the fastball.”, Lipscomb said with a chuckle when asked about this week’s 2-game set. “Dorman has a couple of good arms in the rotation and a few more in the bullpen that throw probably in the high 80’s also. It is going to be a challenge, but we will compete. That is all I can ask the team to do. Compete, put it all on the line, and don’t fear anybody.”

Chapman will look to avoid being swept by Boiling Springs this week in their lone game, which will come on Wednesday night at 6:30. For the Bulldogs, the showdown with the Cavaliers will begin Tuesday night at 6:30 in Boiling Springs.

Game two

Through the course of the preseason, Wes Brown’s Wolverines have been on a rollercoaster. They started out in the Peachtree Invitational at Strom Thurmond, exploding to a 16-1 victory in their opening game over the Rebels. That offensive momentum carried over into game 2 of the weekend as Woodruff knocked off the Greenville Hurricanes 8-4. The Wolverines would come up short of making it to the championship, falling 4-3 to Aiken, but (no pun intended) got back on the horse with an 11-7 triumph over Strom Thurmond in the third place game. After the tournament, they dropped the next two to Dutch Fork and Fox Creek before looking to right the ship on Saturday night in Fifth Third Park.

“We have been a Jekyll and Hyde kind of team up to this point”, said Coach Brown. “We played really well in the preseason tournament – one ground ball away from playing in the championship game. We played a really good Fox Creek team that is in the top three in the state in 3A. But we just did not play very well. So it was good for us to come back and find a rhythm going into region play on Monday.”

On the other end of the coin, Landrum went undefeated in their annual Steve Coley preseason tournament, hanging crooked numbers akin to Boiling Springs’ offensive output. The Cards run-ruled both Brashier Middle College and Spartanburg’s JV team 10-0 before knocking off Whitmire 16-1. Landrum repeated that score in a one-off against former head coach Daniel Little’s Abbeville Panthers, leading to the start of their region contests this week in which the Cardinals split a pair against Liberty with a 5-0 win and a 12-1 loss.

Unfortunately for the Cards, the offense took too long to get into gear Saturday night as the Wolverines jumped on Landrum early and often to essentially cruise to a very lopsided win that in the end did not look as bad as it was.

Kayden Barnaby set the tone – both at the plate and on the mound for Woodruff, retiring Landrum in order in the top of the first on 14 pitches. At the dish, Barnaby led off with a single, stealing 2nd and later being bunted to third before scoring the game’s first run on an RBI single from first baseman Jackson Richards. The Wolverines would go on to add another run in the opening frame when 2nd baseman Luke Cooper reached on a fielding error on Landrum’s second baseman, later swiping each of the next three bags to make a 2-0 lead heading to inning number two – which would be the frame that all but did this game in.

The Wolverines played small ball with six straight one out singles – 4 of them coming on bunts pushed towards the third base side of the mound. Third baseman Carter Schubach and Richards each collected RBIs putting the ball in play while designated hitter Cayden Owings drew a bases loaded walk. In total, Woodruff sent 13 men to the plate and scored 7 of them to go up 9-0 heading to the third inning.

The Wolverines hung a crooked number again in the third, once again batting around with 10 coming up to hit and 5 crossing the plate to extend the advantage to 14-0. But, there would be no mercy rule in this contest as the Landrum bats were finally able to get going in the 4th. With the help of 4 straight one out walks to left fielder Grady Zipperer, second baseman Garrett Bridges, catcher Landon Collins, and DH JP Brannon in addition to a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI knock from center fielder Ty Foster, was able to hang a three-spot to ensure the game would extend beyond the next inning.

Woodruff re-upped the ante by stealing a run on a rundown between first and 2nd after a one out walk and a 2 out steal of third by left fielder Kayden Henderson. That came after Landrum hung three more runs in the top of the fifth, once again cashing in on a couple of walks and a pair of defensive mishaps that followed a 1 out 2-bagger from first baseman Nick DeCapio. But it was all too little too late as Woodruff cruised to the 15-6 victory.

Regarding the experience of playing in Fifth Third Park, Brown reflected the same sentiment as Goodwin and Lipscomb, adding that it was especially big for Woodruff High School.

“It is pretty special”, said Brown. “It is a very neat and special situation for our kids. I am fairly sure that in the history of Woodruff High, this is the first time any sport has played a game on a professional field. So this wasna neat experience for them. I think the team embraced it. They came in, the stadium and the stage were not too big for them, and they executed the way they needed to in order to get a win.”

Woodruff will open their region slate this week in a three-game series against Broome, starting Monday night on the road before they swing back to the Wolverines’ home yard at Woodruff Middle School on Wednesday. The set wraps on Friday at Broome, and all three contests are slated to start at 6:30 PM.