The Catawba Ridge baseball team was eliminated from the 5A Division II playoffs at the hands of the Eastside Eagles.
The Copperheads fell 6-1 to Eastside to end their season at 18-11.
“We got down early and couldn’t put anything together offensively,” said Catawba Ridge head baseball coach Stas Swerdzewski. “I am really proud of this group. We had 14 seniors this year with several going on to play at the next level. It’s a great group of kids. I am so proud of the kids and how they represented the program and how they worked.”
A one out error followed by a triple from Eastside led to an early lead for them. A single put another run on the board for the Eagles.
Bryce Meil walked in the bottom of the first inning, but that was the only base runner they could get.
Catawba Ridge starter Jackson Shiplett settled in the second inning, but the Copperheads struggled offensively to get any base runners.
The Eagles got a double in the top of the third to get one runner on, but the Copperheads were able to keep them from scoring.
A one out walk to Owen Ostrander and a single by Jack Shelnutt put runners on for Catawba Ridge in the bottom of the third. However, the Copperheads were unable to advance the runners as Eastside held on to a shutout through the third inning.
The Copperheads continued to make contact, but was hitting the ball right to the Eagles’ defense.
Shiplett pitched well after the first inning, but Catawba Ridge was unable to help him offensively. Shiplett went four and a third innings allowing two runs on four hits, while walking two and striking out two. Zac Young came in the fifth inning for Shiplett.
In the bottom of the fifth, Brayden Hughes singled with one out for the second hit of the game for the Copperheads. However, he was caught trying to steal second later in the inning for the third out.
The Copperheads’ Cole Stukitz came in to pitch in the sixth inning. A couple of singles and a second Catawba Ridge error scored yet a third run for Eastside. A fielder’s choice put Eastside up 4-0 before Catawba Ridge could get out of the inning.
Shelnutt reached on an error to open the bottom of the sixth. Ethan Solnick then singled to put two runners on base. That was followed by an Eastside double play to stall the Copperheads offense.
Another pitching change for Catawba Ridge occurred in the seventh inning with Andrew McCoy coming in. Back-to-back hits added another run for Eastside before the Copperheads went to the bullpen again bringing in Zach McMahon. The Eagles added one more run to go up 6-0 before Catawba Ridge got out of the inning.
James Carlin singled to open the bottom of the seventh for the Copperheads. Cam Glaze singled to put runners on the corners for Catawba Ridge. Ostrander got a two out single to score Carlin to prevent an Eastside shutout.
Catawba Ridge had six hits in the game. Ostrander went 1-2 with the only RBI for the Copperheads.
May 13 Roundup
The Catawba Ridge softball team fell to TL Hanna 2-0 knocking them out of the playoffs in the District 1 finals. Charli Burney went 2-3 to lead the Copperheads, who got four hits. Catawba Ridge finished the season at 19-10 overall ending their three-year run as state champions.
The Fort Mill boys’ soccer team beat Catawba Ridge 4-2 in the third round of the 5A Division II playoffs. Fort Mill advances to the Upper State Championship on Saturday, May 16 against Eastside High School. The Jackets are 12-6 on the season, while Catawba Ridge finished at 15-6 overall.
The Nation Ford baseball team fell to Easley 10-6 to end their season at 17-12. Easley scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning to pull away from Nation Ford. Noah Layton went 1-2 with two RBI to lead the Falcons. Alex Smith and Cole MacIntyre each had two hits for Nation Ford.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
