Both the Fort Mill Post 43 Senior and Junior teams qualified for their respective state tournaments Wednesday by sweeping their second-round opponents.
The Post 43 Senior team beat Lancaster Post 31 15-8 and the Junior team beat Lexington Post 7 6-3 as they both won their best-of-three series 2-0.
Fort Mill Seniors used two big innings in the fourth and sixth innings to move to 16-4 overall on the season and punch their ticket to the 2021 state tournament. Fort Mill has made the Senior state tournament four of the last five years and three consecutive years.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the current state of our Legion program and for baseball in the town of Fort Mill/Indian Land,” said Post 43 Senior head coach Tom Skula. “This continues to be a testament to where we have come as a program from just a couple years ago. Our coaches have worked diligently on both the Junior and Senior levels to put a winning brand of baseball on the field each summer.
“It is an incredible accomplishment for our Junior team to reach the state tournament in its first year of existence. We have tried for years to get a Junior program off the ground and running. Nobody would have thought that in just our first year we potentially may be the number one seed entering the State Tournament. Mike and his staff have done an amazing job. Playing in the state tournament at Riley Park for these younger players will be an invaluable experience for them to gain confidence and be better ball players down the road. I am excited to see what they can do starting Saturday in Sumter.”
Post 43 used three pitchers with Jacob Boyna and Mathieu Curtis each going three innings, before Braden Kurtz closed the door on Lancaster. Boyna got the win in allowing three runs on three hits, while striking out one and walking three.
Fort Mill struggled early and didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning, despite scoring two runs in the second inning off back-to-back Lancaster errors. In the fourth, Aaron Pendergast singled with both Chase Dougherty and Keenan Sumner walking to load the bases. Patrick Matthews then hit a grand slam to give Post 43 a 6-3 lead at that point. Matthews went 2-2 with four RBI.
Lancaster led the first inning off scoring two runs and added one in the third and two in the fourth, to stay in a tight battle with Post 43. Fort Mill added a run in the fifth off another Pendergrast single, as he went 3-4 in the game with three RBI.
In the sixth, Nic Curtis, who went 2-5 with two doubles and four RBI, had a key hit, as did Pendergast, who also doubled in two runs as Fort Mill plated five in the inning. Lancaster came back in the bottom of the sixth and scored three runs, but Post 43 added three more in the top of the seventh off another Curtis two RBI double.
“Lancaster gave us all we could handle in this series and during the regular season,” Skula said. “They have a lot of really talented players on their team and are really well coached. I believe two huge factors helped us complete the two-game sweep this week. We really showed how deep we can be as a team. Having almost our entire team this week showed what we can put out there on the mound plus the depth we have up and down our lineup. Secondly, we have a lot of guys that have played American Legion Baseball before. Those guys know how to mentality prepare day in and day out. They also are aware of the grind it takes to reach the state tournament.
“We still have a lot of work left to do. We have to take it one game at a time. Just like game one this week against Lancaster it is crucial to get a game one victory Monday so we stay in the winner’s bracket. I know our guys will be focused, prepared, and ready to compete come game one of the state tournament on Monday.”
Post 43 will next play Monday in the first game of the state tournament against Inman, who they split two games with earlier this season. Time and place for the game are still to be determined.
Juniors stay undefeated heading into state tournament
Post 43 Juniors improved to 16-0 on the season with the win and scored four runs in the sixth inning to come from behind and win 6-3. Chico Moreno went 2-4 and Deuce Homchik went 1-2 with two RBI to lead at the plate. Carter Cox came up big as well at the plate with a 1-2 performance and an RBI triple.
Cox also pitched a scoreless three innings allowing just one hit while striking out four and walking one to get the win. Paul Solari got the start for Post 43 and went four innings allowing three runs on six hits, while striking out six.
Lexington went up 2-0 through the first three innings before Post 43 scored two in the top of the fourth. Post 7 added another run in the fourth inning, but wasn’t able to make anything else happen as Fort Mill scored four in the fourth inning.
Post 43 is scheduled to start the state junior tournament Saturday at Sumter’s Riley Park at a time to be determined, with an opponent to be determined as well.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
