CHERRYVILLE – Fort Mill Post 43 seniors dropped both ends of a double header as part of the opening day of the NC-SC Challenge in Cherryville, N.C.
The event is a six-team event with three teams from North Carolina and three teams from South Carolina going head-to-head against each other at Cherryville’s Buck Fraley Field. Besides Fort Mill Post 43, the two other South Carolina teams in the competition are Florence Post 1 and Greer Post 115.
Fort Mill opened the event with a doubleheader against Rutherford County Post 423 and Cherryville Post 100. The first game was against Rutherford County saw Post 43 fall 6-5 in extra innings. Fort Mill played well early, but were out hit 12-6 and made four errors.
Post 43 took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, as Scott Young had an RBI single to score Drew Endres to give Fort Mill an early lead. Rutherford County came back to take a 2-1 lead after two innings and then tacked on three more in the third to go up 5-1.
Fort Mill had a big inning in the fourth scoring four runs on four hits. Dusty Sanderlin had a two-run double. Lane Boutwell had a sacrifice fly and Cooper Wilson had an RBI single in the inning to tie the game at 5-5. Seth Hanson led Post 43 at the plate going 2-2.
The tie game went into extra innings and Rutherford County would score in the bottom of the eighth off two singles. Jacob Boyna got the start for Post 43 and went six innings allowing five runs on eight hits, while walking none and striking out five. Eric Yelton got the loss going an inning and two-thirds with four hits and a run allowed while walking one and striking out one.
Playing with a limited roster, game two against host Cherryville saw Post 43 again start well, but falter late in the game to fall 9-4.
The two teams were scoreless until the third inning when Post 43 scored four runs on two hits. Sanderlin had a two-run single and a couple of hit batters helped to put Fort Mill up 4-0. Cherryville came back in the bottom of the third and scored three runs to claw their way back into the game.
Post 43 pitched well early on but allowed 10 walks throughout the game, despite giving up just two hits. Of those nine runs for Cherryville only two of them were earned.
The score would remain at 4-3 until the sixth inning when Fort Mill would allow six runs on the two hits and a couple of errors to go along with three walks. Post 43 made another four errors in the second game of the doubleheader.
Hanson got the start for Fort Mill in game two and pitched two and a third innings while allowing three runs on no hits, but four walks. Kyle Knoll came in the game in relief and did well allowing no runs and no hits in an inning and two thirds of work. He walked two and struck out two. Collin Otte finished the pitching for Post 43 throwing two innings and allowing six runs on two hits, while walking four and striking out two in taking the loss.
Post 43 heads back to Cherryville Sunday afternoon for their third game of the event playing Fuquay-Varina Post 116 at 2:30 p.m. The two losses in the doubleheader drops Fort Mill to 3-7 overall on the season.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
