A hot start by the Nation Ford baseball team and missed opportunities by Fort Mill allowed the Falcons to grab a 5-3 win and capture the season series against their rivals, but more importantly the final playoff spot in Region 3-5A.
With the win, Nation Ford finished second in the region at 8-4 and Fort Mill will finish third at 7-5. Normally, a third-place finish would be good enough for a playoff spot, but this year the number of teams allowed in the playoffs are only two due to COVID-19 limitations established by the S.C. High School League.
Fort Mill uncharacteristically made five errors in the game and Nation Ford quickly got to starter Mathieu Curtis, who lasted just one-third of an inning giving up three runs on two hits. The Jackets also made two errors in the inning as well.
“We haven’t jumped out to a fast start,” said Nation Ford head coach Michael Lewis. “Our seniors showed up on senior night. Getting on the board early for us was huge.”
Nation Ford was led at the plate by Aaron Pendergast and Justin Lehman, who both went 2-3 with an RBI. Gabe Simmons also went 1-4 with two RBI as well.
The Falcons added two more runs in the second inning on three hits coming off the bats of Miles Baker, Pendergast and Lehman. The 5-0 lead was all they needed as starting pitcher Taylor Sprinkle had good command of his pitches and got the run support, he had been needing all season. Sprinkle went five innings and allowed eight hits and three runs while walking just one and striking out seven.
“Taylor goes out there and has a really good day,” Lewis added.
Sprinkle allowed just two hits in the first two innings. Fort Mill got on the board in the third inning to start clawing their way back into the game. Eli Craddock, Keenan Sumner and Luke Garabedian each got two hits for the Jackets.
Fort Mill added two more runs on three hits in the fourth inning as both Craddock and Connor Rasmussen each knocked in runs for the Jackets. Tommy Stouffer, who came in for relief of Curtis, got over issues in the second inning and settled down to throw five and two third innings allowing just two runs on six hits, while striking out two. After the second inning, Stouffer allowed just three hits over four innings.
In the first two games of the series, it was Fort Mill that jumped out to a good start. In game three, that didn’t happen.
“We got off to a bad start,” said Fort Mill head coach Travis Collier. “We had plenty of chances to win. I am proud of our guys. They battled, but we just didn’t get the job done.”
Both Fort Mill and Nation Ford still have about a week left in the regular season. Fort Mill is currently 13-10 overall on the season and Nation Ford is 17-7. Fort Mill plays Catawba Ridge twice next week and Nation Ford plays the Copperheads once.
Soccer
Fort Mill girls’ soccer finished their season late Thursday with a 3-0 win over Boiling Springs to finish the season at 10-7 overall and 5-3 in Region 3-5A. The win put them with a third-place finish in the region, which would have been good enough for a playoff spot in previous years.
Nation Ford girls’ soccer finished their regular season with a 3-0 loss at Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant. The Falcons are now 12-5 and finished in second place in Region 3-5A and will open the playoffs next week on the road.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
