Both the Nation Ford and Fort Mill baseball teams dropped games April 4 in their respective spring break tournaments.
Nation Ford fell to the Indian Land Warriors in the York Spring Break Slugfest over at York Comprehensive High School losing 10-5.
Indian Land used three innings of three run baseball to get the advantage over Nation Ford. The Falcons used six pitchers in the game as Ben Chuttey got the start and took the loss on the mound.
Indian Land scored three runs in the top of the first inning and added a fourth one in the top of the second inning to go up 4-0 before Nation Ford could get on the board. Jackson Childs singled in the second inning to drive in Luke Keller, who walked to reach base. Childs went 2-3 with two RBIs in the game to lead Nation Ford. Paul Solari went 2-4 with an RBI and Bradyn Deaton also went 2-4 for Nation Ford.
The Falcons added a run in the third as Solari drove in Jacob Pettit, who reached on an error to cut the Warriors lead in half.
Both teams went scoreless over the next two innings. Then Indian Land scored three in the top of the sixth only to be matched by three from Nation Ford in the bottom half of the inning. Miles Baker doubled to open the inning and scored on a Warriors’ error later in the inning. Childs then doubled to score Cooper Mitchell, who reached on the error and Gabe Simmons then drove in Childs on a sacrifice.
Indian Land answered back with three more runs in the top of the seventh, but this time the Falcons couldn’t find an answer and didn’t score in the last at-bat.
“That is a well-coached team,” said Nation Ford head coach Jeff Stack. “They out executed us. They did everything they could have done to be successful today and we didn’t execute as well as they did.”
Nation Ford closed out their spring break games Wednesday, April 5 by falling 5-4 to Northwestern at York Comprehensive High as the Trojans won on a single in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The majority of the scoring in the game was done in the first inning as Nation Ford opened the top of the first scoring two runs to get a small lead.
Northwestern scored three in the bottom of the first to take the lead which they would never relinquish.
Solari led the Falcons at the plate going 2-3 with two RBIs. Deaton went 1-4 with an RBI and Simmons went 2-4 at the plate as well with a double.
The Falcons again used several pitchers on the mound with Justin Brink getting the start on the mound.
With the back-to-back losses, Nation Ford drops to 10-8 overall on the season.
Fort Mill falls to Lancaster
Fort Mill fell to Lancaster in the Sandlapper Tournament at Gilbert High School losing 11-6 Tuesday.
Carter Blankinship went 2-3 with a home run and five RBIs to lead the Jackets at the plate as Fort Mill got just five hits in the game and made three errors in the field.
Fort Mill used four pitchers with Zach Jennings getting the start on the mound and taking the loss going just an inning and a third.
Lancaster scored five runs in the second inning, but Fort Mill bounced back with three in the third off the Blankinship home run. However, the Bruins scored six runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead. Fort Mill fought back with three in the sixth, but that is where the scoring stopped for the Jackets.
The loss drops Fort Mill to 10-8 overall on the season and ends their spring break games. They will next take on Nation Ford in a three-game series starting April 10.
Copperheads continue winning ways
The Catawba Ridge baseball team beat the Carolina Royals Tuesday 11-6 at Tuckaseegee Park in Charlotte.
Catawba Ridge improves to 14-3 overall on the season and was led by Owen Noonan, Ben Wilson and Sam Schwamb, who each got two hits in the game, as the Copperheads scattered 12 hits. Schwamb had two RBIs in the win for Catawba Ridge.
The Copperheads scored five runs in the fifth inning to pull away from the Royals.
Caden Glauber got the win on the mound going four innings, allowing five hits and three runs while striking out seven.
April 4 Roundup
Nation Ford
The Nation Ford Falcons boys’ lacrosse team beat Oceanside Academy 9-5 on the road to improve their record to 11-2 overall on the season. The Falcons are back in action over spring break on Thursday, April 6 at Lucy Beckham.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
