A two out, two run hit in the top of the seventh rallied the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets to take the season series over the Nation Ford Falcons on the diamond.
The Jackets won game two 6-5 over the Falcons off a double by Braden Richardson in the top of the seventh.
“We knew this place was going to be a great environment tonight,” said Fort Mill head baseball coach Travis Collier. “We had to be true to ourselves. Our seniors stepped up. We played our butts off. Sully (starting pitcher Sullivan Townley) is a grinder every night. He has worked really hard.”
Nation Ford came out aggressive on the mound and at the plate. Carter Czapla struck out two in facing the minimum before the Falcons came to the plate. Noah Layton hit a two-run home run as the first four Nation Ford hitters reached base to put the Falcons ahead early. Alex Smith, who singled earlier in the inning, would score later in the inning to put the Falcons up 3-0 after one inning.
Fort Mill bounced back in the top of the second inning as they had four consecutive hits as well. Richardson and Brayden Grogan both singled, while Brandon Dobson and Ivan Conrad both doubled. Charlie Thompson tied the game with an RBI single, before Cooper Diehl put the Jackets ahead 4-3 with a sacrifice.
In the bottom of the second, the Falcons threatened with a single from Michael Blum and a walk to Smith, but Townley was able to keep them from scoring.
Both starting pitchers settled in for the third inning and things went that way for a couple innings.
Then in the bottom of the fifth, a two out walk to Michael Caropreso and an error by the Jackets put two on for a double by Connor Fowler pushing the lead back to Nation Ford at 5-4.
Czapla went five innings allowing four runs on seven hits, while striking out five without allowing a walk. He was able to get Fort Mill out without allowing a base runner. Matthew Scott came in for relief in the sixth inning for the Falcons.
Fort Mill rallied in the seventh as Jackson Bendis and JT Leonhardt walked with one out setting up a two run double by Richardson.
In the bottom of the seventh, Caropreso doubled with one out, leading to Townley being pulled for Devon Pascarella. Townley went six and a third innings allowing eight hits, while walking four and striking out three. Pascarella would strike out the final two batters to end the game.
Richardson and Grogan each had two hits to lead the Jackets. Richardson also has two RBIs.
The Falcons were led by Layton, who went 2-3 with two RBIs.
Fort Mill improved to 13-12 overall and 9-8 in Region 3-5A. Nation Ford fell to 15-10 overall and 9-8 in the region. Game three in the series is scheduled for Thursday, April 30 at Fort Mill.
April 29 Roundup
The Nation Ford Falcons finished third in the Falcon Cup at Palisades Country Club with a 225. The two-golfer team tournament was won by Fox Creek with a 218. They tied with Atlantic Collegiate, before winning in a playoff. Nation Ford was led by Oliver LaPointe/James Wachtel with a 73, as Connor Mills/Jacob Brancato shot a 75. Carter Smith/Alex Bodel finished with a 77 for Nation Ford.
Catawba Ridge was fifth with a 234. Niam Sethi/Christian Cook team for a 79 for the Copperheads. Muller Otto/Roman Vasicko finished with a 72 for Catawba Ridge, while Nate Burt/Ryan Gluff finished with an 83.
Fort Mill was 10th with a 247 and led by the team of Brody Blackwell/Josh Falkowitz and Andrew Blocher/Beckett Herring, both of which shot an 82. Wilson Holms/Laike Tolentino finished with an 83 for the Jackets.
A second Nation Ford team played in the tournament and finished tied for 11th with a 250. Hunter Ventimiglia/Parker Wade shot a 79 and Cameron Cox/Dom Heinrichs finished with an 83. Stephen Deaton/Harrison Schwede shot an 88 for the Falcons.
Late Tuesday, the Catawba Ridge baseball team won the season series against Clover with a 10-0 win in game two. Bryce Meil went 2-3 with four RBIs for the Copperheads. Ryan Cunnyngham got the win on the mound with a complete game three hitter for the Copperheads, who improved to 16-9 overall and 11-6 in Region 3-5A.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
