COLUMBIA – For the first time all season, Fort Mill Post 43 struggled in every facet of the game falling to West Columbia Post 79 8-4 in the state semifinals of the 2020 American League Summer baseball tournament.
Post 43 will now face Greer Post 115 in an elimination game Sunday. The winner will advance to the state finals against West Columbia needing to beat them twice to win a state title. With the loss to West Columbia Saturday, Fort Mill falls to 15-3 on the season.
“Everything seemed not to go in our favor on the field,” said Post 43 head coach Tom Skula. “We had multiple opportunities at the plate with runners in scoring position, but weren’t able to capitalize. Collectively as a team we just weren’t able to get the job done. We had to many mental errors that cost us. We have to come in with the right mindset and execute like we have all year.”
West Columbia got to Post 43 pitching early scoring four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning. Fort Mill pitching allowed 10 hits and walked three batters, but also uncharacteristically made four errors in the field as well.
Offensively, Fort Mill had just seven hits and despite taking a small 1-0 lead in the top of the first, struggled to get anything going in the rest of the game. Post 43 left nine men on base in the game, and ended the inning with three men on base in the third and twice ended the inning with men on base in the fourth and fifth.
Kyle Raynor took the loss pitching on four days rest and settled down after a rough first inning. Raynor went five innings allowing eight hits and five runs, while walking two and striking out two.
Post 43 was led at the plate from Patrick Matthews and Chase Dougherty, both of which went 2-3 at the plate. Dougherty also drove in a run, as did Connor Rasmussen and Justin Lehman.
Fort Mill scored a run in the third inning to cut West Columbia’s lead in half at 4-2 with the help of four consecutive walks, but couldn’t get any hits in the inning. West Columbia walked eight Post 43 batters, but only one of those scored in the game.
The two teams traded runs in the fifth inning, but West Columbia scored three runs on two hits in the sixth inning to blow the game open.
Post 43 added a run in the seventh with the help of an RBI single from Dougherty, who drove in Kolby Crepeau, who doubled earlier in the inning. This again, cut West Columbia’s lead in half at 8-4, but Fort Mill couldn’t scratch any more runs across ending the game by grounding into a double play.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
