By Thomas Grant Jr.
Just call the River Bluff girls’ soccer team the “Lady Road Warriors.”

River Bluff freshman forward Mallory Marchant
The officially named Lady Gators pulled off their second straight Class 5A Division I Upper State playoff victory outside The Swamp. Just three days after upending archrival Lexington, the Lady Gators visited the Northeast to face another high seed in Blythewood.
Trailing 1-0 with four minutes left in the first half, Noemi Williams force Bela Charriez for the game-tying goal.
It stayed tied through regulation and two 5-minute overtimes. This resulted in penalty kicks where a miss on the Lady Bengals’ final attempt gave River Bluff the 4-3 victory.
The Lady Gators now await their Lower State final opponent Friday. They will hit the road for a third straight playoff game against the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between Mauldin and J.L. Mann.
On the boys’ side, Lexington traveled Wednesday to face Blythewood in the third round of the Class 5A Division I Upper State playoffs. In Class 3A, Swansea fell 6-0 to Oceanside Collegiate in the third round of Class 3A Lower State.
SOFTBALL, BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

(Photos by Lexingtonwildcats.com)
The Lexington softball team headed to Dorman Wednesday with a simple mission.
The Lady Wildcats needed two wins in three days over the Lady Cavaliers to win the Class 5A District Two championship.
On Tuesday, they stayed alive with a 12-2 win over Region 4-5A rival Dutch Fork in six innings. Emma Melinauskas drove in six runs on two hits and sister Peyton was 3-4 with three RBI.
In baseball, rainfall delayed Lexington’s road matchup at Dorman to Wednesday. The winner advanced to Friday’s Class 5A Upper State District Two final while the loser faces either Mauldin or Boiling Springs in an elimination game.
White Knoll saw its season end Tuesday with a 4-2 loss to North Myrtle Beach in Division II Lower State District Two. Cooper Dyar had the lone RBI for the Timberwolves and Denzel Posey struck out six in the loss.

Batesburg-Leesville advanced to the Class 2A Upper State bracket. A five-run rally in the second inning helped the Panthers defeat Buford 7-1 to claim the District Two title.
Braydon Hallman went 2-4 with two RBI and Tanner Watkins went 3-3 with an RBI. On the mound, Tyler Kneece allowed three hits over five innings and Landon Soper struck out four in two scoreless innings of relief.

The Panthers will open at home against Wednesday’s District One final winner between Chesnee and Clinton.
(Feature Photo by GoFlashwin.com) – River Bluff team celebrates