By Thomas Grant Jr.
After a one-week hiatus, South Carolina American Legion Baseball returned to action Monday to close out the regular season.
Lexington Post 7 looked to keep alive its hopes of first place in League 3 against front-runner Richland Post 215. Post 7 needed to win its final three games, two against Richland, for a chance.
Post 215 ended those hopes, however, with a 6-2 victory at Ben Lippen School. It jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the Bottom 1st on an RBI double by Zach Sneed, followed by an RBI single by Evan Smith and sacrifice fly by Jeb Britt.
Lexington rallied to make it 3-2 in the Top 3rd. University of South Carolina commit Brandon Cromer Jr. singled home a run and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Candler Morden.
In the same inning, bench coach Lee Burton was ejected for arguing over Tradd Burton getting called out at second base on a fielder’s choice.
It was all the runs Post 7 managed against pitcher Matthew Moore. He left the game after the inning and relievers Ryan Harrelson and Tristan Neely each threw two scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.
Richland added a run off an error in the Bottom 4th and a 2-run double by Jacob Muir in the sixth to wrap up the league title. It will now have a first-run bye next week to open the S.C. American Legion Baseball playoffs.
Meanwhile, Lexington (7-5, 6-5) dropped into a second-place tie in the lost column with West Columbia Post 79. West Columbia closed out the regular season Wednesday at Mirmow Field in Orangeburg with the second of two games against Orangeburg Post 4.
Post 79 can claim second place with a sweep of Orangeburg and a Lexington home loss Wednesday to Richland. Should West Columbia and Lexington remain tied at the end of the season, a points tiebreaker would determine second place.
Chapin/Newberry Post 193/24
A League 6 title remaining in the cards for Chapin/Newberry Post 193/24.
It returned to action Monday at Newberry College and defeated Anderson Post 14 by a 5-2 score. Starting pitcher Tyler Stephenson allowed just one hit and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings for the win.
Blair Moore drove in two runs and Bryce Satterwhite and Cooper Raines each had an RBI. Matthew Rollison picked up the save as Anderson rallied for two runs in the Top 7th.
The win kept Chapin/Newberry Post 193/24 (9-7, 6-4) a game behind Golden Strip Post 271 with two games left. Should the two teams end the season tied, Post 271 would win the league title based on the head-to-head advantage.
Feature Photo by Thomas Grant Jr. – Lexington shortstop Tradd Burton with the tag out of Richland Post 215’s Thatcher Baughman.
