By Thomas Grant Jr.
The regular season came down to two final games on April 26 to decide not only the Region 4-5A champion, but the top seed out of the region.
Chapin, Dutch Fork, and Lexington all had an opportunity at either winning the region outright or claiming a share of the title. A tiebreaker would then come into play to determine the final standings.
In the end, the Lady Wildcats shared the region title with the Lady Eagles. However, because of the run differential tiebreaker, Chapin claimed the top seed for the Class 5A playoffs and opened at home Wednesday against Cane Bay.
Chapin rolled past host team River Bluff 15-2 as it jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. Both Sami Stephenson and Riley O’Mara had two-run doubles and Nicole Stockwell connected on a 2-run homer.
Starting pitcher Ella Majchrzak had a 2-run double as part of a 6-run fourth inning. Despite giving up a run, she recorded three of her 11 strikeouts to end the game on the mercy rule.
Over at Lexington, the Lady Silver Foxes visited the Lady Wildcats competing for the other share of the region title. Dutch Fork scored 10 unanswered runs to rally from a 6-0 deficit to defeat Lexington 10-9 in the first meeting.
This time around, Haley Manz drew 6 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out five. Iyanna Russell had a 2-out, 3-run home run to end the shutout bid.
Maggie Hinz went 2-3 with 3 RBI, Livi Warren was 4-4 with 2 RBI and Allison Hoffner. The Lady Wildcats entered the Upper State as a two seed and played at home Wednesday against Dorman, while third seed Dutch Fork played at Gaffney.
GOLF
Lexington edged Chapin by three strokes on Monday to claim the Region 4-5A title.
The Wildcats finished with a team score of 616, followed by the Eagles (619), River Bluff (627) and Dutch Fork (729).
Chase Cline took individual honors with a score of 142. River Bluff’s Nathaniel Caughman (146) and Howard Vroon finished second and third place, respectively, and Lexington’s Braydon Hileman and Gage Gaskins were fourth and fifth place, respectively.
The Lower State tournament is scheduled for May 6.
Last week, Cline and the Eagles won the Lake Murray Cup. Chapin beat out Lexington by two strokes with a score of 293.
Cline, Gaskins and Lexington’s Roman Mullinax were named to the South roster for the North-South All-Star golf matches May 17-19 at the Greenville County Club.
SOCCER
The final playoff run for Phil Savitz as River Bluff boys soccer coach opened with an 8-0 win over Goose Creek.
The Gators have homefield advantage through the Lower State playoffs and played host to West Ashley on Monday. The Lady Gators traveled to J.F. Byrnes on Tuesday.
Lexington was also victorious Monday with a 3-2 win over Boiling Springs. The Lady Wildcats also played host to Boiling Springs on Tuesday.
In Class 2A, the Mid-Carolina boys defeated Saluda 7-6 on penalty kicks after going scoreless through regulation and overtime. The Rebels next traveled to top seed Gray Collegiate Wednesday.
Photo by Thomas Grant Jr. 1&2. Lexington following the 8-3 win over Dutch Fork.
