Pioneers Sweep Catawba Valley CC
Spartanburg, SC – SMC pounded out 22 hits on Tuesday in route to a doubleheader sweep over visiting Catawba Valley CC, 11-1 and 7-3.
The Pioneers improved to 25-5 overall, and extended their winning streak to 16 games. Catawba Valley dropped to 19-4 overall.
SMC didn't take long to get going offensively, as Reggie Weatherford (Lake City HS) doubled to left-center to lead off the bottom of the first, Dacen Cash (Stephens Co., GA HS) dropped down a bunt single, and Travis Burnside (Laurens HS) drilled a long three-run homer to left.
In the second, Parker Hudson (Mauldin HS) doubled down the right field line, Champ Rowland (Wade Hampton HS) sacrificed him to third but also reached himself when the throw went to late to third base, putting runners on the corners with no outs. A subsequent passed ball plated Hudson while allowing Rowland to move up a base. Weatherford walked to put runners at first and second, and Cash ripped his second hit of the game through the left side of the infield to load the bases. Another passed ball scored Rowland while putting runners on second and third before Burnside walked to load the bases again. Tyler Jackson's (Robert E. Lee Academy) sacrifice fly to center made the score 6-0. After an SMC strikeout, Ben Boykin (Fort Mill HS) dropped a two-run single into left-center and Cody Martin (Stephens Co., GA HS) drove in the sixth run of the inning with a base hit to right-center, giving the Pioneers a 9-0 lead.
The Buccaneers got on the board in the third with an unearned run against SMC starter Stephen Leopard (South Aiken HS). A two-base error put the leadoff man in scoring position, and a ground ball to first advanced him to third. Another ground out, this time to Cash at second base, scored a run for the visitors to cut the SMC lead to 9-1. Leopard allowed a single to the next batter, the only hit of the game for the Bucs, but closed out the inning with a strikeout, limiting the damage to one run.
The Pioneers quickly answered that run with two more of their own in the bottom of the frame, on a Burnside sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single by Jackson, giving SMC an 11-1 lead. Neither team scored in the fourth, and Leopard kept CVCC off the board in the fifth as well, ending the game early via the mercy rule.
Jackson and Cash had multi-hit games and Burnside drove in four to lead the Pioneer offense.
Leopard was very solid in earning his second win of the season. He surrendered only one hit and one unearned run in five innings of work, while striking out three.
In the nightcap, Burnside stayed red-hot and Luke Tollison (Laurens Academy) also had a big game offensively to lead the Pioneers to a 7-3 win, their 16th straight.
Hudson put SMC on the board in the second with a sacrifice fly, and the Pioneers tacked on two more in the third when a single by Cash and a double off the bat of Burnside put runners at second and third for Jackson, who lifted another sac fly deep enough to center to score a run. Tollison stroked a base hit to left to score the speedy Burnside from second, giving SMC a 3-0 lead.
The Pioneer bats were back at it in the fifth, as Burnside lined a solo home run, Jackson singled to right, and Tollison drove a long homer of his own into the trees beyond the center field fence, taking the lead to 6-0.
CVCC was not ready to quit and fought back with three runs of their own in the top of the sixth. The Bucs tagged reliever Jared Keels (Spring Valley HS) for three consecutive hits, including a leadoff triple, before he settled in and got a flyout to center and a strikeout. Logan Pemberton (Lewisville HS) came on in relief of Keels with runners at second and third and two outs, and gave up a single through the middle to score two more runs before ending the inning with a strikeout. But 6-3 was as close as the visitors would get.
SMC tacked on one more run in the bottom of the sixth when Cash singled and stole second, and Burnside drove him in with another single for his sixth RBI of the day.
With a 7-3 lead, Dylan Griffith (Barnwell HS) pitched a perfect seventh to clinch the sweep.
Lefthander Chris Cox (Mauldin HS) was solid in his second start, pitching 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed just two hits and struck out three. Josh Wilson (Strom Thurmond HS) relieved him with 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.
Burnside (3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) and Tollison (2-2, HR, 3 RBI) sparked the SMC offense, and Cash and Boykin also had a pair of hits each.
SMC (25-5, 8-0) will host Florence-Darlington Tech in a four-game Region X series this weekend. Start time on Saturday and Sunday is 1 pm.
Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The College is in its 100th academic year of providing a quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.
For more information please contact athletic director Mark Perdue at (864) 587-4237.
