SMC Wins A Pair

Spartanburg, SC – The No. 11 Pioneers pounded out 22 hits on Tuesday as they swept a doubleheader with USC Salkehatchie, 8-3 and 15-9. SMC improved to 28-10 overall with the victories.

In the first game, SMC struck first, as Reggie Weatherford (Lake City HS) and Seth Neely (Rock Hill HS) reached on walks, and Travis Burnside (Laurens HS) doubled to left, scoring Weatherford with the game's first run. Tyler Jackson (Robert E. Lee Academy) launched a three-run homer, his fourth of the year, to give the Pioneers an early 4-0 lead. SMC threatened to add more, loading the bases with one out, but the Indians' starter worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a groundout to first. 

USC Salkehatchie got on the board in the third, plating a pair of runs – one unearned – against SMC starter Stephen Leopard (South Aiken HS), on a leadoff triple, a dropped fly ball, and an RBI groundout. 

The Pioneers looked to answer with another big inning in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases with one out on a walk by Cody Martin (Stephens Co., GA HS) and singles by Dacen Cash (Stephens Co., GA HS) and Champ Rowland (Wade Hampton HS). Weatherford walked to make it 5-2, but Neely's sharply hit line drive to shortstop doubled the Pioneers off, forcing them to settle for one run.

SMC added another run in the bottom of the fifth on a long solo home run by Martin, and the Indians countered that with a solo shot of their own in the top of the sixth.

SMC tacked on a pair of runs in their half of the sixth on a two-run double by Luke Tollison (Laurens Academy), and when Leopard followed up a leadoff hit with a one out walk in the seventh, Hunter Rice (Boiling Springs HS) relieved him and picked up the last two outs of the game to preserve the 8-3 victory.

Leopard improved to 3-0 with 6.1 innings of work. He scattered six hits and struck out five, surrendering two earned runs. He walked just one batter.    

 Jackson (2 for 3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Burnside (2 for 4, 2B, RBI) led the offense.

In game two, Tollison, Cash, and Weatherford had big games at the plate and Justin Lykins (Hickory, NC) pitched four solid innings of relief to earn his first win.

The game got off to a rocky start when starter Austin Lawrence (Riverside HS) struggled with command out of the gate and was replaced by Josh Wilson (Strom Thurmond HS) after loading the bases and surrendering an RBI single with two outs in the first. Wilson walked the first batter he faced, forcing in a run, and a passed ball plated another for the visitors before a strikeout ended the frame with the Pioneers in an early 3-0 hole.

The Pioneers countered that with seven runs of their own in the bottom of the first, connecting for five hits and taking advantage of three walks and an Indian throwing error. The inning was highlighted by two-run doubles by Tollison and Weatherford.

The visitors weren't done scoring, though, taking advantage of some sloppy defense from the Pioneers in the second and struck for three hits to put five runs on the board for an 8-7 lead.

But SMC regained the lead in the bottom half on a two-run single by Cash. Jackson singled to lead it off, and Tollison reached on an error. Both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice, and following another Indian error on a dropped pop up, Cash lined a base hit to left to make it a 9-8 game.

Both teams went scoreless in the third, and Lykins relieved Wilson in the fourth, putting up another zero on the scoreboard. SMC exploded for another big inning in the bottom of the frame to pull away, as Parker Hudson (Mauldin HS) led off with a double to right and Cash doubled him home. Rowland drew a walk, and Weatherford lined a base hit to center to load the bases. Neely's sacrifice fly plated Cash, and consecutive walks to Burnside and Jackson forced in another run and left the bases full for Tollison, who cleared them with another double to center to give the Pioneers a 15-8 lead.

The Indians cut into the lead with an RBI double with no outs in the sixth, but Lykins retired the next three batters in order, including two on strikeouts, to end the threat. Neither team would score again, and the Pioneers cruised to the 15-9 win.

Lykins picked up his first win with four innings of work. He surrendered one earned run on two hits and a walk and struck out four.

Tollison went 3 for 4 with three doubles and five RBI, Weatherford also had three hits, and Cash went 2 for 2 with a double and four RBI to lead the offense.

SMC will play USC Lancaster today in a single nine-inning game at Chester. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30. The Pioneers will then host Louisburg 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.