Jackets' season ends with Boiling Springs
By BILL BENGTSON
Riverview Park is normally friendly turf for North Augusta High School's baseball squad, but Boiling Springs High School seemed right at home May 2, dumping the Yellow Jackets decisively twice, taking the first game 5-0 and the second 12-2, to move ahead in the AAAA playoffs.
North Augusta wrapped up its season at 17-9 with an unusually strong corps of seniors, including Marty Gantt, Robby Scaggs, Austin Stuart, Steven Higdon, Ben Clark, Todd Hatfield and manager Bryce Sink, all of whom went from the season's first pitch to the final out.
Gantt was saddled with the "L" in the opening game, while Evan Darr fell into immediate disaster in the second outing, with a 6-0 deficit at the close of the first inning. He was followed by Austin Stuart and Taylor Rozier, in that order.
Travis Murphy, who served the Jackets as a pinch runner in the first game and at second base for part of the second match, recalled, "They just came out and played hard, and we really didn't hit the ball as we wanted to. We played good defense, but they hit the ball and we didn't."
Jeff Lipscomb, the visitors' coach, said he was not surprised by the evening's results.
"We know what we've got," said Jeff Lipscomb, the Bulldogs' coach. "We've got some talent, but more than that, we've got heart. We knew we could play with North Augusta. We got up for (North Augusta pitcher Marty) Gantt. There ain't no doubt about it, but we feel like (Boiling Springs pitcher) Jimmy Revan ... is the best pitcher in the state.
"He shut down that first game, gave us a lot of momentum, and Cameron Holmes battled and got outs, and we found a way to win, so we're proud of this team. They've got big hearts and never quit."
Lipscomb said his squad would face the winner of Wednesday's action between Laurens and Dorman (Dorman had to beat Laurens twice).
In the decisive game, the Bulldogs' Trey Mabry walked three times, scored two runs and went 1-for-1, while teammate Taylor Hollifield went 2-for-3. Also for Boiling Springs, Josh Pless went 2-for-3, with two walks and two runs scored, including the run that brought the game to a close in the sixth inning, due to the mercy rule.
"Our offense looked like it kind of went south on us, and Marty wasn't sharp, and we didn't hit the ball," said Victor Radcliff, the Jackets' coach.
"A lot of the kids, sometimes when he pitches, sometimes they feed off of his energy, and he wasn't sharp, and we didn't hit the baseball. We left too many men on base, and they've got a good team. They swung the bats good. Their pitchers threw strikes and we just didn't get it done."
The atmosphere at Riverview Park was unusually rowdy on both sides of home plate, as Boiling Springs brought several dozen fans -- "the dog pound," as Lipscomb described it -- and made plenty of racket for the visitors in their must-win situation, while North Augusta fans did their part to boost the home team in its effort to advance for another shot at the state title that narrowly eluded the Jackets in 2007.
