By Ann Threatt

For The Newberry Observer

Ryan Stoudemire on the mound against Florence.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_DSC_0432.jpgRyan Stoudemire on the mound against Florence. Courtesy photo

SUMTER — Chapin-Newberry Post 193/24 beat Union, the top upper state seed, 5-3 in a closely contested game July 26 at Riley Park in Sumter.

Lefty Danton Hyman tossed eight innings to get the win. Josh Haney came on in relief in the ninth inning.

Union scored first, plating two runs in the top of the first. Chapin-Newberry answered with three runs in the bottom of the first and one run in the second to take the lead 4-2. Union scored their last run in the fourth and Chapin-Newberry added a run in the fifth inning making the score 5-3.

In the top of the eighth Union had runners on third and first with two outs. The batter launched a fire ball down the third base line. Third baseman Landon Allison made a diving catch and a laser throw to first for the third out, protecting Chapin-Newberry’s 5-3 lead. The win moved Chapin-Newberry to 20-0 for the season and one step closer to the state championship.

Leading batter was Duncan Crotwell, who went 3-4 with two RBIs.

Game two

On July 27, the two undefeated teams in the tournament, Chapin-Newberry Post 193/24 and Florence Post 1, took the field. What was expected to be a close contest with a slight edge in favor of Florence turned into a slug fest for Chapin-Newberry and a pitching carousel for Florence.

Chapin-Newberry won in the bottom of the eighth with the score 13-3.

Ryan Stoudemire, with his first start in the tournament, pitched a complete game. He faced 39 batters, struck out five, issued two walks, one hit by pitch and gave up six hits.

Florence used five pitchers during the course of the game. Starter Carson Rogers had trouble finding the strike zone and was relieved in the second inning. Florence pitchers issued a total of 11 walks and gave up 15 hits allowing Chapin-Newberry to plate 13 runs.

A rally cry in the bottom of the eighth from the Chapin-Newberry dugout to score the five runs necessary to close out the game worked.

Stoudemire and Allison got the inning started with a walk. Blake Smith was hit by a pitch and Kevis Burton plated 2 runs on a double and Andrew Livingston followed with a double to the left center field gap scoring Smith and Burton. After a fly out to center field Hyman singled driving in the Livingston for the winning run.

“It was kind of the story of our tournament so far,” said Chapin-Newberry coach Daniel Gregory. “We were rocky early on, but resiliency has been big. This group of young men never thinks they’re out of it. They do things to put themselves in position to win and they did that tonight.”

Gregory said that against a team like Florence, you also have to have some things go your way.

Chapin-Newberry moved to 21-0 on season and played Sumter at 4 p.m. July 28. Results were unavailable by press time. Chapin-Newberry is the only team left in the state tournament with no losses.