By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
S.C. wins battle of Carolinas
Placeholder Image

South Carolina's All Stars wasted no time jumping on North Carolina Tuesday. With both teams facing elimination, the Sumter, S.C. All Stars defeated their foe 11-1 in five innings.

After plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning, South Carolina went on a scoring rampage in the last half of the second frame, scoring eight runs on seven hits.

Blake Graham's RBI single sent Maleeke Gibson home to begin the South Carolina hot streak.

Tyler Smith followed Graham's single with a base thit that plated Jeremy Buckner and Graham to give Sumter a 5-1 lead.

Three batters later, Phillip Wilkie cleared the bases with a three-run homer to centerfield, expanding South Carolina's lead to 8-1. But the runs continued to come.

Gibson Klapthor, the next batter up, recorded a two-out double that was followed by an RBI double from Taylor Frye. An RBI single off the bat of Gibson plated Frye for the last run of the inning.

The game settled into a defensive duel through the next two innings with the last Sumter run coming in the bottom of the fifth off of a Smith RBI single that plated Buckner.

North Carolina's lone run of the game came in the top of the second on an RBI single from Sam Ward that scored Grayson Bullock.

"Right now we're hitting, pitching and playing defense really well," said South Carolina coach Bill DeLavan. "Since we lost the first game, we've had an uphill battle. I've told the team not to think of the whole picture because that could be overwhelming. We're focusing on one inning at a time."

South Carolina will face Louisiana at 5 p.m. today.