Socastee baseball bests South Florence; earns region title

It may not have been a secret, but nobody was talking about it.

The Socastee baseball players knew they could secure an outright Region VI-AAAA crown with a win against South Florence on Friday night, and the Braves did with a 7-4 victory over the Bruins. What the coaches knew and weren’t telling the Braves players was Socastee had already secured the region’s No. 1 seed regardless of Friday’s outcome.

“We didn’t know that,” Socastee starting pitcher Dylan Thompson said. “I think coach (Hudson) was trying to keep us on our toes and not take anything lightly. It definitely helped not knowing.”

The Braves (13-11, 8-2 Region VI-AAAA) won the region in their first year in AAAA, and it gives the program back-to-back region titles after taking its AAA region last season.

Thompson, one of 11 seniors on the Braves, earned the win, giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits with five strikeouts over 5.1 innings. Thompson struggled with control at times as he allowed four walks and hit a batter, but the hard-throwing righty limited the damage as he left eight Bruins on base. Fellow senior Buck Bacot came on with two on and one out in the sixth and got out of a bases loaded situation while holding the Bruins to one run. The Bruins stranded 11 runners in all.

“We left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth,” South Florence coach Kenny Gray said. “We had our opportunities, but just couldn’t get the big hit. … We were within striking distance, but couldn’t finish it off.”

South Florence opened the scoring in the first when Lindsey Robinson doubled in Patrick Lovelace.

Socastee then took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to two infield singles and two sacrifice bunts. Daniel Covert and Bacot led off with singles with Covert scoring on a throwing error by Bruins pitcher Lovelace before Thompson drove in Bacot with a single to right field.

The Braves made it 6-2 with four runs in the second. The big hit was Finn Melko’s single that brought home Justin Farria and Covert. An error and a balk brought home the next two runs. Socastee added its final run in the sixth on a throwing error by the shortstop that allowed Farria to score from third after he doubled with one out.

The Bruins (14-10, 4-6) made it a 6-3 game in the fourth as Kyshawn Bacote scored on a wild pitch by Thompson. In the fifth, South Florence loaded the bases with one out, but Thompson got a strikeout and then a groundout to the shortstop to escape the threat without allowing a run.

“We had to battle. Usually when you are trying to accomplish something in life, you do have to battle,” Socastee coach Curtis Hudson said. “It tells a little about our heart, about our grit. When we get in the playoffs in that same situation, hopefully we respond the same way.”

Socastee has a makeup game at St. James set for 4 p.m. Saturday. The playoffs begin Thursday, and Socastee will host the Region V fourth-place team. South Florence’s season is done.

“There are always goals bigger than the one you just accomplished,” Thompson said. “You never stop having goals, but (the region title) is definitely one of them. … We are a serious team, and we are a serious contender for state.”

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Socastee baseball bests South Florence; earns region title."