Horry Post 111 bounces back to top Florence Post 1 in American Legion playoffs

A day after dropping its first American Legion playoff game, Horry Post 111 bounced back Wednesday night behind its strong offense and the arm of starter Jay Causey.

Post 111 racked up nine hits and Causey struck out 10 in six solid innings of work to lead Horry to a 7-3 win over Florence Post 1 in Game 2 of the best-of-five second round playoff series.

“I thought we bounced back really, really well,” Post 111 coach Tim Whittaker said. “Last night, we just didn’t get a couple of hits to fall for us and lost 2-0. It’s very easy against a really tough Florence team to fold after that, and we just kept fighting and fighting and got it done out here tonight.”

Post 111 exploded for four runs in the third as Caleb Nobles hit a two-RBI single, Caleb Lindaberry had an RBI double and Brett Young hit an RBI groundout to give Horry a quick 5-0 lead and Causey some support.

“That one big inning really helped us make it through this one,” Whittaker said of the third frame.

Nobles and Young ended up driving in two runs each, and Post 111’s Michael Genoveese went 3-for-4 with two runs scored as he was the only player with multiple hits Wednesday.

Causey picked up the victory as he allowed just one earned run on two hits and two walks and fanned 10. Meanwhile, Young got the save as he tossed three solid innings of relief and allowed two (unearned) runs on three hits and one walk.

“I can’t say enough about him. For him to come in and get 10 strikeouts in six innings against a really good Florence team, that’s just unbelievable,” Whittaker said of Causey. “He worked quick and threw strikes; that’s all you ask for. He hasn’t pitched much for us, and that was just unbelievable. That’s all I can say about that.”

Florence used four pitchers on the night, and starter Bryant Huggins received the loss after giving up five (four earned) on seven hits and four strikeouts in three innings of work.

Lindsey Robinson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs to pace Post 1’s offense, which had just five hits.

Game 3 picks up Thursday in Florence as each team will battle for position in the series, and Whittaker believes the morale is higher than ever.

“I tell you, we’re really excited,” he said. “We’ve evened the series back up, and we have a good group of guys that pull for each other, joke around with each other. We’re a real loose group of guys and we just go out and play the best we can.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 11:47 PM with the headline "Horry Post 111 bounces back to top Florence Post 1 in American Legion playoffs."