Youth served as resilient Hartsville Post 53 squad claims state crown

Age is nothing but a number, particularly when it comes to the game of baseball.

For the past several days, much was said about Hartsville Post 53’s youth, a team consisting largely of rising eighth and ninth graders. But in that same span the subject swiftly changed, those attending the state Junior American Legion Baseball tournament learning the team was darn good.

Already forced to complete a game postponed due to weather from the previous evening, Hartsville would go on to play two more on Wednesday – winning them all – en route to claiming the state Junior American Legion Baseball title.

“It feels amazing, my kids have been amazing ... playing in the heat, playing in everything else, this team just doesn’t say die,” said Hartsville Post 53 manager Wade Hawkins. “This team has dug out of seven- and nine-run deficits this season. I didn’t expect anything less than the best from this group, I’m so proud of them.”

After surviving a late flurry by South Florence Blue to claim a 4-2 victory, to advance to the championship game Post 53 would need a win over host Socastee, the only team to defeat it in the tournament.

Hartsville would get its revenge, using a five-run fifth inning to blow open what largely was close game, winning it 11-5.

According to Socastee manager Curtis Hudson, it was matter of his team simply running out of gas.

“This was the fourth, fifth straight day for us,” he said. “Not making any excuses, but we just ran out of gas. That along with making too many mistakes hurt us in the end against Hartsville.”

With momentum firmly in its dugout, Hartsville turned to pitcher Gabe Hall for the title tilt. Despite through more than 100 pitches a few days earlier, the young hurler demanded that he get the ball for a game with such high stakes.

“I kind of bugged them and pushed them to give me a chance to pitch the (championship) game,” he said. “Coaches were kind of concerned about me after throwing that many pitches, and also being on short rest. But I told them I was fine, and they let me take the mound.”

Hall made sure it was a decision the Hartsville Post 53 coaches would never come to regret.

Going the distance, Hall yielded only five hits in the game. No South Florence Blue base runner advanced past second base – a testament to the Post 53 pitcher’s dominance. For his work, Hall was given the tournament’s Outstanding Pitcher Award.

“For him to come out and pitch under 60 pitches on short rest, it’s nothing short of unbelievable,” Hawkins said. “I give all the credit to him.”

Much like its win over Socastee, Hartsville used the fifth inning to break the game open. Leadoff man Mason Gainey set the tone with a double to start the inning, the first of four hits that led to three Post 53 runs.

“The fifth was really when it got away from us,” said South Florence Blue manager Kenneth Gray. “It was big for them, put up the 3-spot and got the game to 5-0. It was all about timely hits; (Hartsville) was able to get some, we did not.”

Gainey was 3-for-4 in the game, putting a cap on a solid tournament in which he earned its Most Valuable Player Award.

A small town known for its excellence in athletics, taking another trophy to Hartsville speaks volumes, Hall said.

“It shows a small town can still accomplish a lot,” he said. “Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we can’t beat the big ones.”

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Youth served as resilient Hartsville Post 53 squad claims state crown."