Sports Report for Wednesday, 4-3-2024

Local Notes

Clinton HS

Baseball: Spartanburg 5 – Clinton 4… The Red Devils varsity baseball team traveled back up to Duncan Park yesterday to take on the Spartanburg Vikings… It was a close one that unfortunately I have to report that the Red Devils lost by a score of 5-4… The game went back and forth with the Vikings scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 5^th inning that would prove to be the winning runs… The Vikings scored first putting 2 runs on the scoreboard in the 3^rd inning and the Red Devils responded in the top of the 4^th inning putting 2 runs on the scoreboard on a fielder’s choice by Tanner Finley and a sacrifice bunt by Jaydon Glenn… The Red Devils scored their final two runs in the 5^th inning when Brice Young singled and then scored Brett Young reached on an error… Brett Young later scored on a sacrifice bunt by JJ Dickenson… The Vikings then scored the 3 winning runs in the bottom of the inning… The Vikings outhit the Red Devils 9-5 with Carson Glenn being the only Red Devil with more than 1 hit as he had 2… Glenn also pitched the complete game taking the loss giving up the 5 runs (only 3 of which were earned) on the 9 hits while striking out 5 and walking none… The team is now 8-7 on the season.
Golf Wins Tri-Match… The Red Devil golf team was in action on Tuesday last week as they hosted Broome and Union… Good news once again as the Red Devils shot a 173 to defeat Broome (184) and Union (198)… Like McMurray led the Red Devils with a 40… Aiden Bragg shot a 43, Gabi Carles 45 and Josh Rochester 45… Broome’s Alex Weathers was the Match Medalist shooting 29… For a little more information on this match, click here.

Thornwell

Softball: Saints 15 – Calhoun Falls 0 (3)… Yesterday the Saints softball team hosted the Calhoun Falls Flashes and the Saints wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard as they scored 4 runs in the 11st inning and then went on to take a 15-0 win over the Flashes… The Saints simply outhit the Flashes 12-0 and 8 errors by the Flashes also helped the Saints… Karleigh Porter went 3 for 3 with RBIs, and 4 other Saints had 2 hits each… Madi Landrith was one of the players with 2 hits and both of her hots were doubles which drove in 3 runners… Adrienne Anderson another of the players with 2 hits and one of them was a home run which helped her drive in 3 runs… Camden Nelson pitched the entire 3 innings giving up no hits or runs while striking out 5 and walking 3… Click here to see the box score of the game and click here to see the scorebook to see how the runs were scored.
Softball, Game 2: Thornwell 15 – Calhoun Falls 0 (2)… After the first game ended the two coaches decided to go ahead and play the game scheduled for this Friday at Calhoun Falls yesterday… The Saints win the second game by an identical score of 15-0 but they did in in 2 innings with the coaches and umpires agreeing to call the game at that point… The Saints simply outhit the Flashed 11-0 and 4 Calhoun Falls errors helped the Saints to score those runs… Camden Nelson again gave up no hits and runs striking out 4 and walking 2… Nelson also led the Saints attack as she went 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs… Click here to see the box score of the game and click here to see the scorebook to see how the runs were scored.
Baseball: Calhoun Falls 13 – Saints 12… While the softball team hosted Calhoun Falls yesterday the baseball team traveled to Calhoun Falls and lost a heartbreaker by a score of 13-12… The Saints trailed 12-9 going into the top of the 7^th inning where they put 3 runs on the scoreboard to tie the game 12-12… However, the Flashed scored 1 unearned run in the bottom of the 7^th to take the 13-12 walk-off win…. Thornwell actually outhit the Flashes 14-12 bit the Flashes got the clutch hit when needed… Griffin Raines led the Saints attack going 5 for 5 with 2 RBIs… Sam Robertson went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and a RBI while Zack Crowe also went 3 for 4 with a triple and 4 RBIs… Click here to see the box score of the game and click here to see the scorebook to see how the runs were scored.
Smith Takes the Helm of Thornwell Football… In case you missed the news late last week, Coach Daryl Smith has been chosen to take over as head coach of the Thornwell football team next season… Smith was released as coach of the Raiders back in November after being hired as defensive coordinator for Coach Chris Liner back in 2019 and taking over as the head coach in 2020 when Coach Liner took over the Greenwood HS program in 2020.

Local Sports Schedules: All schedules subject to change right up to game time.

School District 55: To see the sports schedule for this week at LDHS, click here.
School District 56: To see the sports schedule for this week at CHS and CMS, click here
Laurens Academy: To see the varsity and middle school baseball schedule click here… To see the varsity & middle school softball schedule click here.
Thornwell: To see the Thornwell varsity baseball schedule and results click here.… To see the Saints softball schedule and results click here.
PC Sports Calendar… To see the PC athletics sports calendar, click here.

College Sports: For any game mentioned below, click on the score for more details if available.

March Madness has Arrived… On Sunday (3-17-24) the NCAA announced the brackets for both the men and women teams that will be participating in the chase for the National Championship we call March Madness

Men’s Basketball… If you want to see the official bracket as released by the NCAA, click here… It will update with scores as the games finish. ,,, If you click on the pairing you are interested in it will give you time, TV availability and other information about the game or teams.

Women’s Basketball… If you want to see the official bracket as released by the NCAA, click here… It will update with scores as the games finish… If you click on the pairing you are interested in it will give you time, TV availability and other information about the game or teams.
- South Carolina
  - South Carolina 91 – PC 39… Last Friday (3-22) the Gamecocks ended PC’ from the tournament by taking a 91-39 win over the Blue Hose… PC has nothing to be ashamed of as they did beat Sacred Heart but then had to play the #1 ranked team in the nation.
  - South Carolina 88 – North Carolina 41… The on Sunday the Gamecocks demolished the Tar Heels of North Carolina beating them 88-41… Like I said above, when you see this score you realize PC had nothing to be ashamed of… The Gamecocks move on to the Sweet 16 taking on Indiana which defeated Oklahoma 75-68 game played Monday, 3-25… They will travel to Albany, NY for that game this Friday (3-29) with tipoff scheduled for 5:00 pm and it can be seen on ESPN.
  - South Carolina 79 – Indiana 75… The lady Gamecocks remained unbeaten after takin a 79-75 win over a pesky Indiana team in Albany, NY Friday ( 3-29-24)… South Carolina had a 22 point lead at one time but let it slip away… Raven Johnson’s three-pointer at the end sealed the deal for the gamecocks.
  - South Carolina 70 – Oregon State 58… Then on Sunday )3-31-24) the Gamecocks punched their ticket to the Final Four taking a 70-58 win over Oregon State… south Carolina led by 14 at the half but the Beavers cut the lead to just 4 points (62-58) with about 4 minutes left before the Gamecocks pulled away for the 70-58 win.
  - Up Next… The Gamecocks advance to the Final Four with a record of 36-0 to take on NC State this Friday at a time to be announced this Friday (4-5-24) to take on the NC State Wolfpack.

Pro Sports: For more information on the game(s) below, click on the scores.

Atlanta Braves

White Sox 3- Braves 2… Yesterday the Braves lost game 2 of their 3-game series with the White Sox in Chicago by a score of 3-2… The reason for the Sox win is simple, they outhit the Braves 7-5 and got the Clutch hits when needed… Orlando Arcia and Marcell Ozuna had 2 hits each for the Braves and both of Ozuna’s were solo homers to give him 3 homers on the season… The final game of the series is today at 2:10 and can be seen on Bally Sports South.
Season Schedule… If you would like to see the Braves, click here… It should also show where the game will be televised if it is televised.
Standings… To see the MLB Standings click here… Once you get there you will see the standing by league (American or National) and also by division.

NBA

Scores… To see the latest scores in the NBA and games up next, click here
Standings… To see the current standing and records in each of the NBA Conferences click here.

NASCAR

Denny Hamlin Wins Second Race of the Season… A caution flag with 2 laps to go in the Toyota Owners 400 up at Bristol on Sunday gave Denny Hamlin just the break he needed to take the win Sunday night… His pit crew did a fantastic job and got him out quickly before race leader Martin Truex Jr… He came out and was in the lead and held off Truex and the rest of the field in the two-lap overtime shootout to win… This was his 53^rd. Cup Series win of his career and his second this season… Click here to go to the NASCAR website where there is much more about this including the final race results.
Standings… Martin Truex Jr. still leads the Driver Standings in the Cup Series while Kyle Larson moves up to #2 and Denny Hamlin checks in at 3^rd…To see the driver standings for the Cup Series click here… Once you get there you can also click on links to see the standings in Xfinity and Truck Series.
Series using tabs in the upper right corner of the posting.
NASCAR on TV this Week… NASCAR has several things being televised this week including race practices and qualifying, the race itself and assorted other things… To see the TV schedule for each day of the week click here.

NFL

New Rule Changes Include Major Kickoff Change… The NFL recently approved a series of rule changes for the upcoming season with the kickoff rule change being very different than what we are used to and very interesting… It involves placement of the majority of the players until the kicked ball is touched or hits the ground in the receiving are… Rather than me trying to explain it, click here where there is a better explanation than I can give plus a chart or two to help explain it… I’m looking forward to see how this works out.

This & That:

Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame… Recently the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame announced the five members of its fifth class which will be inducted on Thur., April 25^th at Laurens County Museum on courthouse square at 6:30 pm… The five new members are Robert Wilder, Anthony Downs, Charles Peterson, Walter Todd and Jean Hammond Whitfield… Now to read more about each of the inductees and to learn how they were chosen click here… You will also find out who the members of the first four classes were as well as general information about the Laurens County Sports Hall of Fame… Tickets are now on sale for $30 and include a catered meal… To purchase your ticket, click here… No tickets will be sold at the door.

Ticketing Information and Other Important Information for Laurens Spring Sports… The Raider athletic department has released information about ticketing including how to buy ahead of time and policy for purchasing at the gate… Also, information about what passes will be accepted as well as other information you need to know before you go… To see all of this and more, click here

If you have any comments, suggestions, or want to report scores, please contact me via email at: sports@wlbg.com or text me at 864-981-3470.