High school sports, May 1: Battery Creek softball advances to district final
Emily Madlinger drove home two runs with a pair of singles and Alexis Ortiz held Andrews hitless over the final six innings, propelling Battery Creek to a 3-1 softball victory Saturday that put the Dolphins in the Class 2-A District VI title game.
Madlinger’s RBI single in the second inning put the Dolphins ahead to stay 2-1, and another single in the fourth plated McKenzie Young with an insurance run.
Ortiz, coming off a no-hitter in Thursday’s playoff opener against Wade Hampton, gave up two first-inning hits that allowed Andrews to take a 1-0 lead. She wound up retiring 15 of the last 17 batters she faced.
The Dolphins will play Wednesday at home for a berth in the Lower State tournament, with their opponent to be determined Monday evening.
Stratford 6, Bluffton 3: The Bobcats will have to take the long road to the district title game, dropping into the loser's bracket for a Monday elimination game at West Florence.
Monday's contest is a rematch of their playoff opener, which Bluffton won 7-3. The winner moves on to visit Stratford on Wednesday.
Waccamaw 12, Whale Branch 0: The Warriors were on the wrong end of a no-hitter by Waccamaw’s Casey Pelasara as they were elilminated from the playoffs.
Whale Branch twice got a runner to third via walks and stolen bases, but could not cash them in.
BASEBALL
Battery Creek 11, Lee Central 1: The Dolphins’ bats came alive as Battery Creek earned a return trip to Edisto on Monday for a chance to reach the 2-A district final.
The victory, combined with Edisto’s loss to Aynor on Saturday, created a rematch of their playoff opener that Battery Creek lost 10-5. Monday’s winner will visit Aynor for the District VIII title.
Andrews 13, Whale Branch 0: The Warriors were held to four singles on the afternoon as they could not stave off playoff elimination.
Whale Branch managed two hits in both the fourth and fifth, but could not bring home the runner from scoring position.
BOYS’ GOLF
HHCA ties for 8th in Aiken: R.J. Bartolomucci carded a 4-over-par 75 and Matt Lehman had a 76 in tough conditions as the Eagles rose to a share of eighth on the final day of the Southern Cross Invitational at Palmetto Golf Club.
HHCA moved up three spots in the team standings after posting a team score of 228. Bluffton High, which was third entering the final round, struggled to a 237 and slipped to a share of 11th.
Hilton Head Island’s Travis Mancill, playing as an invited single, and Bluffton’s Brandon McBride had the best individual totals among area golfers. Both finished with a share of 16th, after Mancill fired a 73 and McBride posted a 77.
This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 12:37 PM with the headline "High school sports, May 1: Battery Creek softball advances to district final."