Seahawks advance in Lower State tournament
Hilton Head Island coach Ken Soucy woke up in good spirits Friday morning, saying he knew something special was going to happen.
His intuition was spot on.
Powerful hitting powered his squad to a 17-5 rout of rival Beaufort High School on Saturday, knocking the Eagles from the Lower State tournament. Soucy was relieved after losing 2-0 to Colleton the night before in the double-elimination event.
“We've been waiting for this all year,” said Soucy. “They are talented.”
Carmen Mlodzinski knew he needed to have a big day at the plate for the Seahawks to get past Beaufort. The Eagles’ pitching and defense stifled many teams this season and the Seahawks didn't want to be their next victims.
“We talked about it on the bus,” Mlodzinski said. “This could’ve been the last time all the seniors played together. We came out and took it one step at a time.”
Mlodzinski belted two home runs. The South Carolina commit said it was one of his best performances.
“That was my first time doing that,” Mlodzinski said. “But we came out ready to play today after our loss against Colleton.”
Soucy said he was proud of the way the Seahawks bounced back after a late night on the road.
“We didn't get back home until 11:30, and then to ask these kids to get back up and get back on the bus was a lot — but kudos to them," he said.
Each team showed offensive punch early. The contest was tied 5-5 in the fourth inning.
Once the Seahawks gained momentum, however, Beaufort struggled to find answers.
The Seahawks posted nine runs in the fourth inning alone, a feat Soucy said he’s never seen.
“We had good at-bats and we were zoned in,” Soucy said.
Hilton Head Island took advantage of multiple errors, something it has excelled at this year.
“We key in on base running with errors involved,” Soucy said. “Being able to take the extra base, being able to anticipate where the ball is headed are things we go over in practice.”
Eric Foggo led Hilton Head Island at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a single, double and homer. He collected four RBI.
Koty Brigham, Dalton Shaw, Mlodzinski and Foggo each scored three runs. Mlodzinski matched Foggo’s RBI total.
Chris Brubaker, Shane Clark, Coty Wan, Jake Roberts and Jeff Hays scored a run apiece for the Seahawks, who pounded 11 total hits to Beaufort’s five.
Logan Toomer was the winning pitcher. Paul Winlauc absorbed the loss.
Michael Smyth led Beaufort with two hits.
The Seahawks will take on Colleton on the road again Monday in another elimination game.
This story was originally published May 6, 2017 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Seahawks advance in Lower State tournament."