Walk-off homer puts Hilton Head Prep in 1st SCISA baseball final

Tyler Fox sent Hilton Head Prep to its first SCISA baseball final with a towering home run to lead off the eighth inning Wednesday night, completing a comeback from four runs down for a 5-4 triumph over Pee Dee Academy.

The Dolphins (22-9) scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings, before Fox drove a 1-1 pitch over the left-field fence. Fox’s ninth homer of the year tied the school record, and the Dolphins’ 24 home runs as a team also is a new standard.

Prep will take on defending SCISA 2-A champion Calhoun Academy in the best-of-3 final series, opening Monday on the road before coming to Prep on Tuesday. A third game, if necessary, would be played Thursday at a neutral site.

The Dolphins managed only five hits as a team, but two came in the seventh as they took advantage of tiring Pee Dee pitching to erase a 4-0 deficit. Nick Lucchesi singled, Fox walked on four pitches and Gavin Hurlbut was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

E.J. Churchich walked on four pitches to bring home Lucchesi and Ricky Ledee hit a sacrifice fly that cut the deficit to 4-2. After Churchich went to second on a passed ball, Reese Irwin’s single to left brought home both runners.

Hurlbut picked up the win in relief, getting the final two outs in the eighth after after the Eagles put a runner in scoring position.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Walk-off homer puts Hilton Head Prep in 1st SCISA baseball final."