sports

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THE GAFFNEY LEDGER

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015

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Wood dominant; Indians 3rd at SE Classic

By LARRY HILLIARD
Ledger Sports Editor
larry@gaffneyledger.com

Gaffney starting pitcher Zach Wood 2-hit Spring Valley in

the third-place game of the Southeastern Baseball Classic
in Hartsville. The Indians are back in region play today,
hosting Rock Hill.

GHS teams,
Lady Cats
in Lowes
holiday hoop
tournament

After a loss to eventual champion

Archbishop Spalding, Zach Wood
gave the Gaffney High baseball
team what it needed the most - a
quality start.
Wood tossed a nifty 2-hitter to
help the Indians to a third place finish at the Southeastern Baseball
Classic with a 1-0 win over Spring
Valley this past week.
Wood fanned six and walked just
two in his most impressive outing
of the season.
He had good performance,
Gaffney coach Jeff Osment said.

There was only one inning he ran

into trouble when he walked two
hitters.
Its a good thing Wood was on
his game because the Gaffney hitters struggled to make contact during the 4-day tournament.
The Indians mustered just
enough offense, scoring their only
run in the fourth.
Josh Gregory got things going
with a walk before stealing second
and advancing to third on a Jackson
Propst groundout.
Damian Eubanks grounder
plated Gregory with the games
only run.
Offensively, we struggled, Osment said. We played well defen-

sively, committing only two errors

and the pitchers all threw well.
Except in the teams only loss in
the tournament, an 11-5 shellacking
by Archbishop Spalding.
Gaffney put three players on the
all-tournament team - pitcher Tyler
Parker, shortstop Bryson Ward and
centerfielder Chris Clary.
The Indians return to region play
today against visiting Rock Hill.
Gaffney is only 2-4 in the region
and must put string together some
wins to make a run at a high seed in
the playoffs.
We have eight games left and
we still have a chance, Osment
said. We have to keep pressing forward.

SAFE AT HOME

By JOE L. HUGHES II
Ledger Sports Writer
joe@gaffneyledger.com

Travel definitely wont be

an issue for a trio of Cherokee County high school
basketball teams or their
fans this coming holiday
season.
Both the Gaffney boys
and girls hoops squads, as
well as the Blacksburg girls
basketball team will take
part in the inaugural Lowes
Roundball Classic. The
tournament, hosted by
Chesnee High School, will
take place from Dec. 28-30.
We wanted to do our
best to grab some of the
best teams in our local
area, said Chesnee head
basketball coach Andy Pitt.
Our aim was to get teams
that are traditionally strong
and could help make this a
tournament that teams
would want to come to not
just this year, but years to
come. We feel that getting a
team the caliber of Gaffney,
as well as Blacksburg will
help in that regard.
The boys tournament
field will consist of host
Chesnee, as well as Berea,
East Rutherford (N.C.),
Fort Mill, Gaffney, MidCarolina, Ninety Six and
Thomas Jefferson (N.C.).
The girls field will have the
host Lady Eagles, along
with Berea, Blacksburg,
Chapman, Gaffney, Fort
Mill, Mid-Carolina and
Oakbrook Academy.
According to Gaffney
head basketball coach Mark
Huff, the tournament is a
win-win for all programs
involved.
(Pitt) just e-mailed me
and invited us to come, especially with it being so
close to home, he said.
They have a new facility, a
new gym and theyre trying
to spruce things up and
showcase their school with
a Christmas tournament. I
feel itll be a good one for
both the teams and their
fans, and we couldnt be
more excited.
Despite their presence in
the tournament, region foes
such as Gaffney and Fort
Mill, along with Blacksburg
and Chesnee will not be
placed in the same group.
Those teams will not
play each other until the
championship round if they
make it that far, Pitt said.
That is a concern we are
sensitive about, and plan to
do everything we can to
keep them away from each
other unless fate just takes
hold.
More information about
the tournament can be
found at lowesroundballclassic.com or by following
@lowesclassic on Twitter.

Limestones Jose Rondon scampers in just ahead of a Newberry throw to home plate on Monday. The Saints host Coker
today. (Ledger Photo/ LARRY HILLIARD)

Local youth baseball ready to swing into action

By LARRY HILLIARD
Ledger Sports Editor
larry@gaffneyledger.com

Local youth baseball

fans should expect one of
the most competitive seasons ever.
At least thats what
chairman Tim Blackwell
believes after watching
nail-biting finishes in the
three preseason tournaments.
We had three championship preseason tournament games and all three
were decided in the last inning, Blackwell said. It
will be a real competitive
season for us.
The regular season
swings into action on
Monday with a full slate of
games in the Mite (ages 78), Minor (ages 9-10) and
Major (ages 11-12)
leagues.
The Rookie League

(ages 4 through 6) will

begin on Monday, April
20.
In a sign of the growing
popularity of youth sports,
the league has added four
new teams this season,
with one each in the Major
and Rookie leagues and
two in the Mite League.
The Major and Minor
leagues will each have six
teams, while the Rookie
League will have eight and
the Mite will have nine.
Each team will play between 12 to 14 regular season games.
The season will conclude with the all-star tournaments in June and July.
Games will be played
each week day expect for
Wednesdays. Games will
begin at 5:30 and 7:30
p.m. at the Cherokee
County Youth Sports
Complex near Highway
105.

Local youngsters will be taking their best cuts as the local youth baseball league
begins play on Monday.