Orangeburg Prep rallies for 3 runs in bottom of seventh to beat Hilton Head Prep 6-5
Game 3 in SCISA AAA baseball championship series to be played Monday at Dorchester Academy beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Orangeburg – The Oranigeburg Prep Indians were two outs and two runs with no runners on base away from seeing their hopes of winning the SCISA AAA baseball state championship come to an end. However, a good bounce here, a bad bounce there and a few more base hits and hope is still alive.
OP trailed 5-3 entering the bottom of the seventh inning but rallied for three runs, with Morrison Burroughs delivering a walk-off, run-scoring single for a 6-5 triumph over Hilton Head Prep on Thursday at Indian Field to even the best-of-3 series at 1-1.
The deciding game will be played on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Dorchester Academy in St. George.
Orangeburg Prep head coach Tate Jameson said what he shared with his players following Wednesday’s 3-0 loss in Game 1 is what got them through to the victory: Believe.
“It’s the biggest word I know of,” said Jameson, whose team improved to 26-4 on the season. “If you believe in yourself and you believe in your teammates and you believe in the process we’ve tried to build here for five or six years, everything comes true to you. They believed they were never getting beat here on their home field. I had 12 players who took it and ran with it, beating a great Hilton Head Prep ball club.”
It certainly looked like the Dolphins were getting ready to hand the Indians a home loss though. HHP, now 28-3, pushed across a run in the top of the seventh for the 2-run cushion. When Tad Jameson was thrown out at first base on a close play following a bunt, a series sweep appeared more inevitable.
OP had other ideas.
Senior Charlie McCutchen hit a high chopper to third and legged it out for an infield single. Tilden “T” Riley followed with a single before Bryson Williams back through the middle that looked like a potential double play ball. Instead, it was booted and McCutchen scored to make it 5-4.
Hunter Judy singled to center to load the bases before Landon Kuck hit a sacrifice fly to score Riley and tie the game. The other runners moved up a base as well, and Burroughs sent the first pitch he saw from Hilton Head Prep pitcher Connor Campbell into left field to drive in Williams and set off a joyous OP celebration.
“He’s been struggling hitting most of the year, but he said to me, ‘Coach, don’t worry about a thing. I’m sending us to the championship game,’ ” Coach Jameson said of Burroughs, who was hitting .186 coming into the game. “He got that first pitch, that first swing, and he hits a line drive to left field to win the game.”
Burroughs, one of eight seniors on the Orangeburg Prep roster, thought he might get an opportunity in a big situation.
“I knew some of the hitters we had coming up, and they are some of the best hitters in SCISA,” he said. “I had full faith they were going to succeed. I couldn’t be more proud of every single one of my guys. I’ve had the best senior season I could ask for. I can’t wait to keep it up on Monday.”
HHP head coach Chris Wells thought his team let a chance to win in a sweep get away.
“We had it right there,” Wells said. “We don’t kick a couple of balls there in the seventh, we win that game.”
That being said, Wells wasn’t down about the situation.
“Don’t flinch,” was Wells’ response when asked what he said to the Dolphins following the game. “We’ve been here before. If you would have told me back on January 27 when we had our first practice that we’d have one game to win a state championship, we would have signed up for that.”
Hilton Head Prep fought back from a 3-0 deficit. The Indians took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first against HHP starting pitcher JP Pirkey. Mason Tyler and Jameson both had hits and scored runs in the first inning. Jameson, who finished 3-for-4, hit a solo home run to start the third and make it 3-0.
The Dolphins tied the game in the fourth against McCutchen, OP’s starter on the mound. Campbell drew a leadoff walk and Jackson Stanyard was hit by a pitch. After the runners moved up on a wild pitch, Pirkey walked to load the bases. Two runs scored when a Tyler Britschge ground ball was booted. A passed ball allowed Pirkey to score and tie the game.
Hilton Head Prep had runners on second and third with no outs, but Eli Pantaleon, who had relieved McCutchen, struck out two batters. Judy, the catcher, then picked courtesy runner Paulie Smith off of third base to end the inning.
HHP took a 4-3 lead in the sixth when Pirkey homered off of Pantaleon. The Dolphins made it 5-3 in the seventh against Williams, who had come on in relief for Orangeburg Prep and ended up as the winning pitcher. Brody Hausher was hit by a pitch to open the inning, Brandon Espinoza singled and Stanyard reached on an infield single to load the bases with one out. A base hit by Pirkey made it 5-3, but Williams retired the next two batters.
Pantaleon ended up working three innings, allowing the one run on the Pirkey homer. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out three.
Britschke had a strong relief performance for the Dolphins. He pithed 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out three.
Both Wells and Coach Jameson have enjoyed the competitiveness of the series to date.
“I thought we had it right there, but hats off to that group for fighting to the end,” Wells said o OP. “There’s two really good teams going at it. I think they’re the two best teams in the state, and I think they’ve been playing that way on the field.”
