Summerville beats Sumter 13-1 in 5 innings to sweep AAAAA Division I lower state series

           Sumter – The Summerville High School softball team found itself in a battle with Sumter in the opening game of the  best-of-3 AAAAA Division I lower state championship series on Monday in Summerville. The Green Wave, the 2-time defending AAAAA state champion and ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, won 3-0 against the upstart Gamecocks.

           There wasn’t nearly the drama on Wednesday.

           Summerville scored five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back, going on to a 13-1, 5-inniing victory to sweep the series and advance to the best-of-3 state championship series.

           The Green Wave, which improved to 32-0 on the season, will take on upper state champion Byrnes next week. The 28-3 Rebels beat Lexington 16-0 on Wednesday to sweep their series. The series will start on Monday in Summerville with Game 2 to be played on Wednesday in Duncan. If a third game is needed, it will be played on Friday at a neutral site.

           “It means a lot,” Green Wave had coach Heather Tucker said of returning to state again. “That’s the goal every year. To be able to get here after winning it two years in a row as hard as that is, is a big deal.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time and just glad to be here. Our team is working its tail off. I’m just super proud of how they started the game and how they finished. They stayed focused the entire game.”

Sumter finished the year with a 22-8-1 record.

           Lillie Ivey, who had the strong performance in Game 1 for Sumter, was back in the circle. She got leadoff hitter Katie Guilliam to pop up on the infield, but it was misplayed for an error. Ansley Bennett then ripped a double to the gap in right-center field and it was quickly 1-0. Ivey struck out Melanie Edwards before walking Maeven Moreno and Abby Driscoll to load the bases.

           Jayden Bennett followed with a run-scoring single to make it 2-0. Sumter had a chance to pick up another out when the Green Wave ended up with two runners on third. However, Driscoll was able to retreat to second. Hope Chase then ripped a double to the gap in left-center to clear the bases and make it 5-0.

           “That was a great pitcher they had on the mound to start,” Tucker said of Ivey. “Sometimes when you see a pitcher more than once that helps you know what they throw and whatnot. We just had a different approach at practice and focus on how we play softball. We did an excellent job at the plate, being disciplined hitting the ball on line well, and I’m super proud of them.”

           The start of the game set a bad tone for Sumter.

           “It was a totally uncharacteristic day for us,” said Sumter head coach Mike Moss. “It didn’t even start right (with the leadoff batter). That’s a routine play we make every day, and we didn’t make it. It was just one of those things.”

           The Gamecocks managed to get a couple of runners in scoring position in the bottom of the inning against Summerville pitcher and University of South Carolina signee Ansley Bennett but couldn’t score them. McKenzi Pearson drew a 2-pout walk and Ariana Evans singled with the runners ended up at second and third on a throw. Bennett got Bailey Ardis to ground out to end the threat.

           Ivy King replaced Ivey in the circle in the second and pitched a scoreless inning. Moss said there was a simple reason he replaced Ivey.

                       “She’s tired, she’s tired,” Moss said. “She’s thrown a lot this year and she was just tired. She has not done that so far this season, so we just knew she was maxed out. That’s why we made that change.

Nobody’s hit her like that this year, so we could just tell she was tired.”

           Summerville, which got a hit from each spot in its order to finish with 15, added two more runs in the third. Driscoll led off with a double before Chase reached on an infield single following miscommunication by the Gamecocks. After an out, Daphne Frady tripled to the gap in right-center to make it 7-0.

           Sumter got its lone run in the bottom of the inning, but missed out on an opportunity for more. Ansley Bennett hit Remy Shauf to start the inning and McKayla Mouradjian singled. After a sacrifice bunt by Riley Laux, Pearson drew a walk to load the bases. Evans then came through with an RBI single to make it 7-1.

           The Gamecocks couldn’t push across any other runs as Ashley Bennett fanned Bailey Ardis and got Mylah Ardis to ground out.

           Bennett wasn’t nearly as dominant as she was on Monday when she struck out 16. She allowed three hits, two walks and hit two batters while striking out four in four innings.

           Summerville made it 8-1 in the fourth when Jayden Bennett’s RBI single scored Edwards, who had singled. Then the flood gates opened again in the fifth.

           Knight and Frady had consecutive solo home runs to begin the inning. Guilliam followed with a triple and Asnley Bennett doubled her home to make it 11-1 and end King’s night.

           Summerville’s final runs came on an RBI single by Moreno that scored Edwards, who had walked, and a sacrifice fly from Jayden Bennett that scored Driscoll, who had singled.

           Chase came on to work a scoreless seventh. She was 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and three runs batted in.

Jayden Bennett was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run, while Ansley Bennett was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Frady had two hits, two RBI and a run, Driscoll had two hits and two runs, Knight and Moreno both had a hit, a run and an RBI, and Guilliam and Edwards both had a hit and two runs.

           “Honestly not a whole lot was changed with out hitting,” Tucker said. “We don’t put a lot of pressure on our kids. We trust in their ability and let them go in and do their thing. Sometimes when you see a kid before it helps you, you have a little bit of a different approach. You have a little bit better of an idea on how she throws. We’re just trying to play the softball we’ve been playing all year.”

           Evans had two of Sumter’s three hits and drove in the lone run. Mouradjian had the other hit, while Shauf scored the run after being hit by a pitch. Pearson was also hit by a pitch and drew a walk.

           The Gamecocks won a district tournament for just the second time in program history, the other coming in 2007. Moss pointed out that Sumter was just one of two district champion, while there were four district winners the first time. He hopes this is the start of a run of success for Sumter softball.

           “It's a big deal,” Moss said of advancing to lower state. “I told them in our meeting just now, we had a great team this year. What’s our program going to be like moving forward? I think great teams establish great programs. I put it on our underclassmen. Our seniors have led us all the way, and now it’s the underclassmen’s turn. They’ve got a lot of work to do. They’ve got some big shoes to fill.”

           The seniors for Sumter are Evans, Mylah Ardis, Hannah DuRant and Sydney Rhodes, each of whom was a starter.