A look at where each of the four SCISA baseball playoff tournaments stand

  Ben Lippen and Hilton Head Christian Academy in SCISA AAAA and Orangeburg Prep and Hilton Head Prep moved within one victory of playing in their respective state championship series with triumphs on Thursday.

           Defending AA state champion Dorchester Academy and Oakbrook Prep won Game 3 in their respective AA quarterfinal series to advance to the best-of-3 semifinals. Marlboro Academy thought it had done the same in its Class A series against W.W. King.

           But not so fast, my friend.

           King played the Dragons’ 8-3 win on Thursday in Batesburg-Leesville under protest. The protest was upheld so Marlboro hasn’t won the series yet.

           Instead, the teams will resume the game on Monday at 4:30 p.m. – in Holly Hill. It will pick up with the Knights preparing to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning trailing 5-3. Whover wins the game will then take on Holly Hill Academy in Game 1 of the best-of-3 semifinal series at 7 p.m. on Monday.

           WWK won the opening game of the series 13-3 before Marlboro claimed a 9-8 victory in Game 2.

           The other Class A semifinal series begins on Monday as well with Jefferson Davis Academy taking on defending state champion Richard Winn Academy. Game 1 will be played in Winnsboro beginning at 6 p.m.

           JDA advanced to the semifinals by sweeping Wardlaw Academy. RWA, like Holly Hill, received a bye into the semifinals.

AAAA

           Ben Lippen, the No. 1 seed in the 5-team, double-elimination upper bracket, defeated Hammond 7-0 on Thursday in Columbia to become the last undefeated in the bracket. The last undefeated team in the lower bracket is No. 4 Hilton Head Christian, which beat No. 2 seed Cardinal Newman 13-6 in Columbia.

           Ben Lippen improved to 21-3 on the season with the shutout victory. The Falcons don’t play again until Wednesday when they will play host to Monday’s elimination game between No. 2 Pinewood Prep and No. 3 Hammond.

           Pinewood stayed alive with a 5-2 victory over No. 5 Wilson Hall on Thursday in Summerville. The Panthers will travel to Columbia to face the Skyhawks. Hammond beat PP 12-2 earlier in the bracket.

           Hilton Head Christian, which is in its first year in AAAA after winning the AAA title last season, improved to 19-8 in the win over Cardinal Newman. Anthony Seminara and Roman Colella combined for 10 runs batted in. Seminara hit a grand slam home run while Colella had a bases-clearing, 3-run double.

           Right-hander Chip Hetzel and left-hander Colt Spargur combined to pitch HHCA to the triumph.

           Hilton Head Christian will play host to either Cardinal Newman or No. 3 seed Trinity Collegiate School on Wednesday. TCS will travel to Cardinal Newman on Monday for a 6:30 p.m. elimination game.

           Trinity stayed alive with a 6-5 victory over top seed Laurence Manning Academy on Thursday in Manning. The game was tied 2-2 after five innings, but the final two innings were wild.

           The Titans scored four runs in the top of the sixth to make it 6-2. LMA, which finished with a 17-4 record, scored a single run in the bottom of the inning and two in the seventh. The game ended with the Swampcats having the tying run on third and the winning run on second.

           Ray Weston and BJ Balls both had two RBI for Laurece Manning.

           AAA

           No. 1 seed Orangeburg Prep defeated Pee Dee Academy 2-1 on Thursday in Orangeburg to become the last undefeated team in the upper bracket. The top seed in the lower bracket, Hilton Head Prep, is the lasts undefeated after beating Calhoun Academy 10-0 on Thursday in Hilton Head Island.

           OP, which improved to 25-3, will be at home on Wednesday against either No. 2 Pee Dee or No. 3 St. John’s Christian Academy, who will face off on Monday at 6:30 p.m. in an elimination game in Mullins. SJCA improved to 11-8 as it eliminated No. 4 Patrick Henry Academy with a 3-2 triumph on Thursday in Moncks Corner.

           The game was tied 1-1 entering the sixth when the Patriots scored a run in the top haff of the inning. The Cavaliers pushed across two runs in bottom of the inning and held on for the win.

           Spencer Kelehear had two of PHA’s four hits to go with an RBI. Rylin Brunson had a double and scored a run, while Bryton Peeples had a hit and an RBI. Sims Brunson scored the other run.

           Brian Long pitched all six innings for Patrick Henry. He allowed six hits and walked two while striking out four.

           Hilton Head Prep improved to 26-2 as it won by the 10-run mercy rule in six innings. It will face either No. 3 Calhoun or No. 2 seed Williamsburg Academy on Wednesday. Calhoun and the Stallions will play in an elimination game on Monday in St. Matthews beginning at 7 p.m.

           Williamsburg, which lost to Calhoun 11-10 in eight innings earlier in the tournament, stayed alive with a 6-5 win over Greenwood Christian School in an elimination game on Thursday in Kingstree.

The Stallions scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to get the win. Conner Morris had a run-scoring single to tie the game at 5-5, and Paul Dukes delivered the game-winning hit to score pinch runner Grant Small.

Layton Morris gave up five unearned runs in the first two innings, but held GCS down the rest of the way. He worked 6 2/3 innings before having to leave the mound because of the pitch count. He struck out nine and walked four.

           Sammy Tomlinson replaced Morris on the mound and threw one pitch to get out of the inning. The game-winning rally made him the winning pitcher.

           AA

           No. 2 seed Dorchester defeated No. 3 Thomas Heyward 3-1 on Thursday in St. George to rally and win the series after losing the first game in the upper bracket quarterfinal series.

           After losing 9-8 in Game 1 on Monday in St. George, DA traveled to Ridgeland on Tuesday and won 11-1 in six innings. Wyatt Judy pitched a complete game for Dorchester, while Layton Wimberly had four RBI.

           Brenner Dantzler had a complete-game performance in the deciding game to get the win.

           Dorchester will meet No. 1 seed Lee Academy in a best-of-3 semifinal series. It will start on Monday in Bishopville with DA being the host in Game 2 on Tuesday. If a third game is needed, it will be played on Thursday at Lee.

           Oakbrook Prep advanced to the lower bracket semifinal series with a 5-4 win over The King’s Academy on Thursday. The No. 2 seed Knights, who improved to 19-4-1, will take on No. 1 seed Andrew Jackson Academy in the series. Oakbrook will travel to Ehrhardt on Monday for Game 1 beginning at 6 p.m. Game 2 is set for Tuesday in Spartanburg with the third game to be played on Thursday at AJA if needed. 

AAAA

Upper Bracket

Monday, April 28

Game 1 – (5) Wilson Hall 7, (4) Porter-Gaud 1

Tuesday, April 29

Game 2 – (3) Hammond 11, (2) Pinewood Prep 6

Game 3 – (1) Ben Lippen 10, (5) Wilson Hall 0

Wednesday, April 30

Game 4 – (2) Pinewood Prep 12, (4) Porter-Gaud 2 (Porter-Gaud eliminated)

Thursday, May 1

Game 5 – (2) Pinewood Prep 5, (5) Wilson Hall 2 (Wilson Hall eliminated)

Game 6 – (1) Ben Lippen 7, (3) Hammond 0

Monday, May 5

Game 7 -- (2) Pinewood Prep at (3) Hammond, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, May 7

Game 8 – Game 7 Winner at (1) Ben Lippen

Thursday, May 8

Game 9 – If Necessary at Neutral Site

Lower Bracket

Monday, April 28

Game 1 – (4) Hilton Head Christian 9, (5) Augusta Christian 6

Tuesday, April 29

Game 2 – (2) Cardinal Newman 4, (3) Trinity Collegiate 0

Game 3 – (4) Hilton Head Christian 7, (1) Laurence Manning 3 (9 innings)

Wednesday, April 30

Game 4 – (3) Trinity Collegiate 11, (5) Augusta Christian 7 (Augusta Christianeliminated)

Thursday, May 1

Game 5 – (3) Trinity Collegiate 6, (1) Laurence Manning 5 (Laurence Manning eliminated)

Game 6 – (4) Hilton Head Christian 13, (2) Cardinal Newman 6

Monday, May 5

Game 7 -- (3) Trinity Collegiate at (2) Cardinal Newman, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 7

Game 8 – Game 7 Winner at (4) Hilton Head Christian

Thursday, May 8

Game 9 – If Necessary at Neutral Site

Championship Series

Best-of-3

May 12, 13, 15

AAA

Upper Bracket

Monday, April 28

Game 1 – (4) Patrick Henry 5, (5) Spartanburg Christian 1

Tuesday, April 29

Game 2 – (2) Pee Dee 4, (3) St. John’s Christian 0

Game 3 – (1) Orangeburg Prep 11, (4) Patrick Henry 3

Wednesday, April 30

Game 4 – (3) St. John's Christian 6, (5) Spartanburg Christian 1 (Spartanburg Christian eliminated)

Thursday, May 1

Game 5 – (3) St. John's Christian 3, (4) Patrick Henry 2 (Patrick Henry eliminated)

Game 6 – (1) Orangeburg Prep 2, (2) Pee Dee 1

Monday, May 5

Game 7 -- (3) St. John's Christian at (2) Pee Dee, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 7

Game 8 – Game 7 Winner at (1) Orangeburg Prep

Thursday, May 8

Game 9 – If Necessary at Neutral Site

Lower Bracket

Monday, April 28

Game 1 – (4) Greenwood Christian 16, (5) Florence Christian 5

Tuesday, April 29

Game 2 – (3) Calhoun Academy 11, (2) Williamsburg 10 (8 innings)

Game 3 – (1) Hilton Head Prep 4, (4) Greenwood Christian 1

Wednesday, April 30

Game 4 – (2) Williamsburg 4, (5) Florence Christian 0 (Florence Christian eliminated)

Thursday, May 1

Game 5 – (2) Williamsburg 6, (4) Greenwood Christian 5 (Greenwood Christian eliminated)

Game 6 – (1) Hilton Head Prep 10, (3) Calhoun Academy 0

Monday, May 5

Game 7 -- (2) Williamsburg at (3) Calhoun Academy, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 7

Game 8 – Game 7 Winner at (1) Hilton Head Prep

Thursday, May 8

Game 9 – If Necessary at Neutral Site

Championship Series

Best-of-3

May 12, 13, 15

AA

Quarterfinal Series

Best-of-3

Upper Bracket

No. 4 Laurens Academy vs. No. 1 Lee Academy

Monday, April 28 – Lee 15, Laurens 0

Tuesday, April 29 – Lee 7, Laurens 4 (Lee wins series 2-0)

No. 3 Thomas Heyward vs. No. 2 Dorchester

Monday, April 28 – Thomas Heyward 9, Dorchester 8

Tuesday, April 29 – Dorchester 11, Thomas Heyward 1

Thursday, May 1 – Dorchester 3, Thomas Heyward 1 (Dorchester wins series 2-1)

.Lower Bracket

No. 4 Carolina Academy vs. No. 1 Andrew Jackson

Monday, April 28 – Andrew Jackson 11, Carolina 10

Tuesday, April 29 – Andrew Jackson 9, Carolina 7 (8 innings) (Andrew Jackson wins series 2-0)

No. 3 The King’s Academy vs. No. 2 Oakbrook Prep

Monday, April 28 – Oakbrook Prep 4, The King’s Academy 3 (13 innings)

Tuesday, April 29 – The King's Academ,y 12, Oakbrook Prep 4

Thursday, May 1 – Oakbrook Prep 5, The King’s Academy 4 (Oakbrook Prep wins series 2-1)

Semifinal Series

Best-of-3

Upper Bracket

No. 2 Dorchester vs. No. 1 Lee Academy

Monday, May 5 -- at Lee, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 6 – at Dorchester

Thursday, May 8 –at Lee (if necessary)

Lower Bracket

No. 2 Oakbrook Prep vs. No. 1 Andrew Jackson

Monday, May 5 -- at Andrew Jackson, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 6 – at Oakbrook Prep

Thursday, May 8 –at Andrew Jackson (if necessary)

Championship Serie

Best-of-3

Monday, May 12 – at Lower Bracket Winner

Tuesday, May 13 – at Upper Bracket Winner

Thursday, May 15 – at Neutral Site (if necessary)

CLASS A

Quarterfinal Series

Best-of-3

Upper Bracket

No. 3 Wardlaw Academy vs. No. 2 Jefferson Davis

Monday, April 28 – Jefferson Davis 9, Wardlaw 1

Tuesday, April 29 – Jefferson Davis 11, Wardlaw 6 (Jefferson Davis wins series 2-0)

Lower Bracket

No. 3 Marlboro Academy vs. No. 2 W.W. King

Monday, April 28 – W.W. King 13, Marlboro 3

Tuesday, April 29 – Marlrobo 9, W.W. King 8 (series tied 1-1)

Thursday, May 1 – Marlboro 5, W.W. King 3 (game to resume in bottom of 6th on Monay in Holly Hill)

Semifinal Series

Best-of-3

Upper Bracket

No. 2 Jefferson Davis vs. No. 1 Richard Winn

Monday, May 5 – at Richard Winn, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 6 – at Jefferson Davis, 6 p.m.

Thursday, May 8 – at Richard Winn (if necessary)

Lower Bracket

No. 2 W.W. King or No. 3 Marlboro Academy vs. No. 1 Holly Hill Academy

Monday, May 5 – at Holly Hill, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 6 – at Marlboro or W.W. King

Thursday, May 8 – at Holly Hill (if necessary)

Championship Series

Best-of-3

Monday, May 12 – at Lower Bracket Winner

Tuesday, May 13 – at Upper Bracket Winner

Thursday, May 15 – at Neutral Site (if necessary)