Florence Post 1 swept Orangeburg in the second round of the American Legion lower state playoffs last week.
After earning an 11-4 win over Orangeburg Post 4 on Tuesday, Florence earned a 9-0 win on Wednesday night in game two.
Lake View’s Weston Rogers earned the win on the mound, pitching six innings for three hits, five walks, and six outs. Will Goodwin pitched three innings for the save, allowing one hit and striking out three.
At bat, Grayson Cottingham went 2-for-5 with two RBI; Patrick Lovelace went 3-for-5 with one RBI; and Ke’Shaun Samuel went 2-for-5 with one RBI.
On Thursday, Florence again blanked Orangeburg, this time 11-0, with Lake View’s Carson Rogers getting the win on the mound. Rogers pitched five innings for four hits, two walks, and one out.
Florence took the lead in the bottom of the first with Ke’Shaun Samuel hitting a single up the middle to score MelQuan Depugh. Latta’s Jackson Williams picked up Weston Rogers on a sacrifice fly to put Post 1 up 2-0.
After a scoreless second inning, Dillon’s Patrick Herring and Lindsey Robinson each made sacrifice flies to score Samuel and Williams for a 4-0 lead.
Post 1 picked up three runs in the fourth with Depugh scoring on a throwing error. Samuel hit a triple to score Rogers, and Williams hit one to right to score Samuel for a 7-0 lead.
In the fifth, Samuel singled to score the first runner and Depugh scored on a wild pitch. Williams made another sacrifice fly to score Rogers, and Grayson Cottingham made another sacrifice for a total of four runs and the 11-0 lead.
Samuel led Florence at bat, going 4-for-4 with a triple, three RBI, three runs scored, and a stolen base. Williams went 2-for-4 with a double, one run, and three RBI.
Kyle Gray took the loss for Orangeburg, pitching three innings for six runs, five hits, and four walks.
Brant Shuler led Orangeburg at bat, going 2-for-3 with a double, and Logan Peters went 2-for-3.
The sweep secured Post 1’s 11th straight trip to the state tournament. Florence will enter as the top-seeded team from the lower state and will face the fourth seed from the upper state, either Inman or Lancaster, when the tournament opens in Sumter, SC, on Saturday, July 25.
This Thursday, July 23, Post 1 will host their annual Alumni Game at 7:00 p.m. at Legion Field. Former players interested in attending should contact Coach Derrick Urquhart or visit the Florence Post 1 page on Facebook®.
The current roster for the Alumni Game includes Urquhart as well as former Dillon players Weston Bailey, Phillip Herring, and Robbie Brown and Pee Dee Academy’s Brian Davis.