By Craig Brown
What may have been the biggest come-from-behind victory in Lake View baseball history took place Saturday night as the Wild Gators hosted the Sabres of Southside Christian School of Simpsonville.
The Wild Gators trailed the Sabres 6-3 after six and a half innings. A big at-bat aided by several walked batters in the bottom of the sixth produced three runs for the Gators to even the game at 6-6.
Relief pitcher Noah Carter faced the number two, three, and four batters in the Sabre’s lineup striking them out in convincing fashion to send the Wild Gators back to bat in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Thomas Skipper drew a walk to base that sent Kason Herlong in for the 7-6 win.
Both teams put four pitchers on the mound. The Wild Gators had a far superior advantage in pitching relief in this match-up. A team does not want to face the Wild Gator batters with pitchers that are off or average in high school talent. As I reported earlier in the season, this is one of the best Wild Gator teams I have seen in several years and they proved it by winning the Lower State and State Championships in four games.
As the host team, the Wild Gators took the field with Braxton Dimery on the mound. Charlie Harof led off with a bouncing grounder fielded by Dimery who threw him out going to first base. Tyler Herof got to base on a walk. Leif Busby put runners at first and second with a hit to center. Brock Holder got caught looking at the third strike for out number two. An infield error loaded the bases on a hard hit ball by Khalil Tolson. Aaron Fortune went to base on a walk bringing T. Harof in for the game’s first run. George Massingille sent a shot to center field scoring Busby and Tolson. Charlie Marchbanks hit into a fielder’s choice to send the Gators to bat trailing 3-0.
Nelson Vaughn took the mound for the Sabres. Noah Carter led off for the Wild Gators and sent a shot to the center field fence that looked to be an inside-the-park home run but the power arm of Holder caused Carter to go back to third for a triple. Carter would go to bat four more times this game and would be given a free trip to the base each time. Thomas Skipper went to first on a walk. Chris McGill got a base hit to center bringing Carter in for a run. Shaheed Dawkins got Skipper home on a fielder’s choice. Luke Price hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
After one the Sabres led 3-2.
Jason Hutto led off in the top of the second with a pop-up to the short stop. C. Harof got to base on a walk. T. Harof struck out followed by Busby flying out to the center fielder sending the Gators back to bat.
Kason Herlong led off for the Wild Gators and went down swinging. Marquise Johnson drew a walk to base and then stole second base. Michael McInnis went out on strikes with Carter given a ride to first base followed by Skipper flying out to center
After two innings of play the Sabres’ lead was still 3-2.
In the top of the third the Sabres picked up hits by Fortune and Massingille but could not bring anyone home.
Base hits by Dimery and Price and a walk to base for Dawkins aided the Wild Gators with a run to even the game at 3-3 after three innings of play.
A big at-bat in the top of the fourth with hits from C. and T. Harof and Busby with walks to base for Tolson and Fortune and a sacrifice fly by Holder put the Sabres up 6-3. Price came in relief for Dimery to get Massingille out and send the Gators back to bat. The Wild Gators had no hits and one runner to base on a walk with no runners scored.
After four the Sabres led 6-3.
The fifth inning was scoreless.
In the top of the sixth the Sabres got a runner to base on a hit and a walk but brought no one in for a score.
Lake View’s big inning came in the bottom of the sixth. Aided by hits from Price and Johnson and the entire Lake View starting lineup walked to base, the Wild Gators had evened the score at 6-6 after six innings of play.
Carter took the mound for the Gators in the top of the seventh and struck out T. Harof, Busby, and Holder to get the Wild Gators back to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
Sabres’ pitcher, Drew Nelson, (Sabres’ final reliever) struck out the lead-off batter and then walked Herlong. Johnson advanced Herlong to third as he made it to base on a bad throw to first. Nelson struck out the next batter but loaded the bases by giving Carter a free ride to first. With a 3-2 count on Skipper and a wild pitch by Nelson for ball four gave the Wild Gators one of the most exciting wins in school history.
Wild Gator Head Coach Kip Herlong stated after the game how proud he was of his players and coaching staff. Coach Herlong added that several players on the bench in this game played a big part in getting the team to this game. These players could start on any team in the state. Herlong stated that in baseball you have to select the players that have the hot hand at the time of play. In other games we played players throughout the season who seemed the most ready for a game. All the players on this team are stars. When ask how this team compared to some of his other great teams coach Herlong stated that all of his teams were special and no comparison could be made. It would be hard to argue the fact that Coach Herlong is the best baseball coach in the state. Lake View is running out of wall space recording his championships.
On the mound for the Sabres, Nelson Vaughn posted four strikeouts, six walked batters, allowed eight hits, and allowed three runs scored. Kolby Sentelle sent two batters to base on walks and one hit by pitch.
Dru Nelson posted four strikeouts, four walked batters, and allowed two hits and four runs scored in the loss.
On the mound for the Wild Gators, Dimery posted four strikeouts, six walked batters, and allowed seven hits and six runs. Price posted two strikeouts, two walked batters, and allowed two hits and no runs. McInnis posted a strikeout and a runner to base on a hit by pitch, and Carter struck out three batters in the seventh to get the win.
At bat for the Sabres, Charlie Harlof was 2 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base, Tyler Harof was 1 for 4 with a walk, Leif Busby was 2 for 4 with a fielder’s choice, Brock Holder was 0 for 4 with a sacrifice fly advancing the runner, Khalil Tolson was 0 for 2 with a walk and a base on an error, Aaron Fortune was 1 for 1 with three walks to base, George Massingille was 2 for 4 with 2 rbi, Charlie Marchbanks was 1 for 2 with a fielder’s choice, and Jason Hutto was 0 for 1 with two walks to base and to base on a hit by pitch.
At bat for Lake View, Noah Carter was 1 for 1 with a triple and four walks; Thomas Skipper was 0 for 1 with three walks and a fielder’s choice; Braxton Dimery was 1 for 3 with a walk; Chris McGill was 1 for 3 with a walk and two rbi; Shaheed Dawkins 0 for 2 with a walk, a fielder’s choice, and two rbi; Luke Price was 2 for 3 with a fielder’s choice; Kason Herlong was 0 for 3 with a walk; Marquise Johnson was 1 for 2 with a base on an error, a walk a stolen base, and a rbi; and Michael McInnis was 0 for 4.
Congratulations to The Wild Gator players and coaches on a great championship season.

The Seneca Lady Bobcats defeated the Dillon Lady Wildcats 3-1 in the rain-delayed game 3 of the 3-A Softball State Championship played in Chapin, South Carolina, on Saturday, June 6, at 7:40 p.m.
Each team managed 6 hits and committed 2 errors. However, the bats swung in favor of the Lady Bobcats in this game.
Cierra Grice garned a walk to reach base in the first bat of night. Qy Wilson lined 1 to right for a single, and runners were at first and second with no outs. Abby Bristow bunted a pop-up that was caught by the third baseman for out 1. Logan Grice was sat down on a strike out while watching. Lexie Rogers walked to load the bases. Ny Wilson struck out swinging to end the scoring threat for Dillon in the top of the first inning.
Seneca’s S. Hayes hit a grounder to short for out 1. A. Scott hit a grounder to first for out 2. N. Windham hit 1 between third and short for a single. E. Williams lined 1 to short for out 3.
Paige Sherman led off for Dillon in the top of the second inning with a grounder to second for out 1. Chesney Caddell popped up a low 1 to the pitcher for out 2. Jenascia Lester hit a grounder to first for out 3. 3 up, 3 down.
A. Brown hit a grounder to first and arrived safely on an error to lead-off for Seneca in the bottom of the second inning. C. Crenshaw popped a short 1 fielded by Paige Sherman for out 1. Y. Hayes popped foul to Cierra Grice for out 2. M. Martin went down swinging for out 3. 3 up, 3 down.
Cierra Grice led off the top of the third inning with a grounder to the pitcher for out 1. Qy Wilson also hit a grounder to the pitcher for out 2. Abby Bristow hit a grounder to second for out 3. 3 up, 3 down.
Seneca’s L. Ransom arrived safely at first on an error to second. S. Hayes had a sac bunt to move Ransom to second. A. Scott had a sac grounder to the pitcher to move Ransom to third. N. Windham hit a fly to center for out 3.
The game remained knotted at 0 at the end of 3 innings.
Dillon’s Logan Grice popped 1 over third that was caught by the shortstop, N. Windham, who made a great play for the out. Lexie Rogers hit a grounder by third that was chased down by N. Windham. However, Rogers arrived safely at first. Ny Wilson hit a sac grounder to first, and Rogers advanced to second. Paige Sherman hit a grounder to short for out 3.
E. Williams hit a fly foul to third for the first out for Seneca in the bottom of the fourth inning. A. Brown lined 1 to right on the line for a single. C. Crenshaw dropped 1 in over second to place runners on first and second with only 1 out. Y. Hayes hit a grounder to third and Williams was called out at third. However, that was changed to safe. M. Martin struck out watching for out 2. L. Ransom hit 1 up the middle and 2 runs scored to give Seneca a 2-0 lead with runners on second and third. A run scored, and S. Hayes was thrown out at second to end the inning. However, Seneca had a 3-0 lead over Dillon.
Chesney Caddell lined 1 to short for out 1 for Dillon. Jenascia Lester hit a grounder to first for out 2. Cierra Grice lined 1 to short that was slowed but Grice was safe at first. Qy Wilson hit a slow grounder to third and arrived safely at first to place runners on first and second. Abby Bristow hit a grounder by third and a run scored to cut Seneca’s lead to 2 runs, 3-1. Logan Grice popped up to the pitcher for out 3.
Seneca’s A. Scott fouled 1 to the catcher for out 1. N. Windham hit 1 between left and center for a double. E. Williams hit a fly behind short that Abby Bristow caught for out 2. N. Windham was thrown out at third to end inning 5.
Lexie Rogers struck out swinging for out 1. Ny Wilson also went down swinging for out 2. Paige Sherman arrived safely at first on an error to short. Ny Wilson stole second. Chesney Caddell struck out watching.
A. Brown lined 1 to right that Caddell made a great catch for out 1. C. Crenshaw flew out to deep left for out 2. Y. Hayes lined 1 to short for out 3. 3 up, 3 down.
Jenascia Lester struck out watching for out 1 in the top of the seventh inning for Dillon. Cierra Grice hit a high fly to deep left for out 2. Qy Wilson garnered a walk. Abby Bristow lined 1 to right for a single. The tying runs were on first and second. Logan Grice struck out watching.
A. Brown picked up the win. She pitched 7 innings and allowed 6 hits, walked 3, struck ou 7 and allowed 1 earned run.
Paige Sherman was tagged with the loss. She pitched 6 innings and allowed 6 hits, walked no one, stuck out 2, and allowed 3 earned runs.
Seneca’s L. Ransom had a double and 2 rbi in her 2 at-bats while S. Hayes had a ssingle and a rbi in her 2 at-bats. N. Windham had a double and a single in her 3 at-bats. C. Crenshaw and A. Brown each had a single in 3 at-bats.
Dillon’s Abby Bristow had a double, a single, and a rbi in her 4 at-bats. Qy Wilson had 2 singles in 3 at-bats. Lexie Rogers had a single in 2 at-bats. Cierra Gric had a single in 3 at-bats.
Thank you, Dillon Lady Wildcats, for a great season. Congratulations, 3-A Lower State Champions!

The Dillon Lady Wildcats suffered a 6-5 loss to the Seneca Lady Bobcats in Seneca on Thursday, June 3.
The Lady Wildcats could not erase the 4-run deficit in the third inning.
Dillon’s Cierra Grice flew out to left in the lead-off position in the top of the first inning followed by Qy Wilson who struck out swinging while Abby Bristow struck out watching.
In the bottom of the first inning, S. Hayes hit a grounder to short for a single. A. Scott had a sac bunt to third to move S. Hayes to second. N. Windham reaches on a dropped third strike, and S. Hayes advanced to third. E. Williams hit a home run to pick up 3 rbi and give Seneca a 3-0 lead. A. Brown hit a grounder to second for out 2, and C. Crenshaw struck out swinging for out 3.
In the top of the second inning Logan Grice connected for a single on a line drive to left followed by Lexie Rogers who popped out in foul territory to the catcher. Paige Sherman hit a grounder to short for a single, and Logan Grice advanced to second. Chesney Caddell struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Y. Hayes struck out swinging followed by M. Martin who struck out swinging. L. Ranson hits a grounder to third and was safe at first. S. Hayes hit a fly to left for out 3.
In the top of third inning, Jenascia Lester bunted to third for out 1. Cierra Grice hit a grounder to third for out 2, and Qy Wilson bunted to third for out 3.
In the bottom of the third inning, A. Scott popped out to short. N. Windham hit a home run over center to give Seneca a 4-0 lead over Dillon. E. Williams hit a fly in foul territory to left field for out 2, and A. Brown lined one to third for out 3.
In the top of the fourth inning, Abby Bristow hit a grounder to right for a single. She stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Logan Grice hit a grounder to right for a single, and Abby Bristow scored to cut Seneca’s lead to 3, 4-1. Lexie Rogers hit a line drive to right for a double, and Logan Grice advanced to third. Ny Wilson hit into a fielder’s choice on the second baseman’s throw to home. Logan Grice scored, and Rogers advanced to third. Seneca led 4-2. Ny Wilson stole second. Paige Sherman hit a grounder to short and was out at first. Lexie Rogers scored while Ny Wilson stayed at second. Seneca’s lead was cut to 1, 4-3. Chesney Caddell garnered a walk, and Ny Wilson remained at second. Jenascia Lester lined one to right for a single, and Ny Wilson scored. Chesney Caddell advanced to third. Cierra Grice struck out swinging. Chesney Caddell remained at third, and Jenascia Lester remained at first. Qy Wilson hit a grounder to first for out 3. After 3 and 1/2 innings of play, the score was knotted at 4.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, C. Crenshaw struck out swinging. Y. Hayes struck out watching, and M. Martin struck out swinging.
In the top of the fifth inning, Abby Bristow hit a fly to center for out 1. Logan Grice lined out to right, and Lexie Rogers struck out swinging.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, L. Ranson struck out swinging for out 1. S. Hayes hit an inside the park home run to right to give Seneca a 5-4 lead. A. Scott hit a grounder to the pitcher for out 2. N. Windham flew out in foul territory at third base.
In the top of the sixth inning, Ny Wilson hit a grounder to the pitcher for out 1. Paige Sherman hit a fly to left for out 2. Chesney Caddell garnered a walk. Jenascia Lester struck out watching to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, E. Williams popped up one to third for out 1. A. Brown hit a home run to give Seneca a 6-4 lead. C. Crenshaw hit a fly to right for out 2. Y. Hayes hit a grounder to the pitcher for out 3. At the end of 6 innings of play, Seneca was up by 2 runs, 6-4.
In the top of the seventh inning, Cierra Grice hit a line drive to left for a lead-off single. Qy Wilson hit a grounder to short for the fielder’s choice, and Grice was out at second for out 1. Abby Bristow was hit by a pitch to place runners on first and second with one out. Logan Grice struck out swinging for out 2. Qy Wilson stole third while Lexie Rogers was at bat. Abby Bristow stole second. On a full count, Lexie Rogers garnered a walk to load the bases. Qy Wilson stole home to cut the lead to 1 run, 6-5. Abby Bristow stole third. Ny Wilson hit a grounder to the pitcher to end the threat.
E. Williams picked up the win for Seneca. She pitched 7 innings and walked 3, struck out 7, and allowed 5 earned runs. Paige Sherman took the loss. She pitched 6 innings and allowed 5 hits, walked no one, struck out 8, and allowed 6 runs of which 5 were earned.
Dillon committed 1 error in the game while Seneca did not commit an error.
Dillon stole 7 bases in the game with Abby Bristow with 3 of those. Seneca’s E. Williams had a home run and 3 rbi in her 3 at-bats while N. Windham had a home run and a rbi in 3 at-bats. A. Brown had a home run and a rbi in 3 at-bats. S. Hayes had a triple, a single, and a rbi in 3 at-bats.
Dillon’s Logan Grice had 2 singles and a rbi in her 4 at-bats. Paige Sherman had a single and a rbi in her 3 at-bats. Jenascia Lester had a single and a rbi in her 3 at-bats. Ny Wilson picked up a rbi in her 4 at-bats. Lexie Rogers had a double in 3 at-bats while Abby Bristow had a single in 3 at-bats. Cierra Grice had a single in 4 at-bats.
Game 3 was played at Chapin High School on Saturday, June 5, at 6:00 p.m.

The Gators captured the 1-A State Championship with an 8-2 win over the visiting Dixie Lady Hornets on Friday, June 4, in Lake View in varsity softball.
Lake View retired the Lady Hornets in 3 up, 3 down in the top of the first inning.
Lake View’s Spivey Evans garnered a walk for the first base runner of the game for the Lady Wild Gators. Emma King got on board with a bunt to have runners at first and second. Raven Locklear had a sac grounder to third with Spivey Evans crossing home plate for the first run of the game to give Lake View a 1-0 lead after 1 inning of play.
The Lady Hornets responded in the top of the second inning with Addie Smith getting a free pass to first with a walk to lead off the inning. Alana Mitchell advanced the runner to second with a sac bunt. Haley Hill hit a grounder up the middle and slid safely into second as Addie Smith scored to tie the game at 1.
Lake View was retired in 1-2-3 fashion in the bottom of the second inning.
Dixie’s Reaganne Stoll bunted and arrived at first safely. Weslyn Bensel flew out to left. Ashton Crocker bunted and arrived safely to first on a throwing error to place runners on the corners. Matilyn Cox had a sac fly to center, and Reaganne Stoll crossed home plate to give Dixie a 2-1 lead after 2 and 1/2 innings.
Lake View’s Baxleigh Arnette led off the bottom of the third inning with a walk followed by Spivey Evans who hit a home run to give Lake View a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the fourth inning, Alana Mitchell led off with single up the middle. Ashton Crocker flew out to deep short for out 1. Merri Beth Jacks was hit by a pitch followed by Meagan Hill who bunted to short and was out at first to close out the top of the third inning with Lake View with a 3-2 lead.
The Dixie Lady Hornets faced only 4 batters in the bottom of the fourth inning. Dixie’s Weslyn Bensel hit a hot grounder to short and was out at first due to the good fielding and throw of Baxleigh Arnette. Ashton Crocker was also retired with a grounder to short for out 2. Matilyn Cox hit a grounder over the first base line for a stand-up double. The inning ended with Matilyn Cox’s grounder to the pitcher.
Once again, Dixie faced only 4 Lake View batters in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Lake View Lady Wild Gators retired the Dixie Lady Hornets 3 up, 3 down in the top of the sixth inning.
Lake View’s Hollie Scott lined 1 to left for a lead-off single to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. Becca Cox had a sac bunt to third to advance Scott to second. Baylee Miller lined one by short for a single, and runners were on the corners. Cornelia Mace hit a blooper to the pitcher and was safe at first to load the bases. Zanasia McNeil hit a hot grounder between short and third, and Hollie Scott scored to give Lake View a 4-2 lead. The bases were once again loaded when Baxleigh Arnette lined 1 to left, and Zandasia McNeil was safe at home while Baylee Miller and Cornelia Mace also scored as Arnette picked up 3 rbi and ended up on third base. Spivey Evans hit a sac fly to left for the rbi to give Lake View an 8-2 lead after 6 innings.
Dixie’s Savannah Brock hit a grounder to third for the first out in the top of the seventh inning. Reaganne Stoll garnered a walk. Weslyn Bensel flew out to second for out 2. Ashton Crocker struck out swinging to end the game as Lake View took the 1-A State Championship!

The Lake View Lady Wild Gators came from behind to defeat the Due West Lady Hornets 5-3 in the first round of the Class A varsity softball state championship played in Due West on Tuesday, June 1.
These two teams met in 2019 for the Class A state championship with the series going to 3 games with Dixie coming out on top.
This year, Lake View hopes to take the crown in 2 straight games as the two teams will meet Thursday, June 3, at 6:00 p.m. in Lake View. If a third game is necessary, it will be played on a neutral field.
Lake View placed 3 runs on the scoreboard in the third inning.
Lake View managed 8 hits with Becca Cox going 3 for 4. Hollie Scott managed a hit and a rbi in 4 at-bats. Baxleigh Arnette was 1 for 2 with a rbi. Zandasia McNeil got a hit in 2 at-bats. Although Raven Locklear was walked twice, she still managed a hit in 1 at-bat. Baylee Miller was 1 for 3 while Hollie Scott went 1 for 4 with 2 rbi.
Raven Locklear picked up the win. She pitched 7 innings and struck out 7, walked 1, allowed 8 hits, and allowed 3 earned runs.
Dixie managed 6 hits in the game with Weslyn Bensel who had 3 of those hits including 2 home runs in 4 at-bats.
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