(Nick Smiley shown with American Legion Southeast Regional Championship trophy)
(Gaffney Post 109 Southeast Regional champions)
SUMTER — Gaffney is headed to the American Legion World Series, Indians Nick Smiley comes in to secure victory.
It's not a long trip. Only 20 miles.
But what a big one.
Every round of this baseball postseason is actually getting closer to home. State champion Gaffney won the Southeast Regional, 14-6, Monday night at Riley Park against Bradenton, Fla., and earned a spot in the eight-team World Series at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.
Gaffney will open 8:30 p.m. Friday against New Hampshire champion Bedford. It will be the shortest road trip of the season. All the league games are further away.
“I think it's a great thing,” Gaffney head coach Zach Clary said. “Hopefully, it will help us and we can get a lot of people to come out and support us.”
Gaffney, which came into the final day on a 10-game winning streak, had two chances to win but only needed the first. It was 10-3 after three innings.
Smiles began cracking in a relaxed dugout.
“We knew as soon as we got ahead that we were going to stay ahead,” said Gaffney second baseman and leadoff hitter Jared Mills, who scored five runs in the first six innings.
“In the eighth,” Clary said, “I looked at (assistant coach) Bubba (Wright) and he gave me a look like, ‘All right. This is really happening.' ”
Post 109 will become only the fourth team from South Carolina to make the World Series in the past three decades. Sumter was there in 2006 and 2008, Richland in 2000.
South Carolina's only national champion was Spartanburg in 1936, when the tournament was played in Duncan Park Stadium. Spartanburg finished runner-up in 1938 and Columbia in 1931. Another local team got close in 1957. The Final Four that year was Cincinnati; Portland, Ore.; Washington D.C.; and Greer.
Chesnee High School product and Lander University signee Colby Painter was named the MVP of the Southeastern Regional. He had a quiet 0-for-4 on the final night, but hit .439 for the tournament and was the only player with two home runs. He also pitched five-plus shutout innings of relief Sunday to win against Bradenton, 8-5, and put Gaffney in position.
“I think the whole team deserved MVP,” Painter said. “Everybody contributed in every game. We picked each other up and played great baseball. It's been a lot of fun.”
Gaffney had been to the state championship tournament six times in seven years but had never in program history won the title.
“We just wanted to get to state again,” Clary said. “Now we're going to the World Series. It's crazy. … We showed that we were the best team in the state. Then we showed we are the best team in the Southeast. Now we can see if we are the best team in the country.”
“We are a Cinderella story, I think,” Painter said. “Coming into the playoffs, we knew we had talent but we didn't know we had enough to do what we've done.”
Bryan Munsterman hit a home run to ignite a four-run second inning in which Mills and Dylan Huskey had doubles and Colton Grant beat out a perfect bunt. Gaffney scored five runs with two out in the third. Huskey, Grant, Cody Turner had hits before Jordan Garrett knocked in the final two runs with a sharp single. For the second straight game, Huskey was 3-for-4. Munsterman, Turner and Garrett had two hits each.
Michael Wright pitched the first four innings and left with a 10-3 lead. Kaleb Earls went the next three and Nick Smiley finished with two shutout frames. He ended it with a fly ball and was immediately buried under a celebratory pile for the second week in a row. Smiley also closed out the state championship against Greenville.
“On the bottom again,” he said.
That means Gaffney finished on top.
It's not a long trip. Only 20 miles.
But what a big one.
Every round of this baseball postseason is actually getting closer to home. State champion Gaffney won the Southeast Regional, 14-6, Monday night at Riley Park against Bradenton, Fla., and earned a spot in the eight-team World Series at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.
Gaffney will open 8:30 p.m. Friday against New Hampshire champion Bedford. It will be the shortest road trip of the season. All the league games are further away.
“I think it's a great thing,” Gaffney head coach Zach Clary said. “Hopefully, it will help us and we can get a lot of people to come out and support us.”
Gaffney, which came into the final day on a 10-game winning streak, had two chances to win but only needed the first. It was 10-3 after three innings.
Smiles began cracking in a relaxed dugout.
“We knew as soon as we got ahead that we were going to stay ahead,” said Gaffney second baseman and leadoff hitter Jared Mills, who scored five runs in the first six innings.
“In the eighth,” Clary said, “I looked at (assistant coach) Bubba (Wright) and he gave me a look like, ‘All right. This is really happening.' ”
Post 109 will become only the fourth team from South Carolina to make the World Series in the past three decades. Sumter was there in 2006 and 2008, Richland in 2000.
South Carolina's only national champion was Spartanburg in 1936, when the tournament was played in Duncan Park Stadium. Spartanburg finished runner-up in 1938 and Columbia in 1931. Another local team got close in 1957. The Final Four that year was Cincinnati; Portland, Ore.; Washington D.C.; and Greer.
Chesnee High School product and Lander University signee Colby Painter was named the MVP of the Southeastern Regional. He had a quiet 0-for-4 on the final night, but hit .439 for the tournament and was the only player with two home runs. He also pitched five-plus shutout innings of relief Sunday to win against Bradenton, 8-5, and put Gaffney in position.
“I think the whole team deserved MVP,” Painter said. “Everybody contributed in every game. We picked each other up and played great baseball. It's been a lot of fun.”
Gaffney had been to the state championship tournament six times in seven years but had never in program history won the title.
“We just wanted to get to state again,” Clary said. “Now we're going to the World Series. It's crazy. … We showed that we were the best team in the state. Then we showed we are the best team in the Southeast. Now we can see if we are the best team in the country.”
“We are a Cinderella story, I think,” Painter said. “Coming into the playoffs, we knew we had talent but we didn't know we had enough to do what we've done.”
Bryan Munsterman hit a home run to ignite a four-run second inning in which Mills and Dylan Huskey had doubles and Colton Grant beat out a perfect bunt. Gaffney scored five runs with two out in the third. Huskey, Grant, Cody Turner had hits before Jordan Garrett knocked in the final two runs with a sharp single. For the second straight game, Huskey was 3-for-4. Munsterman, Turner and Garrett had two hits each.
Michael Wright pitched the first four innings and left with a 10-3 lead. Kaleb Earls went the next three and Nick Smiley finished with two shutout frames. He ended it with a fly ball and was immediately buried under a celebratory pile for the second week in a row. Smiley also closed out the state championship against Greenville.
“On the bottom again,” he said.
That means Gaffney finished on top.
