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| Elton Pollock's PC teams have been a frequent thorn in the side of some of the state's premier programs. (PC photo) |
Winners
* As a student-athlete, Elton Pollock played for the Tim Corbin and Doug Kovash, the first two coaches to lead the Presbyterian program after it was resurrected in 1988. He then became the third head coach in the school's NCAA Division I history. On Friday, he passed immediate predecessor Kovash to become the school's winningest coach of its modern era. Pollock has 321 career wins.* Columbia International is a third-year NAIA program, but coach Jonathan Johnson's squad pulled off a special feat over the weekend. The Rams handed national No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan its first loss after 22 wins on Friday, then staged a four-run rally in the seventh inning to claim a series win over the Bulldogs in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader.
* Longtime Upstate residents know that for years Bob Jones had, and in many ways relished, the tag as the World's Most Unusual University. The school has changed some things in recent years, including the addition of intercollegiate athletics. BJU announced the addition of baseball a few years back, with 2021 as the start date. Former minor-leaguer Brent Casteel worked to get the program ready, but early results on the field didn't show much tangible success. The Bruins lost their first 14 game before beating Johnson University, 5-3, in Game 2 of a Saturday doubleheader at Conestee Park. While BJU has students from many states and countries, it was a couple of Upstate residents who played crucial roles in the win. Gaffney native Riley Ramsey had a three-run double to put BJU ahead and Ethan Rogers from Moore closed out the game with solid relief pitching.
* USC Upstate didn't crack after dropping a Big South Conference series at Campbell a week ago after starting the season unbeaten. Instead, the Spartans bounced back with a 3-1 week in the league. Upstate and Charleston Southern, also coming off a 3-1 week, share first place.
* COVID-19 halted Morris' 2020 season after three games, all losses. Throw in nine losses to end the 2019 season and two more to kick off 2021, and it had been 101 weeks since a Hornets win Morris hadn't won a game since a 6-5 decision over Voorhees in the opener of a March 26, 2019 doubleheader. That changed Friday, when Morris beat Benedict, 12-6, in the opener of a doubleheader at Riley Park in Sumter.
* James Parker showed why he is one of the most reliable bats in the Clemson lineup, homering in all three games of the Tigers' much-needed series win over Virginia Tech. His final blast came in the eighth inning when the Tigers were in danger of dropping to 2-7 in the ACC.. He turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 victory.
* Longtime Upstate residents know that for years Bob Jones had, and in many ways relished, the tag as the World's Most Unusual University. The school has changed some things in recent years, including the addition of intercollegiate athletics. BJU announced the addition of baseball a few years back, with 2021 as the start date. Former minor-leaguer Brent Casteel worked to get the program ready, but early results on the field didn't show much tangible success. The Bruins lost their first 14 game before beating Johnson University, 5-3, in Game 2 of a Saturday doubleheader at Conestee Park. While BJU has students from many states and countries, it was a couple of Upstate residents who played crucial roles in the win. Gaffney native Riley Ramsey had a three-run double to put BJU ahead and Ethan Rogers from Moore closed out the game with solid relief pitching.
* USC Upstate didn't crack after dropping a Big South Conference series at Campbell a week ago after starting the season unbeaten. Instead, the Spartans bounced back with a 3-1 week in the league. Upstate and Charleston Southern, also coming off a 3-1 week, share first place.
* COVID-19 halted Morris' 2020 season after three games, all losses. Throw in nine losses to end the 2019 season and two more to kick off 2021, and it had been 101 weeks since a Hornets win Morris hadn't won a game since a 6-5 decision over Voorhees in the opener of a March 26, 2019 doubleheader. That changed Friday, when Morris beat Benedict, 12-6, in the opener of a doubleheader at Riley Park in Sumter.
* James Parker showed why he is one of the most reliable bats in the Clemson lineup, homering in all three games of the Tigers' much-needed series win over Virginia Tech. His final blast came in the eighth inning when the Tigers were in danger of dropping to 2-7 in the ACC.. He turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 victory.
* Winthrop got back on the field for the first time in almost three weeks and didn't appear to show much rust, winning two of three at Longwood in Big South play.
* Limestone got its first Big South Conference series win of the season with a comeback win over Virginia Wise in Sunday's second game.
* Rainouts and COVID-19 related cancellations involving opponents have made it tough for Spartanburg Methodist to get in much of a groove. But the Pioneers were able to put together a three-game winning streak - matching its season high - this week and moved to 4-2 in NJCAA Region 10.
Losers
* Erskine was three outs away from a doubleheader sweep of Belmont Abbey on Friday when the Crusaders scored five runs in the ninth to salvage a split. The Flying Fleet followed that up by being swept on Saturday, missing a chance to pick up more ground in the Conference Carolinas race.* North Greenville also stumbled to a 1-3 weekend in Conference Carolinas. The Crusaders lost twice Saturday, then won Game 1 Sunday. After trailing much of Game 2, NGU got a two-run homer in the ninth to tie the score, only to see the host Trojans win in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the inning.
* USC Lancaster ran into a red-hot Louisburg team this weekend and lost all four games, one on a no-hitter.
Some of both
* Benedict was just 1-2 for the week, but the Tigers looked like a Selwyn Young-coached team in one aspect: stolen bases. The Tigers have stolen 42 of 43 bases in four games this season. Young's teams have led NCAA Division II in stolen bases several times.* Coming off a no-hit loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, South Carolina looked in the early going of Sunday's game that it was going to make a strong bid for a seventh straight loss. A mental mistake on a routine grounder contributed to a three-run first inning for the Commodores, and the lead later reached 4-0 as the Gamecocks continued a three-week trend of anemic at-bats during the early going. With closer Brett Kerry having had no chances to save either of the first two games, coach Mark Kingston opened to put the right-hand in during the third inning on Sunday. After allowing an RBI triple, Kerry was masterful the rest of the way, striking out 10 in 5 2/3 innings. Carolina's offense came alive just enough produce a 6-5 win and make the trip home from Nashville more tolerable. Have the Gamecocks righted the ship? A midweek game with The Citadel and a weekend series with SEC East rival Florida may provide answers.
* Coastal Carolina's bats went silent midway through Saturday's game at West Virginia, and the Chanticleers paid for that when the Mountaineers rallied for a 5-4 win. Otherwise, Coastal would have been looking at a 3-0 road weekend.
* Voorhees got clubbed, 16-4, in Friday's series opener at Edward Waters. The visiting Tigers bounced back with a 1-0 win on Saturday before dropping the series finale.
* Voorhees got clubbed, 16-4, in Friday's series opener at Edward Waters. The visiting Tigers bounced back with a 1-0 win on Saturday before dropping the series finale.
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