By CHRIS LANE
Special to the Star & Enterprise
Pee Dee’s baseball history had been one of recent failure, having not produced a playoff win in anyone’s recent memory — that is until Hugh Collins’ band of young heroes chose to finally stand pat and plant their flag on the field of success.
Hosting their first ever playoff series this past week, the Golden Eagles invited Dorchester to Mullins. The three-game set began at the home of the Auctioneers because there is no lighting on the Pee Dee Academy field.
But, the unfamiliar terrain did not rattle Collins’ young team.
Game one of the three - game series saw Dennis Moore come out blistering hot on the mound.
Moore weaved seven innings of complete game mastery, shutting down Dorchester with 14 K’s and allowing no runs.
Moore also led the stampede with his bat, totalling three base knocks and igniting a 12-hit parade and a 9-0 rout. The playoff victory was the Golden Eagles’ first in any present fans recollection.
It seemed as though some of the momentum would carry over. But, when game two began, the blue and gold bats fell silent and the defense fell apart.
“Game one, we hit the ball well and played great defense, our recipe for success all year,” Collins remarked following the double-header. “The second game was the exact opposite.”
Kevin Thomas struggled to find his control on the pitching rubber, the defense compounded the problems with error after error and the result was a 13-4 Dorchester win that forced a deciding game three on the road.
Thomas took the hill in this one, determined to atone for the prior day’s struggles. He did that and more, holding Dorchester to one run on while striking out three in four innings.
When Thomas gave up the ball in the fifth, Charlie Fincannon came on.
“He pitched two innings and gave up one run, but did a great job considering he had only started one game all year,” Collins said of the junior. “He had prepared every practice to pitch and it showed when we needed him the most. He kept us in the game and gave us an opportunity to win, we just didn’t take advantage of it.”
Trailing in the sixth, Pee Dee had two runners on with one out and could not score, then went down 1-2-3 in the seventh, falling by a 3-2 score and thus ending one of the most successful years of Golden Eagle baseball.
“I was proud that we made the playoffs for the second year in a row. I hope with my tenure over at PD that I have laid a foundation that will be stable and built upon. I would like to thank PDA for the opportunity to work with the kids and make a difference in their lives,” the Golden Eagle coach said at the end of the game.
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