DARLINGTON — Darlington and Hartsville battled the rain and each other in baseball action Wednesday night.
But it was Hartsville who managed the elements better.
The Red Foxes combined clutch hitting and spotty defense for a 9-2 victory at Williamson Athletic Field.
“We talked all week about coming to play every night,” Hartsville coach Tony Gainey said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a region or non-region game, you come to play.”
The Red Foxes (8-4) broke the contest open in the top of the seventh thanks to the wildness of Darlington relievers. Will Lucas raced home on Cayden Anderson’s third wild pitch of the frame to up his team’s lead to 4-2.
Darlington coach Mike Rogers went to his bullpen once again, but Brandon Kelly uncorked two more wild pitches, allowing two more runs to score. Adam Peterson chased Kelly with an RBI single to hand the Red Foxes a 7-2 lead.
Rhodes Dickerson then entered the game to pitch, and was greeted by a two-run double from Hunter Privette to cap the six-run outburst and give Hartsville a 9-2 advantage.
“You just want to get it over with and start hitting again,” Rogers said. “It was one of those bad innings you never want to have.”
Lucas finished 3-for-5 to lead Hartsville, and Brandon Beans added two hits. Beans also excelled on the mound, allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and a walk in a complete-game win.
“He’s a competitor,” Gainey said of Beans. “He comes to play every night and that’s what we’ve come to expect from him.”
The Red Foxes jumped out to an early lead with some timely hitting as Lucas laced a Stephen Woodring offering into left field to score Dylan Usher and give Hartsville a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Hartsville increased its lead in the fifth thanks to some shaky Falcon defense. With Beans standing on second, Privette grounded to second, but Josh Gainey couldn’t handle the ball. Beans scored on the error, and the Red Foxes had a 2-0 lead.
Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Jent Jones grounded to short. Cole Norwood’s throw to first pulled Dickerson off the bag. The second miscue of the frame allowed Privette to score for a 3-0 advantage.
Woodring took the loss for the Falcons, allowing three runs, none earned, on five hits in six innings pitched. He struck out two and walked two.
“Steven did an outstanding job tonight,” Rogers said. “(His performance) says a lot about our future.”
Beans cruised through the Darlington lineup before running into trouble in the bottom of the sixth. After pinch-hitter Shaq Dubose singled, Cam McRae blasted a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run shot that sliced the Hartsville advantage to 3-2.
Hartsville returns to Region 6-4A play on Friday when they travel to Sumter while Darlington (4-3) hosts Crestwood. First pitch for both games is 6:30 p.m.
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