Last Updated on 12/1/2008

Published on 4/24/2008

By R.G. Greene

rgreene@gtowntimes.com

Ben Hutson's bases-clearing double was the difference for Cheraw on Thursday, as the Braves opened the Class AA District 6 playoffs with a 5-3 victory at Waccamaw.

Ben Tillman, John Stokes and Aaron Miller drew walks in the seventh inning for Cheraw and, with two outs, Hutson drove a 1-2 pitch to the centerfield fence. He would later cross the plate himself following a wild pitch and the Braves will move on to Bishop England to continue the playoffs on Saturday.

Waccamaw will host Edisto tonight at 6:30 p.m. - BE defeated Edisto 12-1 on Thursday.

"This was typical playoff game; it went right down to the wire," Waccamaw coach Jeff Gregory said. "They were able to execute at the end better than we were and that is what wins games like this."

Cheraw starting pitcher Preston Keith and Waccamaw counterpart Zack Hagaman controlled most of the game, neither allowing a run through five innings.

Keith earned the win, working six innings and allowing only one run and three hits.

Hagaman pitched into the sixth inning, yielding just a run on four hits.

"Zack did an excellent job," Gregory said. "That's the best he's looked all year. He's only a sophomore, but he handled the pressure well."

Miller got Cheraw on the board in the sixth. He walked to start the inning, worked his way to third after a couple of wild pitches then stole home.

Dwight Guthrie provided the answer for the Warriors in the bottom of the frame, belting a two-out RBI double that tied the game at 1-1.

Kevin Anderson's two-run triple got Waccamaw to within two in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was as close as the Warriors would get.

Base-running errors proved costly in the inning, as Waccamaw (12-13) had one runner thrown out at the plate and another picked off second base.

"Those are things that shouldn't happen," Gregory said. "It's hard to get away with mistakes like that."

GEORGETOWN 10, STALL 0: Kyle Ward allowed just one hit, a single in the sixth inning, in blanking Stall in the opening round of the state Class AAA baseball playoffs at Mike Johnson Stadium Thursday.

Georgetown jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and rode the pitching of Ward (4-3) to victory while playing errorless baseball.

For Georgetown, Zack Moore was 3-for-3 with a triple, two steals and two RBIs. Alan Springs was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Georgetown will host the winner of the Airport-Lakewood game on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the second round.

Stall 000 000 0 - 0 1 2

Georgetown 500 311 x - 10 12 0

WP: Kyle Ward (4-3); LP: Mitch Eachues (3-4).

CARVERS BAY 8, HANNAH-PAMPLICO 0: Zack Smith belted two home runs and drove in four and Holden Taylor improved his record to 4-2 on the season as Carvers Bay started the Class A District 5 playoffs with an 8-0 victory over Hannah-Pamplico.

It was the first playoff win in school history for Carvers Bay's baseball team.

"It was a great night for our program and our players," Carvers Bay coach Will Tanner said. "Our players have put in a lot of hard work to get us to this point. Everyone is very happy."

Ryan Thompson finished 3-for-3 at the plate for the Bears (8-8) and Kyle Dennis was 2-for-4.

Carvers Bay will continue the playoffs on Saturday at Bamberg-Ehrhardt at 6 p.m.

WADE HAMPTON 16, ANDREWS 12: Wade Hampton got the win at home to start the Class AA District 8 playoffs.

Andrews (18-7) will continue the postseason on Saturday, hosting Loris. Loris lost to Pageland Central 4-3 on Thursday.

Softball

BUFORD 5, WACCAMAW 1: Jena Hallman pitched a complete game for Buford and helped her own cause with three hits and an RBI.

Nikki Legg scored Waccamaw's lone run in the sixth inning on an RBI groundout from Addie Avant.

Legg led Waccamaw at the plate with three hits. Brittany Shelly and Taylor Guthrie each finished 2-for-3.

Waccamaw (22-3) will continue the Class AA District 7 playoffs at home on Saturday against the loser of Thursday's Hanahan-Barnwell game.

Golf

The Andrews golf team finished runner-up in Region 6 AA Tuesday at Shadowmoss Plantation. The Yellow Jackets were led by senior Ridge Alford. The golf team will travel to Barnwell on May 5 to compete for the Lower State Championship. The team has a 10-4 record for the season.

Bishop England won the title and the Bishops A. Williams was medalist with a 76.

Bishop England (319): C. Valluzzo 79, S. Keane 82, Z. Grossman 82, Porter 85, Williams 76.

Andrews (365): Walt Poston 97, Ridge Alford 82, J.R. Tisdale 89, Clint Swails 97, Dustin Wilson 101.

Manning (375): N. Griffith 87, H. Buddin 91, L. Hanm 101, C. Robertson 96, S. Sexton 112.

Hanahan (375): M. Phau 85, T. Michelle WD, C. Carson 101, W. Bryte 103, T. Stoner 112.

Boys soccer

ANDREWS 3, MARION 2: Juan Pulido scored a pair of goals and the Yellow Jackets improved their record to 9-9 on the season.

Girls soccer

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH 6, GEORGETOWN 3: Georgetown's Mary Teeter scored twice and Jessica Eaddy had one goal. Georgetown's Kim Farrell stopped 14 shots on goal.