Post 114 rips Lake City 9-2
Last Updated on 12/1/2008
Published on 7/10/2008
By R.G. Greene
rgreene@gtowntimes.com
It was a happy homecoming for Josh McElwee and Kevin Rufus on the Andrews High baseball diamond on Tuesday.
Having spent the past year playing college baseball - McElwee at Newberry College, Rufus at USC Sumter - the Yellow Jacket alums returned to their old stomping grounds with a vengeance. The duo combined for four hits and seven RBIs as the Georgetown American Legion squad took the measure of Lake City by a count of 9-2.
"It was the first time we've been able to do something like (play at Andrews High)," said Georgetown coach Jeff Gregory, whose team played the balance of its home schedule at Waccamaw High this season. "I think Josh and Kevin were excited to be back where they had played (in high school). They wanted to play well."
McElwee started Post 114's offense in the opening frame with a run-scoring double that gave them a 1-0 lead and Trey Altman - who also finished the night with two hits - followed with an RBI single that increased the lead to 2-0.
Georgetown (10-6, 6-4 League II) finished its scoring in the fourth, picking up seven runs. Rufus' two-run single started the outburst and McElwee's grand slam home run brought in four more runs. Trey Thames' RBI single provided Post 114's final tally.
"At any given time we're capable of having an inning like that," Gregory said. "We've been able to score runs in bunches this season."
Post 114 had last played on July 1, and Tuesday's win was a stark contrast to the last time they had played Lake City following a layoff. In that game - a 7-5 loss on June 25 - Post 114 had committed seven errors after having been idle due to several rainouts.
"We were much better," Gregory said. "We had a couple of practices so we could stay fresh and those seemed to benefit us. We were ready to play (on Tuesday).
Zack Hagaman pitched 4 2/3 innings to earn the win, allowing four hits and striking out five.
With the win, Georgetown closes to within one game of Lake City in the League II standings. Third-place Conway is 5-5 in the conference.
Post 114 is scheduled to play at Lake City on Thursday and will wrap up the regular season at Murrells Inlet on Friday. Both games are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
"To have a shot at a league championship we're probably going to have to win out," Gregory said. "We needed to win (on Tuesday) and now we've got be ready to come back on Thursday and be ready to go.
"Lake City is a tough place for any team to play. It's a smaller ballpark and pretty much anything can happen there. No lead is ever safe."
