Gaffney knocks off Wando for title

GAFFNEY — Please forgive Gaffney freshman Michael Wright if he didn't do as well on his algebra exam Thursday as he could have.

His mind was elsewhere.

"I have an excuse," Wright said.

Yes, a golden (medal) excuse.

Wright threw six solid innings for the Indians, limiting Wando to three hits as the Indians clinched the Class AAAA state championship with a 4-2 win at Commissioner's Field.

"He's got nerves of steel. Nothing bothers him," said first-year coach Jeff Osment. "He's not a freshman in our eyes. He loves to compete, and that's exactly what he did."

The Indians (22-6) closed out the best-of-three series and won the school's first state title in baseball. They beat Wando, 4-1, Tuesday in Mount Pleasant.

Wright, who found out Wednesday that he would throw, was placed in a tough situation for his second straight start. Last Friday, Wright threw the sixth inning of the first game against Boiling Springs and then a complete game in the Game 2 victory.

"If you would have told me that at the beginning of the year (that I'd be here), I wouldn't have believed you," he said. "I knew they had faith in me and they were confident in me."

He got some early help as the Indians scored three in the first inning.

McCrae Norton led off with a single to right field, Cameron Culp walked and Josh Mata singled to left to load the bases.

Tyler Wilson hit a high chopper over Wando third baseman Bradley Evsich's head that shortstop Connor Bright snagged too late to throw anyone out.

Then Gaffney shortstop Michael Huey turned on an inside fastball and hit it down the third base line for a two-run double.

"There were a couple of hiccups in the first inning that we couldn't avoid," Wando coach Jeff Blankenship said. "We came back and battled back the rest of the game."

Gaffney scored its final run in the fourth inning after Thomas Goode walked, was moved over when John Michaels reached on an error and was plated on a single by Norton.

Wando (28-4) put two runs on the board in the fifth inning. Bright and Drew Cisco each walked, then Robbie Dodds singled to load the bases. Daniel Aldrich singled to right field to score both runs.

"We are proud," Blankenship said. "This is the best team Wando has had in terms of win total and making it to the state championship. These guys had a lot to be proud of."

The Warriors seemed to have a runner to lead off the seventh inning when Cisco hit a dribbler in front of the plate that Culp picked up, but threw the ball into right field.

As Cisco ran to first base, the home plate and first base umpire each called him out. Cisco ran to third base before he knew what happened.

"I didn't see it," Blankenship said. "The call was that he was clearly inside the (base line)."

"

The umpire was explaining that he realizes it is the state championship game and it's the seventh inning and he wouldn't do it unless he was 100 percent sure. I was waving the runners around. I wasn't looking at where he was running.

"That's one run. We shouldn't have gotten in that position in the first place."