Wando edges Conway to advance to state finals

MOUNT PLEASANT — It seemed a foregone conclusion that Wando's baseball team would beat Conway on Friday night and advance to the Class AAAA State Championship Series.

And indeed it came to pass, but not without drama.

The Warriors (28-2) kept the home crowd in suspense until the bottom of the eighth when Bradley Evsich singled home the winning run in a 9-8 victory over the Tigers (19-12).

"We work on (extra-inning situations) in practice, but until you get in a game like that, you don't know what it's going to be like," said Wando coach Jeff Blankenship. "It was a tremendous effort."

Wando had not played an extra-inning game all season, but now the Warriors can relax until Monday when they host Gaffney, which won 9-8 and 4-3 over Boiling Springs, in the first game of the best-of-3 championship series.

Wando looked like it had Friday night's game against Conway well in in hand, leading 7-4, but Conway rallied with four runs in the sixth to take an 8-7 lead.

The Warriors tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Jordan Eysen singled, advanced to third on a single to right by Evsich and scored on a wild pitch. That set the stage for Evsich's latter heroics. His game-winning hit came off Conway ace Colby Holmes.

And not only did Evsich wind up with the game-winning hit, he also got the victory in relief for the Warriors.

"I couldn't ask for anything else, really," said Evsich, a senior who started the game at third base before moving to the mound.

Blankenship certainly wasn't asking anything else out of Evsich, who finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI and also reached base twice on walks.

"What a tremendous competitor he is," Blankenship said. "You love to see a senior come through like that."

Josh Hardwick's RBI single put Conway ahead 1-0 in the first, but Wando roared back with six runs in the bottom of the second on a two-out rally.

Daniel Aldrich struck the big blow of the inning with a grand slam to right. Connor Bright and Robbie Dodds also had RBI singles in the inning.

Conway made it 6-4 with three runs in the third, highlighted by Clay Altman's two-run double with two out.

Wando added a run in the fourth on Drew Cisco's RBI single to right to move ahead 7-4.