Tuesday Roundup: Lions bounce back behind strong Varsity debut from Grover in 6-1 win over Chester; B-R baseball no-hit by Powell County, Fri/Scio softball falls to Trinity in Myrtle action

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — 24 hours after the Lions of Wellsville fell under the spell of a no-hit performance against their first piece of opposition down south, the chance to rebound was soon on the horizon. On Tuesday, their second game saw an explosion.

After an early deficit to South Carolina’s Chester High School, the bats re-emerged to deal some massive damage. Down by a single run through the first inning, Wellsville pieced together a five-run bonanza that saw five straight hits from the middle of their lineup come through in the clutch, propelling them forward into the lead where they would set until the game’s end, as they leaned on Karson Grover to lock up the win on the hill for his first career Varsity triumph by a 6-1 count at Carolina Forest High School.

“Coming into this tournament, I was a little nervous about how many games we had to play and whether or not we would have enough pitching,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “Karson gave us exactly what we needed. His strong outing today has set up our pitching plans for the days ahead, and we could not be in a much better spot. We have almost everyone available for our last two games here in Myrtle, and it’s because of him. He came up with big pitches in big spots to get us out of jams.”

With a 1-0 lead in the wagon for Chester through the opening frame of play, the Lions (1-1) would have to weave their way through a scoreless stand on both sides of the field to ultimately catch fire to their bats in the bottom of the second, accounting for five big runs to take the lead away, ultimately for good.

Starting with a lead-off single from Cooper Brockway.

“It’s great to get a win under your belt. It’s the first, and on a long trip like this, you come all this way and you want to have some of that success,” Delahunt said. “We were able to string the hits together to have our big inning, especially the middle and end of the lineup. Cooper led us off with a single up the middle, and everyone else followed behind. It was a great start, and we didn’t really look back from there.”

Amongst the highlights: A pair of first career Varsity hits for both Grover and Andrew Ordway, as they assisted a Wellsville attack that consisted of eight hits at the plate. Adding help along the way was Ty Vogel, who blasted a massive triple. At the front of the pack, Aidan Riley went 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored.

On the mound, Grover was superb with seven strikeouts and two walks through his first career start that stretched across five innings. Derek Coleman and Ty Vogel combined to add in three more strikeouts and one walk across the final two innings in relief to officially put away Wellsville’s first win of the season.

The Lions will now head for North Myrtle Beach High School for their final two games down south over the break, with their first beginning at 11:30 a.m. this afternoon, as they prepare to take on Chattanooga.

Chester 100 000 0 – 1 5 0

Wellsville 050 100 X – 6 8 0

Powell County (KY) 13, Bolivar-Richburg 0 (F-5)

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — Not often do you see the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines fall behind their opposition on the baseball diamond. When it came to their road trip down south for their first contest in Myrtle Beach, they were tested straight out of the gate on Tuesday.

Kentucky’s Powell County came, saw and conquered the opening sequences with ease against the Wolverines, posting an eight-run implosion that saw them set the tone, paving the way towards what was a no-hit performance against the reigning four-peat Section V Champions, taking a 13-0 decision after five innings.

Despite the defeat, the Wolverines (0-1) saw some excellent pitching from Caden Allen in relief, as he took on the rubber after Trey Buchholz made his season debut part way into the first inning, delivering with nine strikeouts and one walk. Buchholz would finish with two walks, as Powell County collected 13 total runs off nine hits at the plate.

Bolivar-Richburg returns to action this morning against Lexington Christian Academy, also representing Kentucky, at 11:30 a.m.

Powell County 801 04 – 13 9 0

Bolivar-Richburg 000 00 – 0 0 6

SOFTBALL

Trinity (KY) 12, Friendship/Scio 1

MYRTLE BEACH, SC — The Friendship/Scio ladies engaged in a tight battle with Kentucky’s Trinity High School through the opening stages on Tuesday, but when it came down to brass tax, the opposition delivered down the home stretch, scoring 11 unanswered runs to break an early deadlock and pull away out of reach with an eventual 12-1 victory.

Trinity glued together a dominant performance on both sides of the field against Friendship/Scio (1-1), collecting 12 runs off 16 total hits to fire up their attack while holding the State Final Four finalists to just a single hit — a lead-off single in the top of the fourth inning by Nevaeh Ross.

On the attack, Trinity was able to break an early 1-1 tie with the game’s final 11 runs. Among them, eight were scored in the bottom of the sixth to help them officially push their advantage out of reach.

Ross also collected seven strikeouts and walked two during her five-inning appearance from within the circle for Friendship/Scio, before being relieved by Kiara Grover in the last two innings of play.

Friendship/Scio will look to get back into the win column this afternoon with another 2 p.m. first pitch with Brookville hailing from Ohio.

Friendship/Scio 000 100 0 – 1 1 2

Trinity 001 038 X – 12 16 2