Kevin Boozer
Staff Writer
WINNSBORO — The Fairfield Central varsity baseball team carried a three game losing streak into its final home game of the season, Senior Night on Thursday at FCHS.
Injuries have taken a toll on the Griffins since spring break with eighth-grade phenom Stanley McManus breaking his hand and Markell Whitaker breaking his leg versus Pelion. Other players are a bit dinged up but Coach Scotty Dean likes the grit of this bunch and the way his players are sticking together through the adversity.
“We’ll continue to work and we will get better. The injury bug has hit us a little, so we are have some kids play that haven’t been playing that much,” Dean said. “Jesse Broome is filling in for Markell Whitaker at second after Markell Broke his leg versus Keenan. Stanley McManus is still recovering from a broken hand suffered before spring break. Those are two starters that do a good job for us. Those guys that are filling in are doing a great job defensively, we just have to swing it better.”
In action April 12, the Griffins lost to the Pelion Panthers 6-2. Losing pitcher was Chris Boyd (2-1). Leading hitters included Jarvis Kennedy (3-4, one double, two singles) and Brandon Adams (2-2, two singles, one walk).
On Tuesday, they squared off against North Central and lost 9-2. Losing pitcher was Compton Walker (5-2), but he pitched well in defeat, striking out six while allowing just five hits and one earned run. Javaris Cook continued to swing a hot bat for the Griffins going 2-3, with 2 singles, 2 stolen bases and 1 run scored.
The rest of the Griffins had a rough night at the plate, as Cook’s two hits were the only the team managed on the evening.
Wednesday night, they played on the road against Camden and lost 5-0. Losing pitcher was Brandon Adams (0-2), who gave up six hits and walked two. Chris Raley went 1-3 with a single single to get the only FCHS hit of the game.
Those three losses dropped the Griffins to 9-10 overall and 6-4 in the region for a third place finish. The third place finish means a road playoff game either at Cheraw or Central of Pageland.
“We are doing a lot of good things and are proud of our progress but there is still a ton of work to be done. We have to hit the ball better against good teams,” Dean said.
The Griffins offense has been anemic lately with the team managing just three hits in their last two games.
FCHS played at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Griffins’ final home game of the season. Results were unavailable at press time.
Contact Kevin Boozer at kboozer@civitasmedia.com or 635-4016 ext. 14 or follow him on Twitter at @kevinboozer.
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