Chris Ruff fires a pickoff move toward first.

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After a torrid pace over spring break, Jay Cook's bat has cooled off of late.

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Jesse Broome looks to tag the speedy Bulldog baserunner.

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Christopher Raley hones in on this infield fly from his pitcher's spot.

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Chris Ruff battled in the latter innings but it was not enough to help his team close the gap against the Bulldogs.

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The team huddled up between innings and coach Dean urged them to go out there and play the game the way it is supposed to be played.

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Kevin Boozer

Staff Writer

WINNSBORO — The Griffins baseball team fell behind early and could not really get anything going against a fundamentally sound group of Newberry Bulldogs Friday night. The Griffins lost 10-0 on senior night.

Prior to the game, Tyrell Hill, the team’s lone senior, was recognized for his contributions to the program.

Chris Boyd had an off night on the mound and got behind 7-0 in in the first inning. From there he settled down and battled for the Griffins, but they could manage just two hits versus Newberry pitching.

Boyd (2-2) took the loss for the Griffins whose record dropped to 9-11.

Monday night the Griffins got a rematch with the Bulldogs in the FCHS season finale but results were unavailable at press time.

The Griffins hung together and players played loose, but FCHS Coach Scotty Dean said the bats were just anemic Friday night, as they have been during the Griffin’s losing streak. While not making excuses, he noted the team has been battling injuries recently, but he had praise for some of the young players who stepped up to fill in for injured starters.

“Basically, we had that bad first inning and couldn’t get anything going. We didn’t swing the bats particularly well either, managing only two hits,” Dean said.

Brandon Adams went 1-2 and Taquan Kelly went 1-2 for the Griffins.

As a third place finisher in the region, the Griffins will take to the road for playoff action later this week. They play Central of Pageland at 6 p.m. Thursday. It’ll take catching lightning in a bottle for this group to advance as a team because of the strong bracket they are placed in.

According to Coach Dean, the bracket consists of Pelion, Central Pageland, and Andrew Jackson, three very good baseball teams.

“But that is why they lace up and play the games,” Dean said. “Timing, pitching and defense can result in upsets in the playoffs.”

With the Griffins hoping to add the arm of eighth grader Stanley McManus to the mix by Thursday, they may just have something special in store for Central and extend the season another game or two.