FORT MILL, S.C. — Indian Land High School played its third game in the inaugural Rescue Lock and Key Invitational at Nation Ford High on Wednesday, April 3.
The Warriors and Porter Ridge Pirates both needed wins after losing their first two games. Indian Land used timely hitting, solid pitching, and base running mistakes to defeat Porter Ridge, 9-4.
Indian Land scored first on two singles, a fielder’s choice, and a stolen base. Cole Dombkowski singled, driving in Emerson Rhodes after he stole second.
The Pirates tied it up in the top of the third, but they ran themselves out of a bigger inning. Prince Mairena tied the game with a double, but he was caught trying to steal third. McLean Nichols was caught in a rundown off third for the final out of the inning.
The Warriors scored three runs in the bottom of the third, and one in the fourth, to make it 5-1. They added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach.
Alex Blanchette and Dombkowski led the Warriors with two hits each. Blanchette, Rhodes and MJ Doan each scored two runs.
Doan struck out six and walked three in five innings for Indian Land. He and Rhodes, who relieved him, both benefited from five Pirates runners either caught stealing, picked off or out in a rundown. Both had to pitch around four Warriors errors.
In the sixth and seventh innings, first baseman Bodie Langborgh and Cooper Armstrong also kept Porter Ridge at bay with excellent defensive plays.
Langborgh made a diving stop on a line drive, taking away a base hit from the Pirates’ Cody Rogers.
Armstrong made a sliding catch for the first out of the seventh, while Langborgh made a swipe tag on a high throw by third baseman James Knoll for the second out.
Their defense proved huge because the 7-9 Pirates scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning on three hits and an error. Rhodes struck out Landon Nichols to secure the win for Indian Land.
The win came after the Warriors lost the first two games of the Invitational to the Cuthbertson Cavaliers, 13-5, and to the Weddington Warriors, 7-4. Weddington scored three runs in the top of the sixth to break a 4-4 tie and win.
After the game, Indian Land Head Coach Hal Bagwell complimented Doan’s toughness, and his team’s competitiveness overall.
“We like to think we’re a pretty scrappy bunch. We took advantage of them in some ways. We picked a few of their guys off. We work a lot on that. We had timely hits for sure. We made plays when we had to.”
Bagwell called Doan “a bulldog. He’s a very intense kid. Players love it when he toes the rubber, they make plays behind him.”
Indian Land, 13-5, plays next at Catawba Ridge on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Both teams are undefeated in Region 3-4A.
