Loris was just fine earning itself a long bus ride on Thursday.

The Lions baseball team pulled off a relatively rare 4-1 seeding upset on Tuesday, beating Lake City 5-3 on the road. It keeps Tim Graham’s squad in the winner’s bracket of the district playoffs and sets up a trip to No. 2 seed Beaufort in two days.

“That was a big win for us. We tried to make it interesting at the end,” Graham said, noting how his team was up 5-0 heading into the final inning. “But it doesn’t matter how many [you win by] at this point.”

Starting pitcher Jackson Huff threw a complete-game four hitter with five strikeouts and just one earned run. He also went two-for-four from the plate with a pair of RBIs.

Hayden Day was three-for-four with two RBIs.

Now, Loris has the four-hour trek to Beaufort to look forward to – something the team game-planned for earlier in the season.

“We went to Battery Creek this year and played a double header. Part of the reason for traveling was we knew it could come in for the playoffs,” Graham said. “We’re not going into this blind.”

AROUND THE AREA

While Loris baseball was celebrating its upset in the opening round, several area teams were also either on the giving or receiving end of their own upsets.

Loris girls soccer and the North Myrtle Beach softball team each picked up wins against lower-seeded squads. On the flip side, Socastee girls soccer and Aynor and Socastee baseball all fell at home Tuesday.

ON DECK

The Myrtle Beach boys tennis team is two victories away from repeating as the Class 4A state champions. The Seahawks – following a first-round bye and wins over May River and James Island – will face off against No. 9 seed Lucy Beckham on Wednesday at the Myrtle Beach Tennis Center with the trip to the state championship match on the line.

Should Myrtle Beach win, they’ll play the Wade Hampton-Riverside winner on Saturday in the Class 4A title matches.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

GIRLS SOCCER

Class 5A

Carolina Forest 5, Goose Creek 0

Lexington 7, Socastee 1

Ashley Ridge 10, Conway 2

Class 4A

Ridge View 1, North Myrtle Beach 0

Class 3A

Aynor 10, Crestwood 0

Loris 2, Darlington 1

BASEBALL

Class 5A

Summerville 4, Conway 0

St. James 3, Cane Bay 1

Carolina Forest 11, White Knoll 4

Chapin 18, Socastee 0

Class 3A

Loris 5, Lake City 3

Marlboro County 5, Aynor 3

Class 1A

Green Sea Floyds 7, Bamberg-Ehrhardt 5 (9 innings)

SOFTBALL

Class 4A

North Myrtle Beach 8, AC Flora 3

HORRY COUNTY PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

BOYS TENNIS

Class 4A, Lower State final (Wednesday)

No. 9 Lucy Beckham at No. 2 Myrtle Beach

BASEBALL

Class 4A, Second round (Wednesday)

No. 7 Richland Northeast at No. 1 North Myrtle Beach

Class 5A (Thursday)

No. 3 St. James at No. 1 Summerville, 7 p.m. (Second round)

No. 2 Wando at No. 1 Carolina Forest (Second round)

At-large Conway at No. 4 Cane Bay (elimination bracket)

No. 4 Fort Dorchester at No. 2 Socastee elimination bracket)

Class 3A (Thursday)

No. 4 Loris at No. 2 Beaufort, TBD (Second round)

No. 4 Orangeburg-Wilkinson at No. 2 Aynor (elimination bracket)

Class 1A, Second round (Thursday)

No. 3 Green Sea Floyds at No. 1 East Clarendon

BOYS SOCCER

Class 5A, Second round (Wednesday)

No. 3 West Ashley at No. 1 Carolina Forest

Class 4A, Second round (Wednesday)

No. 7 Lugoff-Elgin at No. 2 Myrtle Beach

Class 3A, Second round (Wednesday)

No. 2 Aynor at No. 1 Dreher

SOFTBALL

Class 5A, First round (Wednesday)

At-Large Socastee at No. 1 St. James, 6 p.m.

No. 4 Carolina Forest at No. 2 Ashley Ridge, 6 p.m.

No. 3 White Knoll at No. 2 Conway, 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A, First round (Wednesday)

No. 4 Crestwood at No. 1 Aynor, 6:30 p.m.

No. 3 Loris at No. 2 Darlington, 6:30 p.m.

Class 1A, First round (Wednesday)

No. 4 Green Sea Floyds at No. 1 Branchville, 6 p.m.

Class 4A , Second round (Thursday)

No. 11 North Myrtle Beach at No. 3 Colleton County

GIRLS SOCCER

Class 5A, Second round (Thursday)

No. 3 Fort Dorchester at No. 1 St. James

No. 3 Carolina Forest at No. 1 West Ashley

Class 4A, Second round (Thursday)

No. 10 May River at No. 2 Myrtle Beach

Class 3A, Second round (Thursday)

No. 2 Aynor at No. 1 Dreher, 6 p.m.

No. 3 Loris at No. 1 Philip Simmons

May 3, 2023 | Horry Independent, The (Conway, SC)
Author/Byline: Ian Guerin ian@ianguerin.com | Section: High School