Rusty Charpia took a gamble on starting an eighth-grader on the mound with the season on the line — and it paid off.
Rylan Bullis pitched five strong innings and Brookland-Cayce held off a late Beaufort rally to win 5-4 on Monday in a Class 3A Lower State elimination game.
The Bearcats travel to Hanahan on Wednesday for the Lower State championship, needing to win twice to advance.
“He’s our middle school quarterback, point guard on the basketball team and is going to be some kind of player,” Charpia said of Bullis. “I hate to put this type of pressure on him. But if you talk to some of the old-timers around here, he reminds them of Russell Triplett, who played here and went on to play at Clemson.
“… We just feel like through the JV games and few varsity games he played at second that he was ripe for the moment. He competed and I was very proud of him.”
Bullis said he was a “little surprised” when he found out Sunday that he was going to get the start on the mound.
Charpia opted to go with Bullis, who was called up late in the season and started a couple playoff games at second base for Dylan McInchok. Charpia chose Bullis over BJ Etheridge, hoping to save Etheridge if possible for Wednesday. The plan nearly worked as Bullis performed like a seasoned veteran instead of someone who’d never thrown a varsity inning before.
The right-hander allowed a run on five hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out three on 69 pitches. Bullis didn’t go out for another inning because the pitch limit for a middle-schooler is 75 pitches.
Bullis kept his composure and pitched out of a couple of jams, including one with the bases loaded in the second inning.
“I had to come out and kick butt. That’s what we did tonight,” Bullis said. “I had a little jitters but I pitched my butt off. It was a great night.”
B-C gave Bullis some runs to work with as Hayden Thomas homered in the third inning to go up 3-0. The lead became 5-0 until Beaufort scored one in the top of the fifth to make it 5-1.
Etheridge came on in the sixth, looking to close things out and hoping to stay under 45 pitches so he could be used on Wednesday. He was able to close the game but threw 51 pitches in his two innings.
Etheridge struggled a little with his command and Beaufort scored three runs in the sixth, two coming on Zach Talbert’s two-run single to make it 5-4.
Beaufort got the tying run on base in the seventh, but Etheridge retired the final two batters to close things out.
Now, the Bearcats turn to Hanahan, a team they have played a lot over the years and lost to 4-3 on Saturday. Charpia said Thomas will get the start and then it will be pitcher-by-committee if they make it to the second game.
Hayden Thomas HR
Class 2A
Gray Collegiate 9, Pelion 2: The War Eagles scored seven runs over the fifth and sixth innings to win an elimination game. Gray is at Mid-Carolina on Wednesday for the 2A Upper State championship. Kendrick Wright led Gray with three hits and three RBIs. Blaine Redmond and Zeb Taylor each had two hits and an RBI.
Andrew Jackson 6, North Central 3: Fuller Sims hit a grand slam as AJ eliminated North Central and moved on to play Oceanside Collegiate for the 2A Lower State championship on Wednesday.
SCISA Baseball
Class 4A Championship
Augusta Christian 4, Hammond 2: Eric Doyon drove in three runs, including the go-ahead one in the sixth as AC defeated the Skyhawks in game one of the best-of-three series. Game 2 is at Hammond on Tuesday. The game was tied at 2-2 going in the sixth before the Lions scored twice. Dylan Richardson and William Hudson had RBI for Hammond.
Class A Championship
Richard Winn 14, Jefferson Davis 1 (5): Landon Caulder and Charlie Bonds each homered as the Eagles (24-0) won the opener of the best-of-three series. Game 2 is Tuesday at Jefferson Davis. Bonds was 1-2 with four RBIs while Caulder was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Rob Wilson went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Miller Stuck pitched 4.2 innings to pick up the win.
Softball
Class 5A
Byrnes 10, Lexington 0 (5): The Wildcats lost their first game of the playoffs and will travel to Dorman on Wednesday in an elimination game.
Summerville 2, Chapin 0: The Eagles had the winning run at the plate in the seventh but hit into a double play to end the game. Chapin faces Berkeley in an elimination game on Wednesday.
Class 4A
South Florence 7, Lugoff-Elgin 4: Katie Catoe drove in four runs as the Bruins eliminated L-E and advanced to the Class 4A Lower State championship series against West Florence. Aubre Moore and Reece Pickett each had RBIs for the Demons.
Class 2A
Gray Collegiate 5, Mid-Carolina 0: Taylor Corley pitched a three-hitter as the War Eagles advanced to Friday’s Upper State championship. Mid-Carolina will play Strom Thurmond in an elimination game Wednesday. Aspen Boulware and Shields Greene each had three hits and Greene drove in two. Maddox Long was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
Boys Golf
Class 5A: River Bluff is second place after the first day of the Class 5A golf championships. The Gators trail TL Hanna by one shot heading into Tuesday’s final round. Lexington is in fifth and Chapin in 10th.
Class 4A: Host North Augusta shot an 11-under 273 to lead the 4A championship by 14 shots over Greenville. Defending state champion AC Flora is third, 19 shots back.
Class 3A: Beaufort (299) leads the 3A championship by four shots over Wren. Camden is in seventh place at 332. Gilbert (336) is eighth and Dreher (339) is tied for ninth.
Class 2A: Bishop England (295) leads the 2A championship by one shot over Oceanside. Gray Collegiate is third at 308 and Mid-Carolina is sixth at 334.
May 15, 2023 | State, The: Web Edition Articles (Columbia, SC)
Author/Byline: Lou Bezjak, The State | Section: high_school