North Myrtle Beach’s season was slipping away, hanging by a thread Thursday night.
But the Chiefs, after trailing nearly the entire game, scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a dramatic 7-6 win over Beach Region rival Conway in a 5A-Division 2 elimination game.
On a night in which the Chiefs (20-7) mustered just two hits and trailed 6-2, they survived to play at least one more day.
“We never quit,” said North Myrtle Beach coach B.A. Alderson, who picked up his 200th career win. “We never quit. They showed their guts tonight. Got down early. We just tried to chip away. We never stopped believing. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Conway, which stunned the Chiefs 5-4 earlier in the week, was on the verge of doing it again. The Tigers led 6-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh and sophomore relief pitcher Doc Mishoe had retired all eight batters he faced.
And then Mishoe started the bottom of the seventh by striking out Sawyer Smith as the Conway dugout roared. But the tenor changed when C.J. Oxendine and Brown Reaves drew consecutive walks. Then they advanced on a wild pitch and Gabe Priest was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Payton Gallup drew a walk to force in a run. Kaden Lank let out a yell after walking to force in the winning run as the Chiefs celebrated.
“We just grinded through it,” Priest said. “We didn’t have our best two, three innings. We fought through adversity. That’s about it.”
Jake Frick pitched 4 2/3 innings of two-hit relief for the win and keeping the early deficit from getting any worse.
“He came in and threw zeroes,” Alderson said. “He was tremendous. If he didn’t throw those zeroes, we probably don’t win.”
Frick (2-1) has been one of the Chiefs’ best relief pitchers all season with a 1.48 earned run average in 12 appearances.
“I stayed focused,” Frick said. “Did what I was told, executed pitches. I was locked in.”
There’s still a lot of work to do for the Chiefs, who must beat Berkeley twice to complete a dramatic run through the bracket and win the district championship.
“We get to play baseball one more day,” Alderson said. “Hopefully, it will turn into more than that.”
The loss brought a disheartening end to Conway’s season. But it didn’t erase a stirring playoff run and the Tigers got a lengthy ovation from their fans.
Conway (16-14) took a best-of-three series from Lugoff-Elgin and came within two outs of a second playoff win over North Myrtle Beach, a team that had crushed them in a three-game sweep during the regular season.
“Like I just told the kids, we had two pitchers that we were counting on this year that got hurt,” said Conway coach Billy Sylvester. “We had a lot of stuff we had to change up. These kids, I couldn’t be more proud of them. We got every ounce of energy, fight, grit, determination out of these kids. It means the world.”
The Chiefs, who have been slumping at the plate, had to find another way to win and they got their chance when Conway pitchers issued 10 walks and hit three batters. Three fielding errors directly led to three runs.
“Coach B.A. gave us the take sign and we listened to him,” Priest said. “He’s a great coach and made the best decisions.”
All of that was necessary because of Conway’s great start.
The Tigers pounced for three runs in the top of the second inning off North Myrtle Beach starter Fisher Nichols, two of them on wild pitches. The third one came home when No. 9 hitter Zyan Noel slapped a single on a 2-2 pitch.
North Myrtle Beach parlayed three walks, a hit batter and two fielding errors into a pair of runs off Conway starter Kenley McCracken in the bottom of the second.
But the Tigers came right back in the top of the third with three more runs on three walks, a wild pitch and McCracken’s two-run single. Frick was summoned to stop the bleeding.
Most of that comfortable lead was wiped out in the bottom of the third when the Chiefs got their two hits – an RBI double by Priest and a run-scoring single by Gabe Kuznik. Another run came home on an error.
Conway’s rifle-armed catcher, Will Neff, helped the Tigers remain in the lead by picking off two runners – on third in the second inning and first in the third inning.
In the end, the Chiefs had done just enough.
“Chiefs baseball,” Frick said. “We’ve been doing this all year. You can’t beat it.”
Sylvester had a long postgame talk with his players after the game, thanking the seniors and encouraging the underclassmen to continue.
“We’re not happy with the ending but we’re closer to where we want to be,” Sylvester said. “We’re not trying to build a great team. We’re trying to build a great program. These guys are changing the culture.”
Alderson was presented with a clock embossed with the Chiefs’ logo in recognition of his milestone win.
“It’s because of all these guys that’s been coming through this program,” Alderson said. “You can’t win without good players. … And I’ve had some good ones.”
If the Chiefs win at Berkeley on Friday, May 16, they will host the Stags on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the district title.
May 16, 2025 | Horry Independent, The (Conway, SC)
Author/Byline: Mike Duprez info@myhorrynews.com | Section: Sports