Farm League Update from Week One of the Second Half

Coming off of a wild and crazy first half, it seemed almost impossible for the second half of our Farm League season to live up to the hype.  Well, if week one of the second half is any indication, it will.  There were two dramatic walk-offs and the two teams that didn’t compete for the first half championship won their first games of the second half.

And wrap your head around this:  Pepsi and First Citizens both scored 21 runs in their games this week.  First Citizens is 2-0.  Pepsi is 0-2.

On Tuesday, Palmetto Precision, led by the veteran coaching staff of Trey Gibson and Lawrence Hope, opened the second half with an 11-7 victory over Mark Goudelock’s Pennington & Meadows Lions.  Dewsy Meadows, Grayson Weekley and Bam Bam Fischer’s big bats were not enough to defeat the sound defensive play of Ace Gibson, Tagan Roscoe, Cooper Griggs and Law Hope.

In the nightcap, First Citizens throttled Pepsi 12-3.  Cole Winburn and company were able to shut down the Pepsi bats (which, as you will see, is no small feat).  Pepsi’s Liam Thompson had an impressive game and one particularly impressive inning on the hot corner.  Thompson made all three outs in the first inning.  He caught one pop up, one line shot and threw a runner out at first base.  Way to go, Liam!

On Thursday, First Citizens and Palmetto Precision squared off in defensive battle.  Late in the game, both teams bats began to heat up.  The score stood tied 8-8 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.  After a rip by Andrew Dameron and a play at the plate, it appeared we were headed to extra innings.  After a quick conference between the umpires and coaches, it was determined that the runner was safe at home due to defensive interference.  That base knock by Dameron turned out to be our night’s first walk-off.

How could the drama of the first game be matched?  With an all-out assault of the baseball by Pepsi and Arborworks, of course. Through two innings, Arborworks appeared to have the game in hand, up 9-4.  In the third, Pepsi made its move by retiring ADub in order after putting up a five-spot of their own.  The score stood tied 9-9 after three.

The two offensive juggernauts continued to light up the scoreboard.  The game was tied 18-18 with Arborworks on the attack in the home half of the last inning.  Only 60 feet stood between Bennett Laney and an Arborworks victory.  Quez Hadley stepped to the plate with two outs.  Hadley hit a chopper toward third.  Relying on speed alone, Hadley beat the throw to first as Laney crossed the plate.  Arborworks went home victorious in their second half opener, 19-18. 

Trion McFarland, Evan Young, Zach Lynch and Lan Holloman led Pepsi at the dish.  McKendrie Douglas, Quez Hadley, Nolan McInnis and Xander Kelley were swinging hot sticks for the Green & Black Lumberjacks.

Simply put, Hartsville National Farm League action is fantastic!  Come join us at the ballpark. 

2^nd Half Standings

First Citizens 2-0

Arborworks 1-0

PPP 1-1

P&M 0-1

Pepsi 0-2

It's time for the Second Half to get underway!

We are excited to be resuming games tonight!

As will likely be the case many days during 2nd half play, the forecast calls for a chance of thunderstorms this evening. As always, we will try to play games as scheduled. Because of the "hit or miss" nature of storms this time of year, we request your patience in determining how weather conditions might impact scheduled games. 

Please understand that it is possible that we can play a game after a rain shower, or even have delays due to weather (push times back). In other words, no game will be cancelled just because it rains. There must be enough rain to "wash out" play and/or weather threatening to the safety of our players, coaches, umpires, fans (severe weather, lightning, etc.) before we will call off scheduled games. 

As we all know, thunderstorms can pop up quickly. They can also move out of an area quickly. Sometimes it might be necessary to wait until (or even a bit past) game time to make such a decision. We will notify coaches first then post to facebook any cancellations. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Play Ball!

Arborworks wins 2 to take the First Half in Farm League

With their first half ending in a three-way tie, Hartsville National's Farm League had to play a round robin to determine the champion.  On Tuesday, P&M defeated Pepsi 14-8 in the first game of the round robin.  On Wednesday, P&M and Arborworks took the field at 5:30.  Some great baseball ensued.  

A P&M win would effectively end the first half of the season.  An Arborworks victory would give life to Pepsi.  Through five innings, the game was neck and neck.  No team was able to pull away.  With several lead changes, the score was knotted at 6.  Arborworks' bats got hot in the top half of the six.  Some sweet swinging by Shane Dillon, McKendrie Douglas, Quez Hadley and Nolan McInnis plated five runs and gave Arborworks an 11-6 lead.  The Green & Black Lumberjacks were able to hold P&M scoreless in the bottom half of the inning and keep their championship aspirations alive (as well as Pepsi's).  

Dewsy Meadows, Grayson Weekley, Coleman Radcliff and Bam Bam Fischer all had great games at the plate and in the field for Pennington & Meadows.  P&M catcher Caleb Walters showed his athleticism with an impressive catch of an ADub foul ball.  

Following a brief break in action, Pepsi and Arborworks took the field.  A Pepsi win would make everyone 1-1 in the round robin.  An Arborworks win would give the Green & Black Lumberjacks the first half hardware.  

Pepsi scored 2 in the first inning and it looked like ADub was on the ropes.  However, their bats came alive and the score stood 9-2 after two innings.  For Arborworks defensively, you would have thought pitcher Bennett Laney was starring in a Dyson vacuum cleaner commercial.  The young man was making every play that came his way.  

Down 10-4 after 4, Pepsi's got their bats rolling.  Dawson Weatherford, Evan Young, Cade Poole, Liam Thompson and crew scored 4 runs to make the game 10-8.  In the bottom half of the inning, Arborworks put the game out of reach scoring 4 runs.  Pepsi was held scoreless in the top half of the sixth and the sparkling grape juice was flying in the ADub clubhouse.

For Shane Dillon, McKendrie Douglas and Nolan McInnis (Arborworks three returning players), the 2014 first half was drastically different than 2013.  Last year, ADub was winless in the first half.  

Congratulations to Arborworks and all of our Farm League teams.  The 2014 first half was packed full of exciting action.  We expect nothing less in the second half! 

Arborworks Roster:

Bennett Laney

Alex Byrd

Jarris Lambert

Shane Dillon

Quez Hadley

Xander Kelley

Logan Dilley

Dustin Gaymon

Hunter Brown

Nolan McInnis

McKendrie Douglas

Tiebreakers = Excitement at Hartsville National

Grayson Weekley & Dewsy Meadows have Pennington & Meadows
in position to win back-to-back Farm League championships.

As the first half of the season winds down for Hartsville National, two tiebreaker match-ups were set for week five of the season.  In Minors, a Ryan Jordan walk-off single led the Mason's over Darlington Packing.  In Farm, it took extra frames before Lan Holloman and his Pepsi teammates were able to separate themselves from Pennington & Meadows.  The final was 7-6 in 8 innings.  

The Farm League boys weren't done with just one game.  Pepsi's win forced a three-way tie atop the standings.  Pepsi, P&M and Arborworks all finished the first half with identical 5-3 records.  

Following Tuesday night's tiebreaker, Pepsi and P&M squared off in the first of the round robin playoff games.  This time, it was Grayson Weekley and Dewsy Meadows leading their team to victory, 14-8.  

P&M will take on Arborworks on Wednesday (April 9th) at 5:30.  A P&M win will seal the first half championship for the Rent Collectors.  If A-Dub wins, Pepsi will get a shot at the Green & Black.  That game will be played immediately after the 5:30 contest.  

And what happens if all three teams go 1-1 in the round robin......we'll tackle explaining that when it happens.  

The first half of the season in all of our leagues has been great.  Each league has been filled with exciting finishes and great plays made by even greater young men. Perhaps the most exciting thing is the improvements being made by our players throughout all leagues.  

Tiebreakers Postponed due to rain

The tiebreakers scheduled for Farm & Minor Leagues on Monday, April 7th have been postponed due to rain.  Weather permitting, the games will be played at their previously scheduled times on April 8th.

Farm League Update - Week Four

Who says parity is a bad thing?  In the case of Hartsville National's Farm League, parity has proven to be fun and unpredictable.  

Monday saw Pepsi come out flat and fall to First Citizens 9-6 and Palmetto Precision fall to Pennington & Meadows 9-3.  Both games saw terrific defense, with only 27 runs scored over 12 innings.  First Citizens was led by Cole Winburn and Andrew Askins.  Pepsi's top performers were Liam Thompson, Evan Young and Lan Holloman.  In the nightcap, the Dynamic Duo, cousins Ace Gibson and Law Hope, played big for Palmetto Precision, but it wasn't enough to topple the defending champions, P&M. 

On Tuesday, Pennington & Meadows continued its dominance of Arborworks with an 8-4 victory.  Coleman Radcliff held it down on the hot corner for P&M, while the man they call Bam Bam and Louis Griggs led the Rent Collectors at the plate.  Dustin Gaymon and Bennett Laney both brought out the good wood for ADub, but their efforts were all for naught.  The loss seemingly shut the door on the first half championship for ADub, but you'll find out later that there's still a little life left in the these guys.  

In Tuesday's second game, somebody shook the Pepsi a little too hard as the Colas exploded for a season-high 19 runs in their win over Palmetto Precision.  

On Thursday, Arborworks bounced back from their poor offensive performance against P&M with a 12-1 victory over Palmetto Precision.  ADub's solid offensive performance, led by Nolan McInnis and Alex Byrd, was backed by outstanding defense from second baseman Quez Hadley, shortstop Shane Dillon and first baseman McKendrie Douglas.  Palmetto Precision was led by Jose Luna, Owen Rix and Law Hope.

In the night cap, P&M was denied a loan for another piece of championship hardware by First Citizens. The hot bat of Andrew Dameron got things going for Personal Bankers.  Cole Winburn, Andrew Askins and Cooper Griggs also played crucial roles for FC.  Grayson Weekley, Dewsy Meadows and Coleman Radcliff played great for P&M, despite the loss.  

The first half of the season was scheduled to end this week, however the champion won't be decided until week five.  Amazingly, mother nature has nothing to do with it.  To put a long story short, Week Five could last as short as one inning or as long as four games.  

Now here's the long story:

During their first matchup, Pennington & Meadows and Pepsi tied 6-6.  It was a back and forth battle that the umpires decided needed to end in a knot.  Upon reviewing local league rules, it was decided the tie would be broken if it impacted the first half championship.  With First Citizens defeat of P&M on Thursday night, the tie must be broken.

Pepsi and P&M will square off to break the tie on Monday (April 7th).  If P&M wins, they're your first half champion.  If Pepsi wins, the old foes will play again that night.  Here's where it gets interesting.  The P&M loss would drop them into a three-way tie with Pepsi and Arborworks.  The winner of the first playoff game would play Arborworks on Tuesday at 5:30.  An Arborworks win would mean that Arborworks and the Pepsi/P&M playoff game loser would square off at 7pm on Tuesday.  If Arborworks goes down, the team that beat them would be declared the champion and there would be no need for a second game on Tuesday.  

So, you're thinking:  What happens if the three teams all go 1-1?  Run differential will be the determining factor.  One team will be eliminated and the other two will show down on Thursday night with the first half championship on the line.  

Of course, none of the above will matter if P&M takes care of business on Monday night.  

Current Standings:

P&M 5-2-1
ADub 5-3
Pepsi 4-3-1
First Citizens 4-4
Palmetto Precision 1-7