Gray Collegiate defeated East Clarendon, 5-4, Thursday in an extra innings thriller in the 2A S.C. High School League baseball playoffs.

Airport dropped its playoff game at Midland Valley by a score of 6-2.

Dominick Macintosh was the winning pitcher while Justin Evans was charged with the loss for East Clarendon.The game was played at the  Midlands Baseball complex in West Columbia. 
“if we can get a win on Saturday, we’ll be in the drivers seat, and that’s all that you can ask for,” said War Eagles’head  coach Charles Assey after the game. 

It was a nail-biter. 
Macintosh got off to a strong start in the top of the first with a strikeout and two ground outs.Then Gray went to work on offense. 

Jack Wood led off the bottom of the first with a single to start things off for the War Eagles and Matt Willis hit a double. Wyatt Keisler then hit a single and a sacrifice bunt by Turner Thackston put Gray up 2-0. 

East Clarendon put two runners in scoring position in the second, but a Macintosh strikeout ended the threat, but the Wolverines, in the top of the third, tied the game up. 
Things stayed even at 2 until the top of the fifth. That’s when EC’s Dusty Hancock scored a run to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Wolverines. 

The Wolverines started off their half of the seventh with a lead off single followed by two stolen bases to put a runner at third. A wild pitch by the War Eagles’ would send a Wolverine home and make the score 4-2. 

But the War Eagles came back. Gray’s Matt Willis started off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Wyatt Keisler followed  with another single putting runners on first and second with one out. A wild pitch and two walked batters resulted in two runs for Gray and a tie game at 4.
In the top of the eighth Gray’s Macintosh retired the side with two fly outs and a strikeout. In the bottom of the eighth, after a walk, a Matt Willis base hit, and a Turner Thackson sacrifice bunt, Guy Epps drove home the winning run.

• 10 reads