Snakebit: Raiders blanked by Copperheads in Game 1

LDHS starter Josh Hughes will be on the mound when the Raiders host Catawba Ridge at 7 p.m. Thursday for Game 2 of the best-of-three Class 4A Upper State Championship series.

Catawba Ridge finally found the formula to beat Laurens in a playoff game Tuesday night, taking a 4-0 win over the Raiders in the opening game of the Class 4A Upper State Championship series, and it included a heavy dose of pitching.

Copperheads starter Peyton Dhein and Caden Glauber combined on a two-hit gem. Dhein went six innings and gave up both hits. He walked one and struck out four, while Glauber nailed down the save with a perfect seventh that included two strikeouts.

Starter Mason Hamby went 3 1/3 innings and allowed three runs, two of which were earned, in the loss.

Hamby and catcher Bennett Edwards collected the Raiders’ only base hits.

Copperheads catcher Sam Schwamb went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI.

Tuesday night’s game was the fourth playoff meeting between Catawba Ridge and LDHS over the past three seasons, and the Raiders had won the three previous meetings.

The best-of-three Upper State championship series will shift to LDHS’s Ed Prescott Field at 7 p.m. Thursday.

LDHS pitcher Josh Hughes is expected to get the start for the Raiders after shutting down Greenwood for the district championship Saturday.