Saturday playoffs: Clinton cruises past Panthers
Clinton’s Jaydon Glenn (3) slides safely into home during Saturday’s 11-0 Class 2A Upper State playoff win at Batesburg-Leesville.
BATESBURG-LEESVILLE – Clinton put itself in the driver’s seat for the Class 2A Upper State baseball championship Saturday with an 11-0 victory over Batesburg-Leesville.
With the win, the Red Devils remain unbeaten in the playoffs and will host the winner of Monday’s elimination game between Batesburg-Leesville and Chesnee. Chesnee edged Landrum 6-5 Saturday in the elimination bracket.
Starting pitcher Camden Finley shut down the Panthers, combining on a four-hitter with recent Spartanburg Methodist signee Jaydon Glenn. Finley struck out eight, walked one and allowed two hits over an efficient five innings of work on the mound. Glenn allowed two hits over two innings of scoreless relief, inducing a game-ending double play to send the Panthers into the elimination bracket.
Clinton has outscored the Panthers and Chesnee by a combined score of 21-1 in two Upper State playoff games.
“When things went wrong in the past, we kind of started pressing and hanging our heads a little bit, but we’ve stayed aggressive, and we’ve been able to capitalize on that,” said Red Devils head coach Peyton Spangler.
Clinton scored its runs on 11 hits and flexed with three home runs and a triple.
Finley helped his own cause with a three-run homer to straightaway center field in the sixth. Catcher Luke Young also hit a two-run homer in the fifth that put the Red Devils ahead 6-0.
The game was scoreless after two innings, but Clinton took a 2-0 lead in the third on RBI singles by Glenn and Young. The Red Devils scored at least two runs in each inning after that.
Outfielder Graydon Watkins hit a two-run homer in the seventh and tripled in the sixth, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and three runs scored. Young went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI and a run scored.
Batesburg-Leesville starter Knox Boutknight gave up six runs in five innings and took the loss for the Panthers (19-9).
The Red Devils (28-3) are trying to advance to the state finals for the first time since winning the Class 3A state championship in 2023. Clinton will host the deciding game or games for the Upper State title Wednesday and must be beaten twice to be eliminated from the playoffs. A doubleheader will be played if necessary.
“We’ve got an amazing group of guys,” said Young, who started at catcher as a freshman on Clinton’s 2023 state championship team. “We treat every day at practice like it could be for a championship. That’s our motto, and we bring that mentality every day to practice. It’s special to see what happens when it becomes a brotherhood instead of just a team, you kno2? Great things happen.”
