The West Marion Trojans needed all three games to get past district foe Wesson in the third round of the Class 3A playoffs, but they got the job done Saturday at home to advance to their third-ever South State championship series.
They won Game 1 May 2 5-1 behind 5 1/3 strong innings from ace Shelby Terrell but then lost Game 2 Friday at Wesson 6-4. The resilient Trojans bounced back Saturday as Terrell again pitched brilliantly, striking out 15 in a 10-1 complete-game victory.
“He’s really good; there’s no doubt about it,” head coach Derrick Jerkins said. “I was definitely concerned on bringing him back on two days rest and how well he would pitch, but coming back he was probably actually better Saturday than he was on Thursday. It was really impressive.”
West Marion is taking on Magee in the South State Championship series and hosts Game 1 Thursday at 6 p.m.
The team’s path to get there began in the third round with Terrell dealing on the mound in Game 1. The Trojans went into the bottom of the third with 9-1-2 in their batting order coming to the plate. Logan Fortenberry got a rally started with a bunt single that was followed up by another bunt single by Josh Boone. Jayden Duncan then laced a liner into left field for an RBI single that he stretched into two bases on the throw home. Then Clay Blocker added to the lead with a sacrifice fly, giving Terrell a little breathing room up 2-0.
Blocker started another rally in the fifth with a leadoff double, and Tyler Aikens came in as his courtesy runner. After Aikens took third on a ball in the dirt, Brett Jenkins got him in with a single. Brian Blakney was used as Jenkins’ pinch runner and came around to score from first on an RBI double down the left field line by Dalton Raynes to make it 4-0. The Trojans added one more run in the sixth on another Blocker sac fly.
Terrell was near perfect through 5 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out five, but with his pitch count at only 48, Jerkins opted to pull him. Because he threw less than 50 pitches, Terrell was eligible to pitch a Game 3 with no pitch limit. Jerkins said when Terrell was at 42 pitches, that was the first time the idea came to his mind and he actually didn’t make the decision to pull him until he was walking out to the mound for a visit.
Duncan, who was the projected Game 2 starter, replaced Terrell and needed to get the final five outs in less than 25 pitches to remain eligible to pitch the following night. Duncan nearly did it, but the potential last out lined the ball off Duncan’s leg on his 24th pitch and scored a run. Jerkins pulled Duncan to keep him eligible, and Raynes got the last out to seal the 5-1 victory.
The plan to use Duncan in Game 1 for a short stint didn’t pay off in Game 2 Friday at Wesson, though. Duncan surrendered four runs in two-plus innings, and the Trojans lost 6-4. Tre Broom, Terrell and Raynes each drove in a run, and Blocker laced two doubles. Brett Jenkins took the loss, allowing two runs in four innings while striking out four.
The plan to save Terrell for Game 3 Saturday at home, however, paid off in spades as the senior struck out 15 in a complete game that the Trojans won 10-1 to advance to South State. He allowed just three hits and one run through seven innings and 99 pitches.
The Trojans struck for two early runs in the bottom of the first inning, added one in the second and exploded for six runs with two outs in the fifth. Three runs came courtesy of Robert Patterson’s first prep home run. Duncan and Blakney each drove in a pair, while Blocker, Jenkins and Terrell each had an RBI.
Pictured Above: West Marion's Shelby Terrell fires a fastball against Wesson May 2 at home. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
