Pioneer Baseball splits with Surry CC

SPARTANBURG, SC- The Pioneers (3-2) won their home opener this past Saturday against Surry Community College, while losing the second game. With a good crowd, the home field atmosphere was definitely there. "I feel like we should have (a home field advantage) it's our field. I just don't think today we ever matched their intensity in the second game" Coach Wallace said.  

Game 1:

The Pioneers came out swinging, scoring eight runs on three errors in the 3^rd inning alone. Jared McKay (Chamblee, GA) and Seth Wall (Georgetown High) both had RBI walks in the same inning. SMC's speed on the base paths is crucial to their offense, the Pioneers haven't been thrown out yet while attempting to steal.  Winning pitcher Caleb Lupton (Chapman High)  (1-0) (3IP, 2K, 1BB, 1H, 0 R) had a solid outing to relieve the starter Tone Jacobs (3IP, 0 ER). Patrick Mace looked comfortable in the closing spot when he came in to seal the win in the top of the 7^th getting the save. Once again Coach Wallace had eight freshman starting and one sophomore. With this being the fourth regular season game for SMC, you couldn't tell that all of them have had less than 20 at bats. Samuel smashed a double of the wall for the second at bat of the game eventually coming around to score. Wall also hit a RBI double that bounced off the wall driving in McKay. It seemed the Pioneers had everything figured out marching their way to their third victory in four games. Top Hitters: Jamal Keels (Manning High) (2-2, R, BB, SB), Perkins (2-2, RBI, R), Ke' shaun Samuel (Darlington High) (1-3, 2B, RBI, R), Wall (1-2, 2B, RBI, R).  FINAL: SMC 10, SCC 2

Game two for SMC showed us baseball and none baseball fans just how unpredictable this game really is. "Oh we might as well leave, I know we will win the next game" said a fan sitting behind me. I will admit I agreed with their comment. Along with many others, we were proven wrong and shown how a different pitcher and a different mindset can turn the game around and I mean literally. Now we are all Pioneer fans and no one wants to hear the negative side of a game unless it's the other team, but let's think about the sports we are talking about and realize that one of the great things about baseball is the failure that comes out of it. Even for non-players, just like us fans, we can see a game or a single play switch momentum and turn the game around. In saying this, while you are reading over game two, realize that I am simply showing you what the Pioneers can work on and ultimately the beauty of the game.

Game 2:

Leadoff hitter Dominique Jackson (S. Gwinnett, GA) drew a walk to start off the bottom of the first stealing second and third. The next three batters all flew out, ending the inning. Starting pitcher Hunter Baker (H. Central, NC) for SMC was doing his job and doing it well spotting 3K's in 3IP. While keeping the score book the first game, It was very intense and a lot of action to keep up with. However, I felt like Clayton Kershaw was on the mound in the second game. The Pioneers didn't get a hit until the fourth (2B by Dillon Palencia (Broome High). SCC made 0 errors in the second game to their 3 in the first game. It was fly ball after lot of home runs so we don't want fly fly ball almost looking like outfield practice. "If you are hitting pop ups and fly balls then offensively that's not a good approach… you'll never be successful. You know, we aren't a group that is going to hit a lot of home runs so we don't want fly balls and pop ups, we want line drives and ground balls" Coach Wallace said after the game. FINAL: SCC 2, SMC 0

 Going back to what he said about their intensity, Coach Wallace believes that there is a certain mindset and discipline you have to have as a player and a coach for both games. It isn't one game then take a break. Coach Wallace said "…our guys have to learn once the first game ends you have to play another one... it's a whole different arm it's a whole different approach." The Pioneers offense will strike back like nothing happened, that isn't a worry for this program; and if you are a parent or fan, I will be the first to tell you that games like this one will happen and a good team learns from it. The key that could make this season fun and interesting is watching this young group of guys learn from their mistakes and only get better. "It's going to happen, we are going to make mistakes. I don't want it to happen, but it's going to happen" Coach Wallace said. Going back to the greatness that comes out of failure in this game.  

The Pioneers host a double header against Georgia Perimeter College on Tuesday February 10. Game one starts at 1:00pm. Starting pitchers: CD Pelham & Tyler Thornton. Go Pioneers!

Article By: Alex Rogers

I am a freshman student at SMC. Graduated from Saluda High School where I played baseball. I love sports and I have a passion for stats and watching athletes on a high level. I love to write and plan to be a sports analyst/writer for my career. While I am in school, I am doing everything I can to gain experience and learn from others. I plan to do an article for every game of the 2015 baseball season. Please stay tuned with our social media pages Twitter: @gosmcbaseball, Instagram: @SMCpioneerBaseball Facebook: SMC Baseball and Pioneer Athletics at Spartanburg Methodist College, Website: www.gosmcpioneers.com for links to more articles. If you have any ideas or specific stories that you would like me to do a write up on, please email me at alexprogers6@yahoo.com or text/call at (864)-993-1493. I am willing to work with anyone, and love being helped/critiqued. Thank you again for viewing. GO PIONEERS!