By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Lexington County Blowfish earned a third consecutive post-season trip in the Coastal Plain League.
Having won in 2023 and finished runner-up last season, this year’s quest began in a West Division single-elimination game at Lexington County Baseball Stadium.
The opponent was the third-year CPL member, the Boone Bigfoots. Lexington County finished in second place, ahead of the Bigfoots, and won all three games against them during the regular season.
In the rescheduled contest Monday, the Blowfish could not continue that success. They fell behind early in a 7-4 loss to end the season.
Scott Hardy retired the Bigfoots on three strikeouts in the first inning. Boone answered with a 5-run rally in the second inning that included a 3-run homer by catcher Samuel Weinstein.
Lexington County picked up a run in the third inning. Chandler Mims drew a walk, advanced to third base on a single by Matthew Rollison of Dutch Fork and scored on a wild pitch.
Boone scored two runs off reliever Chase Jarnagin in the top of the fifth inning. A 2-run single by Andrew Ortiz made it 7-3 in the bottom half of the inning.
Ben Brash held the Bigfoots to one hit in four scoreless innings. Lexington County got a solo home run by Rollison in the bottom of the ninth, but the game ended with an Ortiz strikeout.
The Bigfoots opened the division final Tuesday at Forest City. The Blowfish ended the year with a 28-18 record.
Photo by Lexington County Blowfish – Team photo