Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:31 AM
Updated Tuesday, April 29, 2008 9:32 AM
Michael Dangerfield accounted for one of the Stags two hits in their 5-1 loss to Sumter.
Stags lose playoff opener 5-1
There’s an old baseball saying that goes something like this: You can’t hit what you can’t see.
For the Berkeley Stags and their first-round playoff match-up against third-seeded Sumter such was the case. Only able to muster two hits against hard-throwing right hander Matt Price, the Stags fell 5-1 to the Gamecocks in the first round of the District 8 playoffs.
Price, whose fastball was clocked consistently above 90 mph all night, K’d 10 and surrendered just two hits, a fourth inning single to Michael Dangerfield and a leadoff double by Nick Orvin in the bottom of the seventh. Price has verbally committed to pitch for South Carolina on the collegiate level.
The Stags gave up a pair of runs in the top of the first and the fifth, and a single run in the sixth. The two runs in the fourth inning came courtesy of back-to-back home runs by Stephen Curtis and Tony Micklan.
Chris Evans started for the Stags and took the loss, giving up 2 runs in one-plus inning of work. Thurman Pellum and Taylor Brewer finished up the game. Pellum surrendered two runs in three innings of work and Brewer a run in two innings of relief.
The Stags will play at home Saturday in a loser’s bracket game against Richland Northeast who fell 2-1 to Summerville in this two-and-out tournament. Sumter will travel to Summerville to take on the Green Wave with first pitch coming at 7 p.m. The Stags first pitch is a 2 p.m. on Saturday.