CHRONICLE SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The 3rd full week of Blowfish baseball saw the injury bug take its bite out of Lexington County. Combine that with a 4-game losing streak, and it was a week that this team wants to flush away as soon as possible.

The Blowfish were on the road for 5 games in 4 consecutive nights, which included trips to Macon, Savannah, and High Point-Thomasville. The Blowfish offense struggled for the better part of the week, mustering just two runs combined on Tuesday and Wednesday on the road.

“We’re just really banged up right now,” head coach Marshall McDonald said. “It’s next man up for us at this point. Our guys are battling through the injuries, playing positions that aren’t natural for them, and doing everything they can to give us a chance to win.”

Lexington County did have some positives from the week, splitting a doubleheader with Savannah for their first win against a Georgia team in 2019. The Blowfish defeated the Bananas in Game 1 by a 3-1 score, but fell in Game 2 1-0 in extra innings on a walk-off single by Mike Williams.

Speaking of walk-offs, Lexington’s final road trip of the week came against Palmetto State rival Florence. A back and forth affair saw its share of errors, hits and big moments.

The Blowfish and RedWolves played to a 10-10 tie through 9 innings. James McConnon’s infield single gave the Blowfish an 11-10 lead heading to the bottom of the 10th.

Closer Will Abbott retired the first two batters via strikeout, and had Michael Richardson down in a 1-2 count before a fastball up and in was sent into the grass just beyond the left field wall for a 3-run walk-off home run for the Redwolves.

“We caught some tough breaks in that game,” pitching coach Shawn Torbett said. “Pitchers didn’t have their best night, but the defense didn’t either (the team had a season-high 7 errors). We made mistakes but still had the win there for the taking. He (Richardson) just got the bat around on the fastball and made us pay for it.”

There’s no rhyme or reason for back-to-back walk-off losses. The only explanation one can offer is that it’s simply the game of baseball. Lexington County closed out the week with a 10-1 loss to Florence Saturday night at home.

“We’re going to keep grinding,” McDonald said. “We’ve still got a long way to go and a lot of games left to play. We’ve shown how good we can be and how well we can compete night in and night out.”

Veterans’ Night on July 5

The July 5th contest between the Lexington County Blowfish and Macon Bacon will serve as Veterans’ Night.

A collaborative effort of the Lexington County Blowfish and American Legion Post 7, the event will serve as a Salute to the organization’s 100th birthday.

Free admission and food inside the VIP Stadium room will be made available for veterans and their guest. There will also be a pre-game veteran’s group recognition, a first pitch by a veteran and group photo opportunity with the Blowfish players. Festivities will begin at 6:20 pm and a post-game fireworks show will take place.

Veterans can confirm their RSVP by contacting Kyle Calhoun at the Blowfish office at (803) 254-FISH (3474) or via email at kyle@blowfishbaseball.com .

UPCOMING BLOWFISH SCHEDULE

(All Games start at 7:05 pm)

THURSDAY – GASTONIA

FRIDAY – at Macon

SATURDAY – SAVANNAH

MONDAY – at Gastonia

TUESDAY – MACON

WEDNESDAY – at Macon