Florence Post 1 American Legion baseball once again will feature some of the best talent in Dillon County this summer.
The team includes Dillon’s Patrick Herring and Austin Moody, Latta’s Jackson Williams, and Lake View’s Josh Price, Carson Rogers, and Weston Rogers.
Last year, with the help of several talented local players, including John K. Love, Post 1 won the state title under coach Derrick Urquhart. Post 1 lost 12 of 18 players from last year, but the new roster includes talented players from the surrounding area, including West Florence’s Will Goodwin, Darlington’s Kam Dixon, Eric Dubose, and Keshaun Samuel, and South Florence’s Patrick Lovelace.
Post 1 kicked off the season with the Post 1 Invitational, where they defeated Hartsville Post 53 6-5 in the first game. Weston Rogers led at the plate with three hits and one RBI in the win.
Post 1 went on to win the invitational tournament with a 4-0 win over Camden. Samuel pitched three innings and gave up all three of Camden’s hits in the win. Price and Dixon combined for a no-hitter in the final four innings. Post 1 finished the tournament with a 4-0 record.
In the season opener, Post 1 earned a 15-6 win over Horry as Samuel and Grayson Cottingham each homered. Goodwin earned the win on the mound.
On Wednesday, Post 1 defeated Horry Post 111 8-0 with Weston Rogers starting on the mound and getting the win, allowing two hits and striking out seven with no walks. Carson Rogers struck out all three batters in the seventh, and Dubose gave up two hits with two outs in two innings.
Williams had two hits in the win, including a two-run single in the fifth. Herring had two hits, and Cottingham had an RBI single in the sixth inning along with Steven Calcutt and Cal Butler. Butler and Samuel also had two hits in the win.
On Thursday, Post 1 defeated Horry 18-3 for a three-game sweep, with Williams getting four hits and two RBI in the win. Weston Rogers had three hits, and Carson Rogers got the win in relief, pitching four innings with no hits, no runs, one walk, and four outs.
Butler had two doubles in three hits in the win with two RBI, and Cottingham had three hits with three runs scored. Post 1 had 24 hits total in the win.
On Saturday, Post 1 played a doubleheader against Hope Mills, North Carolina, at Dillon High School, earning a 7-6 win in game one and falling 5-4 in game two.
Price got the win and Dixon got the save, with Samuel leading at bat, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
In game two, Dixon took the loss on the mound and Samuel again led at bat, going 2-for-4 with one RBI. Herring and Lovelace had two hits in the effort, and Lovelace had one RBI.
Post 1 hosted Lake City on Tuesday for a 15-2 win with Herring and Williams each getting a home run.
Herring had four RBI and Williams had three. Samuel had two hits and two RBI, and Butler and Cottingham each had two hits and one RBI.
Goodwin got the win on the mound, pitching four innings for five hits, two earned runs, one walk, and five outs.
Post 1 is now 5-1 overall in the regular season. Florence was scheduled to host Lake City on Wednesday and will host them again tonight at 7:30 p.m.
