Cottingham, Rogers power Post 1 rout of Greenville

Florence Post 1’s Grayson Cottingham is scheduled to have surgery for an injured shoulder on Aug. 4.

No one would have guessed that based on the day he had on Saturday in the American Legion baseball state tournament.

Knowing the risks and with permission from doctors and his soon-to-be college head coach, Cottingham returned to the lineup as a designated hitter for Florence against the Greenville Post 3 Warbirds.

His impact was immediate as he went 3-for-3 with a double and a 3-run home run, driving in four runs. Combined with five shutout innings of 1-hit ball from Weston Rogers, it was more than enough for Post 1 to claim a 12-1, 7-inning victory at Riley Park.

Florence improved to 32-3 overall and advanced to face Greenwood in today’s 3 p.m. contest. Post 3 fell to 15-12 and will take on Sumter in an elimination game today at 9 a.m.

“I was ready — I wanted to come out here and give it all I (had),” Cottingham said. “I know my shoulder is injured, but I just said I might as well go and play through it.”

And Post 1 certainly was better for it. Cottingham was hitting .495 before the tournament and only increased that mark on Saturday. He had a sacrifice bunt in the first inning that helped produce a run and then broke open a 1-0 game in the third with his 3-run bomb to left field.

“That was a moment,” Cottingham said of his homer. “That one hit me in the heart. I knew he was going to throw me something offspeed and he threw a hanging changeup I was able to turn on.

“I was in the zone after that.”

Florence’s vaunted pitching staff was in the strike zone most of the day as well. Rogers struck out seven, walked three and hit one. He worked out of mini-jams in the third and fourth innings, but the Warbirds never really threatened until Parker Neff’s solo homer in the sixth inning off Jack Henry Beasley.

“Wes kind of pitched his game and the good thing is we were able to get him out with kind of a low pitch count,” Post 1 head coach Derick Urquhart said. “He only had about 60 in five innings, so he’ll be ready to go on Day 5. We got a couple of our bullpen guys in, but we’re at full strength for tomorrow.”

Neff and Cody Trujillo were the only Post 3 players to collect hits against Florence’s pitching, which entered the state tournament with an earned run average under 1.40.

“Hitting is contagious and we never got going today,” Warbirds head coach Austin Lynch said. “(Rogers) threw strikes, we put it in play and their defense was good.

“Pretty simple today -- they were a much, much better team.”

Post 3 was also done in by a 7-run third inning by Post 1. Aside from Cottingham’s homer, Florence also got RBI singles from Lindsey Robinson, Blake Robinson, and Jon Mitchell Carter.

“I don’t know what the stat is, but pretty much any team that has that kind of big inning is going to win the ballgame,” Lynch said.

Lex Tuten was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI for Florence. Zay Paul was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Blake Robinson scored two runs and Carter finished 2-for-3.

“That was probably our best all-around game all year,” Urquhart said. “From pitching to hitting to defense, I was really proud of the guys’ effort out there today.

“Now we’ll rest up and get ready for another one.”