‘I’m proud of our guys’

The Philip Simmons High School baseball team’s bid for its first state championship came up short.

 

Batesburg-Leesville High School defeated the Iron Horses 8-5 on May 31 at the University of South Carolina’s Founders Park in the decisive game of the best-of-three series.

 

Still, it was a season to savor.

 

“We did a lot of celebrating this season,” Iron Horse coach Josh Kubisz said. “We celebrated a region championship. We celebrated a district championship. We celebrated our first Lower State championship. It was a successful season.”

 

The Iron Horses opened the series with a victory at The Phil and led Game 2 1-0, just six outs from the state crown. But the Panthers rallied to take Game 2, winning 3-2 to force Game 3.

 

The Panthers jumped to a 6-2 lead after two innings in front of an announced crowd of 1,271 at Founders Park, and the Iron Horses continued to fight. But their effort came up short in their first trip to the State Championship Series, finishing with a 19-15 record.

 

The Iron Horse program, in existence for only eight years, found out just how tough it is to win a state championship. The Panthers already knew. They won back-to-back state championships in 1948 and 1949 and finally ended the 76-year title drought with the conquest of the Iron Horses.

 

Alex Romanski led the Iron Horses with a 2-for-2 effort, including a double. 

 

Daniel Scarth collected three hits and two RBIs.

 

The Iron Horses collected 10 hits in the deciding game compared to the Panthers’ seven. The Iron Horses also outhit the Panthers 6-3 in the Game 2 loss.

 

“I’m proud of our guys,” Kubisz said. “I don’t think too many people thought we would get this far, to the state championship. But we did. We put up a good fight.”