Bulldogs dominate Silver Bluff in home region opener

NEWBERRY — The Bulldogs of Newberry had a strong start to the season with a huge win in their home opener. Newberry(2-1, 1-0 region 2-AA) defeated Silver Bluff(0-6, 0-1 region 2-AA) by the score of 10-2.

The Bulldogs got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first inning to give them an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, start first baseman Kenyon Wise left the game with a dislocated right elbow after his arm snapped back as he was attempting to tag a base runner out. Wise immediately went down and it was about 20 minute delay as he needed assistance getting off the field.

The Bulldogs were able to take advantage of a good hit and good base running by Edrick Dawkins as the pinch runner. The home team lead 2-0 after two innings.

Newberry added two more runs at the bottom of the third inning and another two runs at the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead. They led 6-0 after four innings and was never in doubt of losing the game.

Silver Bluff showed some fight at the top of the fifth inning and were able to get multiple base runners to help themselves. They also scored their only two runs of the game in this inning. Newberry added two more runs at the bottom of the fifth inning and then another two runs at the bottom of the sixth inning to compete their dominant performance. Sophomore Mason Mills got the start and threw a complete game. He gave up only six hits and allowed just two runs in his first start of the season.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to Kenny Wise. It was a freak accident but we just want to wish him a speedy recovery. I know our guys plan on going to see him at the hospital right after the game. As for the game, we do have some things to clean up but it was still a good outing for us. We hit the ball extremely well tonight, but we had a few errors in the field that we will need to clean up. But a win is a win and we will take it,” said Bulldogs head coach Dylan Skinner.

Senior catcher Bryce Satterwhite also had a solid outing with a RBI double. He recently signed with Spartanburg Methodist College and his head coach spoke about that briefly after the game.

“Bryce has set the standard for how we want our program to be represented. His hard work, dedication and leadership is has meant everything to us. I’ve coached him for the last six years and he is always at the field just about every Sunday. He usually the first at the field for practice and one of the last ones to leave. He has also continued to get better every year and I can’t wait to continue to follow his career at the next level,” said Skinner.

The Bulldogs lost to Irmo on March 13, but will be back in action on Friday, March 14 against Silver Bluff again.