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AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL Mustangs derailed South Carolina rallies in ninth to knock Medford out of title picture Comment By Staff reports MailTribune.com By Staff reports Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Staff reports Posted Aug. 18, 2015 at 2:00 AM --> South Carolina 4, Medford 3 RECAP: South Carolina scores two runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally from a late, 3-1 deficit and advance to the World Series championship... » Read more X South Carolina 4, Medford 3 RECAP: South Carolina scores two runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally from a late, 3-1 deficit and advance to the World Series championship game. Medford ends the season with a 45-14 record. UP NEXT: Championship game, today, 4 p.m. PDT, South Carolina vs. Louisiana on ESPNU.   » Social News SHELBY, N.C. — The Medford Mustangs’ summer thrill ride took them to the brink of the American Legion World Series championship game, but a late rally by South Carolina derailed their adventure. Chapin-Newberry Post 193 scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory in the first semifinal game Monday. In the second semifinal, New Orleans, Louisiana, defeated Brooklawn, New Jersey, 4-3. South Carolina (31-1), which was the first unbeaten team to make the World Series since 1963, and Louisiana meet for the championship at 4 p.m. PDT today at Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU. Medford completed the season with its 13th state and fifth regional titles, posting a 45-14 record. Those successes weren’t on the players’ minds immediately after the game. “They’re disappointed, we’re all disappointed,” said Mustangs manager Nate Mayben. “But they’re young kids. They’ve got a lot to look forward to. A lot of them will be starting new chapters in their lives and head off to college. In a couple days, this will be a great memory for them, but right now they’re bummed. To be that close and to lose it, to be two outs away from advancing and not doing it, it’s not easy.” The Mustangs led 3-1 through seven innings, but a solo home run in the eighth by South Carolina’s Justin Hawkins narrowed the gap, and Post 193 added two more runs in the ninth after Medford reliever Micah Brown notched a strikeout to start the inning. South Carolina, which overcame a 6-1 deficit in the top of the eighth inning Sunday to earn a spot in the semifinals, tied the game on a deep fly ball from Zach Ziesing that scored Landon Allison, who had singled. Danton Hyman followed with a perfectly executed drag bunt that scored Duncan Crotwell with the winning run. Crotwell had singled and advanced to third on Ziesing’s fly ball. In the Mustangs’ half of the ninth, Post 193’s Patrick Yoder set them down in order for his second save in as many nights. Medford’s Tate Cowden grounded out to shortstop, Jared Evans flew out to left field and Brown, who belted a two-run home run in the third, flew out to center. “They hadn’t put together four or five hard hit balls all game,” said Mayben. “You have to tip your cap to them. They went out and hit. We didn’t make any errors, and that’s baseball. You walk away and go, you know what, we gave it our best shot and they were just better.” Pitcher Jordan Ragan had given the Mustangs a strong outing, allowing four hits in 7 2/3 innings, with nine strikeouts, two walks and two hit batters. He got the first two batters of the eighth out before Hawkins’ home run. Brown relieved and got the next hitter to ground out. Ragan’s pitch count was up and he was facing the heart of South Carolina’s order. “He’s done his job for the day,” Mayben said of his thoughts at that juncture. “Let’s get him out of there. All we needed was four outs.” But South Carolina had other ideas. Mayben called Hyman’s drag bunt the “dagger.” “It was perfect,” said Mayben. “The perfect time to do it. Myself as a coach, I may have let down for a second and didn’t realize the leadoff guy was up and made sure our third baseman was playing in. They recognized the situation and executed it beautifully, and that was the dagger.” After the bunt, Brown walked Peyton Spangler to load the bases. Aaron Hutchinson relieved Brown and got the final out. “We felt like when they let us in, we had to take advantage of that opportunity,” said South Carolina manager Daniel Gregory. In the third for Medford, Evans was hit by a pitch to lead off, and Brown followed with his home run to left field. The Mustangs’ other run came in the seventh, when Cowden walked and eventually scored on a single by Austin Zavala. Post 193 struck first in the top of the third. Ziesing walked and was forced out at second on Hyman’s fielder’s choice. Spangler then followed with a double to deep left-center field, and Hyman sprinted all the way home. Spangler got the win in relief, pitching two innings. Kevis Porter started and went the first six innings, allowing two earned runs. Spangler was confident his team would rally. “I feel like when we’re down, we don’t press, we respond,” he said. “We just knew we had to get something going. “They have a great team, an amazing team. They have good pitching and hit the ball well. We just hung around long enough to get it going.” Brown and Zavala were each 2-for-4. Post 193, whose only loss was in pool play, is the first South Carolina team in the World Series championship game since Spartanburg lost to San Diego in 1938. Spartanburg also is the state’s lone champion, having won the 1936 title over Los Angeles. “I don’t think you ever expect to get back here,” said Mayben. “You want to get back here and do what we did this year. We had a good feeling about the team at the beginning of the summer. We had higher goals. You always want to win state and give yourself a shot at regionals. This team had a real goal of not just winning state but winning regionals. That’s a little higher expectation than we usually have, but we were able to do it.” The team has been on the road since the state tournament. It was scheduled to fly back to Medford this afternoon. “It’s been an amazing three weeks on the road,” said Mayben. “We played some really good baseball and some really good teams, and had a lot of fun enjoying the whole experience. I don’t think you could ask for much more.” Chapin-Newberry, S.C.;001;000;012;—;4;8;0 Medford Mustangs;002;000;100;—;3;7;1 Burton, Spangler (7), Yoder (9) and Crotwell; Ragan, Brown (8), Hutchinson (9) and Zavala. W — Spangler. L — Brown. S — Yoder. 2B — CN: Spangler; MM: Evans, Zavala. HR — CN: Hawkins; MM: Brown. 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