HS BSB: Winburn’s walkoff keeps Eagles’ wild postseason alive

With their backs against the wall once again, Beaufort High baseball staved off elimination for the fourth time in a week with a 5-4 walk-off win over visiting James Island on Wednesday, sending the SCHSL Class 4A Lower State championship series to a decisive third game.

James Davenport dug deep in another strong outing on the mound, and William Winburn’s third hit of the night plated the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to keep the Eagles’ wild postseason ride alive for at least one more game. 

The Eagles kicked it around a bit in the first, as an error and a sacrifice bunt set the table for Keillor Osbon’s RBI single to open the scoring. But Beaufort bounced right back with a three-spot in the bottom half, fueled by Rush Riley’s RBI triple and Winburn, who singled home Riley before swiping second and scoring on a passed ball.

The Trojans punched back in the second, as Stephen West doubled with one out and Tanner Beckley and Julius Reynolds came through with back-to-back RBI singles with two outs to tie it before Rhogue Wallace gunned down Reynolds trying to steal second to get out of the jam.

Davenport got himself into trouble again in the third, walking the leadoff man and hitting the next batter, and a heads-up double-steal moved both into scoring position with no outs. But the Trojans’ aggressiveness backfired when a failed squeeze attempt resulted in a rally-killing triple play. With both runners in motion, Wallace popped out of his crouch to snare a foul pop and started it around the horn to abruptly end a promising inning for James Island.

The Trojans appeared to be headed for a big inning again in the fourth, smacking three hits including an RBI single from Russell Patterson to give James Island a 4-3 lead, but a perfect relay from right fielder Matt Bornscheuer to second baseman Josh Denton resulted in a strike to Wallace to hose Patterson at the plate on Beckley’s double off the wall. 

It looked bleak for Beaufort, as James Island’s Hogan Garner had retired nine straight after the rocky start, but that ended with Wallace’s ringing single to lead off the fourth. The Eagles’ star catcher moved up on a passed ball and advanced to third on Ollie Holmes’ flyout to right, and Colin Peterson came through with two outs, roping a single to left to plate the tying run.

Some local sports content that is not sponsored is now available only to LowcoSports.com’s Patreon supporters. Pledge your monthly support here for as little as $1 per month to ensure you have access to all of our grassroots LOCAL sports coverage!

James Island left two on in the fifth and again stranded two in the sixth, and the Eagles had their chance in the bottom of the sixth. Beaufort loaded the bases with no outs before Garner buckled down for two strikeouts and leapt to snag a chopper back to the mound to wiggle off the hook. 

With only 18 pitches left before the 110-pitch limit, Davenport went back out to face the heart of the Trojans’ order and needed just seven pitches to record his first 1-2-3 inning of the night. Then he jumped on a first-pitch fastball to lead off the seventh with a sharp single to left before being lifted for a pinch runner. 

After the Trojans cut down the lead runner on Bornscheuer’s sacrifice attempt, a balk sent the Eagles’ leadoff man into scoring position. Garner recorded a huge strikeout to get within one pitch of sending it to extra innings, but Winburn ripped a 1-0 fastball past third, sending Bornscheuer home as the Eagles’ dugout emptied in celebration.

“I knew I was fourth at bat, and I knew somebody was going to get on second and I was going to hit them in,” Winburn said. “You can ask them in the dugout. I called that.” 

It capped off a 3-for-4 night for the Eagles’ No. 3 hitter, who drove in two runs and scored the game-winner. 

Davenport, who pitched the Eagles past South Florence in an elimination game in the district tournament a week earlier, battled through tense situations all night, limiting a potent James Island offense to two earned runs and eight hits with three walks and just one strikeout. The Eagles mustered seven hits off Garner, who tossed a no-hitter in the district-clinching win over Airport on Friday. The Clemson-committed catcher struck out eight, walked one and allowed two earned runs.

Getting on him early was the key.

“We’re not stopping once we get going,” Davenport said. “Get a couple runs early and there’s no stopping us.” 

Now the Eagles have ace Wes Graves lined up to start game 3, which will be played at Summerville High School at 6:30 p.m. Friday, and Beaufort won the coin flip and will be the home team. After winning four straight elimination games, Beaufort is one win away from an unlikely trip to the state championship series.

“This team’s got the heart, that’s all you need,” Winburn said. “We didn’t even think we’d be here. But here we are.”

By Justin Jarrett / Photos by Brackin Lambert